how i make my b/h mix

[Mattzilla]

i made a batch of my home made beef heart mix today and took some photos along the way for those who don't know how to make it for themselves.

it really is easy, so i'll work through step by step and show as many photos as possible.

first step is to trip the hearts of ALL fat so that all you are left with is meat...

[Mattzilla]

next i steamed 2 large bunches of spinach (i cut off most of the stems though) and a few carrots

[Mattzilla]

next i chop a whole clove of garlic very finely

[Mattzilla]

then i chop a couple of fish fillets ( has to be boneless and not oily - i usually use fresh tuna but they didn't have very good quality at the fish shop today) into chunks and add it to the raw prawns

[Mattzilla]

i added all of these dry foods and vitamins

[Mattzilla]

becasue i use spirulina wafers i have to blend them into a powder, and i also blend the multi vitamins into a powder

[Mattzilla]

then i add all the other dry ingredients to the bowl and set aside for later

[Mattzilla]

i also add wheat germ and paprika...

[Mattzilla]

then it's time to put everything through the meat grinder

[Mattzilla]

even thr vegetables...

[Mattzilla]

put everything into a bowl ready to mix it up a bit

[Mattzilla]

then i add my newest ingredient...astaxanthin powder
this is meant to be an amazing natural colour enhancer and i can't wait till i see some results

[Mattzilla]

it's a very red coloured fine powder

[Mattzilla]

give it a really good mix

[Mattzilla]

then put it all back through the meat grinder one more time....whcich is very messy at this stage...lol

[Mattzilla]

then pack it into sandwich bags and lay them flat

[Mattzilla]

stack them and lay them in the freezer.
whenever i need some i just take 1 frozen try out of the freezer and cut into 1cm x 1cm cubes. i get around 120 cubes per try and each batch lasts for ages...

well that's it...feel free to ask any questions you may have

matt

[Merrilyn]

Matt that's just fantastic. So simple and easy to follow. Luv it :wink:

[ahsan]

hi Merrilyn , need to ask a few questions here .

1. I have heard lot about spirulina powder (guess its form of an algea) anyway ,, it's not available here , so please could you tell me of any ingredient that could make it up for spirulina powder. I checked with my fish vendor he doesnt have it.

2. My beaf heart if not eaten within five minutes , starts disentigrating in the water and makes it a look a lot dirty. What should i do so that it should not get dissolved in water.
Regards
ahsan

[flukes]

You wont find it at a LFS you will need to go to a health food store.

[ahsan]

aright , thanks :)

[kalebjarrod]

and if your fish arn't eating it all feed them in smaller amounts more often

they should eat it all

Matt,

nice work champ, where did you get the grinder from?

[Mattzilla]

a shop called 'house'
they have all kitcheny things... it was by far the best investment when i comes to making your own food

[flukes]

Ive seen Carol Roberts meantion a salad shooter which cuts the b/h into little pieces about the size of a large worm, and she feeds them straight like that. I mean it wont have all the great ingredients that Matt put in but it would be good for something different too feed them.

Matt- That grinder, i had a look at the picture but couldnt really see, does it mash it or does it come out in small bits which you could feed like that??
Ill have to go too house too have a look what they have.

[Mattzilla]

here is the picture from the box....
it comes out chopped into small pieces. although i do throw everything through twice to make sure there are no chunks. and twice through cuts everything into very small pieces. in fact i have to add a lot of dry food to keep it together and from falling apart.

[Mattzilla]

i forgot to add some pictures of what i do once the food is frozen

i just take it out of the bag it was frozen in and chop it inot meal sized pieces. i cut this particular sheet into larger than normal size pieces though

then throw the cut up pieces into another freezer bag and store in the freezer

[weird]

Thanks for the images. I found this incredibly useful, especially the packaging of the BH.

I picked up a cheap plastic meat grinder in a home shop in Chatswood mall. I does the trick except when you get to the spinach.

[Mattzilla]

i think it's worth getting a solid one so that you can just throw everything through it

[Jonesy]

good work matt , just woundering how much did u spend on all the ingredience and how long did it take you to do it all... thanks
nathan

[kalebjarrod]

hay matt

ever thought of useing a blunt knife to cut the b/h before freezing?

cube it into sections in the fresser bag before you freeze it?

[Mattzilla]

it's pretty easy freezing it in the bags....and it doesn't take up much space in my very small and over stocked freezer...lol

i only feeze it at about a half a cm thick so it's not hard to cut once fozen.

how much did it all cost....?
well the fresh ingredients cost me about $30 - $40 and the dry foods cost about another say $15.... so about $35 to $40. but remember that i could have got cheaper ingredients but i chose to spend a little more and get the very best quality ingredients i can find. at takes me about an hour or so to make from start to end. it's just a matter of taking your time trimming the fat off everything, them grushing some dry foods, cooking the veges, then throwing everything through the grinder a couple of times....oh and a hell of a lot of arm work turning the handle (my arm was killing me by the end of it!!!)

i think for the amount of food you get and the quality of food you get it is well worth it. there is no way i would feed my fish the premade frozen b/h from the lfs. you don't know what is in it.
and i did a fair bit of research into discus diet requirements before i made my recipe. i read articles from all around the world and got the best bits from all of them and combined them into my recipe.

anyway, it's not perfect but it works for me.

cheers

[DiscusMad]

you can find cheap plastic grinders in the bargin shops I found one for $6 and it doese the job quite well

[kalebjarrod]

i would never feed my fish anything but B/H

(except for variety)

its thier staple diet and they are growing like little barstards

[Jonesy]

dont take me wrong way . I think is a grate idea .. u pay up to 6$ for a 100g of pre made b/h so u get a lot more food for the money u pay and u know whats in it ... can u send me a pm of ALL the dry foods u use please .... if its not a problem... thanks matt ... and good work... and where did u get the coloulr stuff as well...

[kalebjarrod]

the colour stuff spoken about is found also in crabs prawns spinich carrots red pepper spirulia and some other alge that i can't remember

also found in most seafood and animals that eat plankton or animals who eat plankton in small amounts

concentration levels arn't that high except for spirulina which is very good high in caratone.

remember the best colours will come from a varied healthy diet with quality water.

[Billy]

can this be feed to other fish as well ?? or Discus only

why is beef heart the main ingredient? cant u use anything else

[kalebjarrod]

beef heart used to be supplied in the early stages of discus keeping on its own

they used this product instaed of blood worms which they would collect from sewarage outlets in indusrtial estates

it is high in proten and promotes great growth, it is lacking in many estenial items including items needed in the formation of pigment cells, breeding, deaiese prevention and general well being

it is a great base for your food supply though

the other ingredients are all used as top ups hence the reason you get some many different diets :wink:

[Mattzilla]

beef heart used to be supplied in the early stages of discus keeping on its own

they used this product instaed of blood worms which they would collect from sewarage outlets in indusrtial estates

it is high in proten and promotes great growth, it is lacking in many estenial items including items needed in the formation of pigment cells, breeding, deaiese prevention and general well being

it is a great base for your food supply though

the other ingredients are all used as top ups hence the reason you get some many different diets :wink:


spot on....

[Merrilyn]

True, and I'm just old enough to remember the stinking tubifex worms we used to feed back then. Keeping your fish (usually only browns) healthy and growing was difficult enough - let alone trying to breed and raise fry. We have so much variety in good quality foods today.

[kalebjarrod]

do you serisouly remember the those times?

i am gonna be your toy boy arn't I 8)

[Merrilyn]

Yeah baby - if I live that long :wink:

[silkieboy]

Hey that bh mix looks fantastic and the step by step pictures were really helpful for a begginer like me. My only question is, do you put gelatin in ur mix to hold the ingredients? I heard its holds the b/h mix in the tank and not dirty the water.

Cheers Guys

Johnny :D

[endless]

Hi matt, great instructions and pictures. Just a question though, where did u get the astaxanthin powder from and for how much? I would really like to get my hands on some

[Mattzilla]

i don't add gelatine...the flake and dry foods as well as the prawns hold it together enough for me

[Telperion]

I too would love for you to PM me with the names of the dry ingredients you use - this is fantastic!

[jfan]

Hi
Just wondering, when you feed them do you just throw a block into the water? woldn't make the water cloudy? cheers

[artie santos]

i add krill to the above ingredients absorbs it and keeps it from dissolving in your tank as per Jack Wattley

[Mattzilla]

just noticd some replies top this old post of mine

the dry ingredients would include tetra colour bits, a good quality flake, and basically any other dry foos i had sitting around....like spirulina flakes or anythign really

yes you just throw the block in the water. if made correctly and frozen for a while it doesn't polute the water much. just make the blocks small so that it doesn't take long for your diswcus to eat it. it';s better to feed a couple of small blo0cks than onelarge block

hope that helps

[bonifacelan]

Good day, i would like to ask permission if i can barrow your picture slides on making home made beef heart mix. im from philippines. we have our local version of discus/arowana/flowerhorn website: pahls.com. you are welcome to visit our site. we are discussing about how to make a beef heart mix for discus. i think your picture slides are great for us beginers. i hope its ok with you. thanks. i'l wait for your reply.

[Mattzilla]

yeah go for it mate

no problemo

matt

[Jonnywhoop]

can you state how much beef heart, flake foods, etc etc like specific amounts? a cupfull of flake food, a pinch? etc etc, just a little bit more specific? im really interested in making this.

[jimmyg]

then i add my newest ingredient...astaxanthin powder
this is meant to be an amazing natural colour enhancer and i can't wait till i see some results.

I have been to my helath store and they don't sell it does anyone know who does sell it.

Thanks

[m.ingram]

You can get it on line at www.aquariumproducts.com.au its about $50 for 90g its in naturose.hope that helps you

[jimmyg]

Thanks alot I will have to get some

[jimmyg]

Thanks for the site it is awesome, I just wondering were you gte Pro More and Pro Growth from I can't find it on the site.

Thanks
Jimmy

[Hollowman]

Jimmy, try looking at Norto's site

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14351

H

[jimmyg]

Thanks mate I PM'ed Norto a couple of days ago no reply I will wee what happens.

[jimmyg]

I just wondering were you gte Pro More and Pro Growth from I can't find it on the site.

I have tried Norto and no reply, I am after Andrew So book as well is there anyone else I can contact to get these.

Thanks
Jimmy

[Hollowman]

Jimmy, I know Andrew's book is getting harder to find, but I know of a source where they are for sale, Possibly a signed copy too. PM me for details, also Pro-more/Growth

Steve

[jimmyg]

PM sent