Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Quick easy way to make moist sinking feed

Many of us know how to make softened feed out of Aquamax by adding a prescribed amount of water, shaking it several times in the next couple of hours, and squeezing the air out of the pellets to make them sink as we feed. There are times when we want a moist sinking feed, as in early in season in cold water when fish are not very active yet, or when you're trying to feed train fish. I also believe the moist pellets are easier to digest.

Turns out I have accidentally come up with a way to do it without having to squeeze the air out of each pellet as you feed to get them to sink. I have too many fish in cages to squeeze the air of a pellet one at a time.

Get you some 5D04 (only works so far for me with this size but may with the even smaller size) or high quality Endurance Pellets and put some in a zip lock bag. Add enough water to just cover the pellets (unlike the method above the amount of water is not crucial). Allow it to soak in and shake the bag a few times in the next 20 minutes to keep the pellets separated. Allow damp pellets to soften for several hours or more until they or each one will compress / squeeze easily. Soaked pellets should not be sticky to your fingers then they are too WET. Feed that day and most if not all of the pellets will probably / sometimes immediately sink. The pellets will swell to a a little larger. If you don't use it all in one day refrigerate for up to a couple of days. Soft pellets can be froze, thawed and used anytime later. BE careful storing soft pellets as they will usually mold quickly in a day or two. Do not feed moldy feed to fish.

Cecil says his yellow perch in a cage that are not that interested in coming up for floating pellets anymore, probably due to the fatheads that swim into the cage from time to time. But throw these sinkers in at feeding time and they go absolutely bonkers with lots of flashing down there as they inhale the sinking pellets.

One can easily soften the pellets in a plastic container with lid such as Kool Whip or appropriate size container. Best softening process takes 4-8 hrs depending on size and brand name of the pellet. They are not all the same. During the open water season I only feed softened pellets. I soften pellets daily.

One quart of pellets (1/4” 5D06) and 6 to 6.5 ounces of water. Warm water speeds softening. Sometimes different batches will require 8 oz of water per quart of pellets. Experiment. Small batches: one cup of pellets & abt 2 tablespoons of water. Shake pellets and water for one full minute or until ALL water is absorbed and NO “gravy” remains. As noted by Cecil above using the bag method, Pellets need to be shaken several times during the first 30min so all soften equally well. Soaking longer is usually better and produces a more pliable pellet - up to 8-10 hrs. Larger pellets soften slower. Overnight soaking for next day use is okay and produces the softest pellets. A light spray of water is sometimes needed to finish the final softening process.

When properly softened, the pellets with stick together when squeezed and mold like damp clay or cookie dough with NO material sticking to your fingers. Pellets sticking to your fingers means they are too damp - too much water was added.


Most soft pellets will float until the air is squeezed out of the pellet - during the molding process. You can refrigerate soft pellets for 1 to 2 days and then they start to form mold. You can freeze soft pellets as single pellets or molded pellets to use later. Thaw and use.

Thanks Bill

That's awesome information, I've debated doing that but was not sure of the ratio of water to pellets. I've noticed my BG will stare at the pellets sometimes for quite a while, eat them, spit them out, then they or others will eat them. I suspect that moistening them would help. We have lots of windy days and I often find pellets washed up near the shore where only turtles or Raccoons would be able to eat them.