Yeah I have tried it too, but never since I have started feeding a regular hydrated hand feeding regimen once per day. I was more just interested in how it would get consumed and how it would hydrate compared to the AM and Optimal, when also hydrated. No plans to use it regularly at this point, anyway. I do know when I used it once before (non hydrated) it wasn’t consumed as fast as the AM 500, or the Optimal BG jr, that I was also feeding at the time.
Given so much of the Optimal sinks I've always wondered how much makes it to the bottom before being eaten. I think one answer to that question is how much feed is put on the water at once. One advantage of hand feeding could be the slower rate of feed application which gives fish more time to consume feed as it descends. I agree that sinking feeds are better at getting feed to skittish fish which do not like to go near the surface.
I have noticed that hydrating feed, at least the ones I have tried, tends to cause some to sink. I figure this must be because hydration displaces some air pockets required to maintain the positive buoyancy. I have also notices that squeezing a handful of well hydrated feed will cause a higher proportion to sink. Hydrating feed is good also for a sinking feed because in increases the size of the pellet with neutrally buoyant water slowing the sinking rate of the feed.
How fast a feed is eaten is less important to me than how well it converts and when the feed is sinking it can be difficult to measure the rate of consumption accurately.
