All about Coral Frenzy.

​by Richard Back 

Coral Frenzy, the name should ring a bell to you if you have been in the hobby for a while. It has been out for a decade now and has been established and regarded as one of the premier dry food for our reef tanks. I recently had the opportunity to speak to Ken Easter, the creator and founder of Coral Frenzy foods and was able to ask him some questions that I felt that many of us may have about his food and by doing so, I got to know him and his company little better.
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Here we go!  

Tell me everything about Coral Frenzy. How did it start? Tell me about what made you start your own business and how you came up with your blends.

How did Coral Frenzy start?  It actually started out of frustration. I was traveling a lot for business at the time and I was keeping live rotifers and Phyto.  When that started to be too much of a burden I started feeding frozen foods and refrigerated phyto.  I had a friend of mine come over and feed my tank every other day.  I came home early once to find my frozen food in the fridge and my refrigerated phyto sitting next to my tank.  At this point I knew there had to be other people out there with the same frustration.  The co-creator of CF, Jason Piper, is a good friend of mine and he and I began talking about this issue and he said he was having the same issue with his customers not feeding correctly.  He and I were talking about foods that we were adding our tanks in conjunction with the live feeds and that is how it started.

I can only imagine and assume and imagine it was very difficult to come up with something from scratch. How did you guys come up with your formula?

Our formula started out with foods that were readily available and what worked.  That is when we really started experimenting with different foods.  The 2 ingredients that worked the best and that we found that nobody was using because of cost were salmon roe and oyster larvae.

​Our formula was trial and error based on what worked and what didn't in regards to nutrition without polluting the water too much.
 
There were really no plans in the beginning to sell it.  I wanted it for my grow out system and Jason wanted it for his customers tanks.  It wasn't until people kept asking if they could buy some that we stated selling it.
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It’s was very bold move that you listed all your ingredients. I know many companies that doesn’t do this due to many companies stealing the formula to take their share of the market. It’s no secret that after you released your food, many food companies released their version of “the ultimate coral food.”  What made you be so transparent? Do you regret this decision? 

Listing our ingredients wasn't the first plan.  We had been selling it for about a year and we kept getting the same questions, "What makes your food different from what is already out there?" and "What is in it?"  At that point we decided to be bold and list out all the ingredients along with the manufactured date.  It was a gutsy move but it took us to a different level.  We started to use the approach that why would anybody put something in their tank if they didn't know what was in it.  After all, you wouldn't do it with your body.  
 
I am so glad you mentioned other companies using "The Ultimate Coral Food" or something similar in their advertising.  I don't understand why companies can't come up with their own slogans.  I did a search the other day for Coral Frenzy and noticed that one of our competitors is using the slogan, "The Ultimate Food for Corals".  This is just low level advertising.  First they basically copy our slogan that has been on our jars from the beginning then they tag our name as part of their search.

WOW! I can definitely understand the frustration! Going back to your food, I noticed that you have pellet food for fish as well. Tell me about them and why people should consider your food over other alternatives.

The reef pellets came about because of customer feedback.  They wanted a food that they could easily feed their corals and that they could easily see consuming it.  It turns out that fish like it every bit as much.  We are now selling it to quite a few breeders/hatcheries as well as public and private aquariums.  The tank raised Clarion angels, different wrasse species and anthias documented feedings have really helped out sales in that regards.

Right! I saw Carolina Aquatics feed their recently discovered Monsoon Wrasse with your food! That's very exciting!
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Ken, thank you very much for taking your time to talk to me. I’m glad that I learned more about you, your food and your company. Any last words you want to add?

We really want to thank you again Richard for reaching out to us.  We also want to thank all the customers over the past decade that have trusted us for their coral and fish nutrition,  we couldn't have done it without you.


I hope you guys enjoyed the interview! 

Here are guaranteed lab analysis and the ingredients of the food. 

CORAL FRENZY CONTAINS: Fish Protein, Oyster Larvae, Salmon Roe, Dunaliella salina, Schizochytrium, Rotifers, Copepods, Daphnia, Spirulina, & Haematococcus Pluvialis.
NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS: Crude Protein (min) 52.8%, Crude Fat (min) 9.8%, Crude Fiber (max) 1.6%, Ash (max) 14.2%, Moisture (max) 6.8%, Omega 3 (min) 26.7%, Omega 6 (min) 10.6%.


Coral Frenzy Pellet Contains: Squid meal, herring meal, shrimp meal, whole wheat flour, soy meal, wheat gluten, refined marine fish oil, carotenoid pigments, brewer’s yeast, spirulina algae, garlic, lecithin, vitamin A acetate, DL- Alphatocopherol (Vit. E), D-Activated Animal Sterol (Vit. D3), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyrodoxine HCL, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Ascorbal-2-Polyphosphate (Stabilized Vit. C), Choline Chloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate.
NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS: Protein (Min.); 50%, Lipids (Min.); 15.5%, Fiber (Max.); 4%, Ash (Max.); 12%, Moisture (Max.); 8%, Astaxanthin; min. 80 ppm.

Be sure to give them a try!