Heard this at my local LFS, is it true.

[RD.]

In the wild a Bullhead catfish would eat a sh*t sandwich if it drifted by, but that doesn't mean that it's an ideal source of nutrients, or that one should feed that to a Bullhead kept in captivity, even as a supplement. In the wild, the stomach contents of Tropheus moori have shown to contain as much as 25% detritus & sand during certain times of the year, does that mean that one should supplement their diet in captivity with detritus? Of course not, but this is the type of logic being used in the Bullhead catfish example. Most fish are opportunistic feeders, and in the wild will eat pretty much anything that is even remotely considered a source of nutrients.

As previously stated;

I have no issue with those that feel the need to supplement a nutritionally balanced food such as a premium pellet, but with the numerous options available it makes absolutely no sense to even SUPPLEMENT with a foodstuff such as mammal meat, trimmed of fat, and deveined, or not. There are far better options for fish, that contain a more balanced amino acid & fatty acid profile, and that are far more nutritionally geared towards the nutrient requirements of a fish, even those classified as carnivores/piscivores.

 

[docturtle91b]

See this is whats wrong with a lot of this site. People get on here and act like their opinion is the word of God and anyone who disagrees with them is treated as stupid or illogical rather than a civil discourse. Animals accidentally ingest things all the time and when you combine the bullheads lifestyle with the heavy sedimentation from agriculture in much of the bullheads range of course you get ingestion of sand. Your opinion your fish. What I do works fine for me.

In the wild a Bullhead catfish would eat a sh*t sandwich if it drifted by, but that doesn't mean that it's an ideal source of nutrients, or that one should feed that to a Bullhead kept in captivity, even as a supplement. In the wild, the stomach contents of Tropheus moori have shown to contain as much as 25% detritus & sand during certain times of the year, does that mean that one should supplement their diet in captivity with detritus? Of course not, but this is the type of logic being used in the Bullhead catfish example. Most fish are opportunistic feeders, and in the wild will eat pretty much anything that is even remotely considered a source of nutrients.

As previously stated;

I have no issue with those that feel the need to supplement a nutritionally balanced food such as a premium pellet, but with the numerous options available it makes absolutely no sense to even SUPPLEMENT with a foodstuff such as mammal meat, trimmed of fat, and deveined, or not. There are far better options for fish, that contain a more balanced amino acid & fatty acid profile, and that are far more nutritionally geared towards the nutrient requirements of a fish, even those classified as carnivores/piscivores.

 

[Allan01230]

I use NLS exclusively. Check out their website as they have done a lot of research for many years on fish nutrition. Why even mess aropund with mammal meat? NLS pellets plain and simple. I have been using it for 4 years now with great results.

 

[ALAINA]

wow ok its food people.. relax and go plaay with your fish!!! everyone on here has good points so cant we just accept that..

 

[Water]

I said those reasons were for weaning and bulking up. Never did I outright say frozen food was better than pellets.

Learn to comprehend and quit trolling.

Thats not what you said initially. Why dont YOU learn to get your facts straight buddy.

See this is whats wrong with a lot of this site. People get on here and act like their opinion is the word of God and anyone who disagrees with them is treated as stupid or illogical rather than a civil discourse. Animals accidentally ingest things all the time and when you combine the bullheads lifestyle with the heavy sedimentation from agriculture in much of the bullheads range of course you get ingestion of sand. Your opinion your fish. What I do works fine for me.

Wow. Instead of being ignorant, learn to read and take in what he's saying. He's not telling you have to do all the things he's suggesting, he's just informing you of things I'm pretty sure you didn't know. But as you said, if your way works for you, then by all means keep doing it.

 

[RD.]

There's no such thing as civil disagreement, when the ultimate shame is to change one's opinion.

 

[WeeNe858]

Thats not what you said initially. Why dont YOU learn to get your facts straight buddy.



Wow. Instead of being ignorant, learn to read and take in what he's saying. He's not telling you have to do all the things he's suggesting, he's just informing you of things I'm pretty sure you didn't know. But as you said, if your way works for you, then by all means keep doing it.

That's what was implied in my first post when I was referring to "certain reasons" . I assume it was too broad of a starting point for you.

 

[lipadj46]

This is called civil discourse and it is why we come on this site, don't take things personally. As far as beef heart goes, like I said above I believe it has it's place in growing out fish when used in moderation and it provides results. I like the super beef heart flake as it is clean (won't foul the water), it has beef heart has the main ingredient and it has IGO Pro Growth in it (Pro Growth is a vitamin and amino acid mix), also the fish go crazy for it. I also feed black worms and NLS pellets during the grow out. When my discus are about 5" I will stop feeding the BH and just do the NLS or Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef and black worms (for fun).

I also dissect my fish and scope gills and whatnot after a suspicious death so I will be on the lookout for fat deposits if any of my fish happen to die early.

 

[ECW]

NLS FTW! Some people just don't get it. RD is not just stating opinons, he can back them up with science... Read some of the articles he posted by real scientists. He's trying to help you out here by informing you of FACTS. Sure fish accidentally and intentionally ingest all kinds of things. It doesn't mean that it is healthy for them or doing them any good. Fish in the wild are oportunistic and to pass up a meal would mean starving. In the wild they eat what they can get. Since we are keeping them in glass boxes we are responsible for their well being and should give them the best and healthiest we possibly can. I could eat at McDonalds (fast foods) all the time and I will get an increase in belly growth and fat deposits, which will lead to health problems in the future (exbesity) and a shorter life span than if I were to eat healthy, nutritionally balanced meals. Go ahead and feed them mammal meats... You want your fish to die sooner?

 

[lipadj46]

NLS FTW! Some people just don't get it. RD is not just stating opinons, he can back them up with science... Read some of the articles he posted by real scientists. He's trying to help you out here by informing you of FACTS. Sure fish accidentally and intentionally ingest all kinds of things. It doesn't mean that it is healthy for them or doing them any good. Fish in the wild are oportunistic and to pass up a meal would mean starving. In the wild they eat what they can get. Since we are keeping them in glass boxes we are responsible for their well being and should give them the best and healthiest we possibly can. I could eat at McDonalds (fast foods) all the time and I will get an increase in belly growth and fat deposits, which will lead to health problems in the future (exbesity) and a shorter life span than if I were to eat healthy, nutritionally balanced meals. Go ahead and feed them mammal meats... You want your fish to die sooner?

Yes I see you can regurgitate the all the colorful analogies used over and over here in the past few years. The area of ornamental fish nutrition is not very well researched. We can take many commercial fish studies and use them as anecdotal evidence in our arguments. As far as saying using beef heart as a growth food in a overall growth regiment will significantly shorten a fish's lifespan or saying that by feeding NLS they will definitely make a fish live longer are both questionable. For every beautiful, huge, healthy breeding fish you can show me that was raised on NLS I can show you one that was raised on beef heart, what does that prove? Nothing.

Now am I saying you should feed beef heart exclusively? No (but many do without any issues) but I do believe it can he used as a tool to grow fish fast and large without compromising their health. And as a man (and teacher) of science If I see convincing evidence that says otherwise I can easily change my opinion.