Could i feed my cichlids raw meat?

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Most fish do not have the enzymes necessary to digest that sort of protein. It's like feeding wood chips to toddlers. Actually I would feed wood chips to toddlers, but not venison to fish. I like fish more than toddlers.
 
thanks everyone, and ksane no need to get offended i was asking if it was alright, i never have. anyways i will stick to feeding earthworms for now. is pieces of shrimp or bluegill fine?
 
buckeyenut222;2100043; said:
thanks everyone, and ksane no need to get offended i was asking if it was alright, i never have. anyways i will stick to feeding earthworms for now. is pieces of shrimp or bluegill fine?

I'm not offended :). I don't know about BlueGill but shrimp would be good. When I researched shrimp I did find out that shrimp contains a lot of Thiaminase, and long term can cause problems with the availability of Vitamin B1 (I beleive that was the direct quote). But it's not like you're going to feed him only shrimp every single day. I squeeze the shrimp out dry with a paper towel and soak it in VitaChem or Zoe (vitamins) and that's how I get their vitamins into them. Works great for that. Mussels are part of their natural diet, they can have that every day. WalMart has them frozen for super cheap. Wait'll you you see how much they love it.
Some forums drill a "90% pellet diet" into people's heads and I just don't agree with that. If they don't have fresh & frozen foods they end up constipated or bloated. I know what works for me but can't tell someone else what to do.
 
My opinion is that you can purchase beefheart at a LFS, you can't purchase steak there. I'm sure the companies selling frozen beefheart has taken the time to do the research on it's affect on fish. I doubt they would sell it if it were harmful to our fish. Just my .02
 
I'm sure the companies selling frozen beefheart has taken the time to do the research on it's affect on fish. I doubt they would sell it if it were harmful to our fish.

I can pretty much guarantee you that no company (or accredited non biased 3rd party) has ever studied the long term health effects of feeding beef or chicken heart to any species of fish.

Tobacco companies still sell their products to humans, so why would anyone think that anything would be different for a fish?
 
For those saying fish don't have the ability to digest mammals, do you have any scientific proof?

Not trying to start a fight I am just curious.

Reason being is I've seen fish eat mammals in the wild (On video but still) MANY times. Ever seen a Great white eat a seal? That is a fish eating a mammal.

Ever seen a school of Piranha take out a bird that lands in the water?
Ever seen a largemouth bass take out a baby duck?

These are just examples but I see no difference in a bass eating a duck than Johnny Nobody feeding chicken to his cichlids. Granted all the hormones and stuff we inject into them may not be ideal but aside from that I don't think it matters much.
 
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