As an occasional snack it would be great, prep the food first though. As for a staple diet, stick with aquatic animals, inverts, ect.
Feeder Rats
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
other then takeing the same prep process you do for your snake the occasional rat should be fine. some people feed beefheart, imo the rats are probably alot healthier.
my comment was made due to the fish being coldblooded and coldblooded animals having a reputation for having trouble digesting fats of warm blooded animals when they are not warm enough for their metabolism to kick in.
Thanks for explaining a little more.
I have never used beef heart over the years.It seems to go way back as fish food/treat though.
Thanks for clarifying - I didn't get it right away either from the first post. I've read experts talk about this. It appears a valid point. Warm-blooded animals' fat is usually a solid at the tropical fish tank temp. Yet, one cannot raise tank water temp (which pretty much equals predator body temp) to anywhere near the warm-blooded mammals body temp anyway, which is in the upper 90-ies and hundreds of Fahrenheit.
This is one reason experts advise to thoroughly strip/remove all visible fat from the beef heart, which make using it as a staple rather impractical...
...I guess, unless one uses something like George Foreman grill to melt the fat away.
I still don't understand this temperature situation... Snakes & sharks live on endotherms, and catfish are generalists. I can't imagine this would be an issue- you're certainly going to thaw these things before feeding, and if you're still worried then warm them up with a little kettle-water. It's only a couple of rats- that's not staple. If you're worried about fur, either blanch & strip them or skin them entirely. No need to waste them so I really wouldn't worry about it.
Two cents.
Make sure they're not freezerburnt- that does seem to be an issue.
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Two cents.
Make sure they're not freezerburnt- that does seem to be an issue.
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Andyroo, I am not quite understanding your comment, I am afraid. It is not the serving temp. The concern is the temp at which the digestion occurs, which is a lengthy process.
Neither do I get the second sentence and how it is connected to what followed. Sorry.
Could you please share your observations on the freezer burn effects?
Neither do I get the second sentence and how it is connected to what followed. Sorry.
Could you please share your observations on the freezer burn effects?
I've had freezerburnt cocktail shrimp (I'm pretty sure) cause indigestion/constipation in a few predators- little aro, CK and a couple of others. Killed some. My cousin in Edmonton years ago had the same problem with some frozen home-made food. The bag punctured and he lost a good few fish before he noticed.
Temp within the catfish's gut should be the same for a pray rat or a pray fish (or snake, or duck, or spider...) of similar size. Digestion should have no trouble overtaking/controlling for decomposition. Only issues I can imagine would be with fur or different muscle, blood or fat densities or with the heavier teeth & bones, but I doubt it'd be a real issue with rare/occasional "treat" or disposal feeding- maybe undigested fur would gum the filter or cause a little constipation.
How having said that, if memory serves there was mention of some sort of issue with feeding pinkies to puffers- let's see if PufferPunk chimes in.
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Temp within the catfish's gut should be the same for a pray rat or a pray fish (or snake, or duck, or spider...) of similar size. Digestion should have no trouble overtaking/controlling for decomposition. Only issues I can imagine would be with fur or different muscle, blood or fat densities or with the heavier teeth & bones, but I doubt it'd be a real issue with rare/occasional "treat" or disposal feeding- maybe undigested fur would gum the filter or cause a little constipation.
How having said that, if memory serves there was mention of some sort of issue with feeding pinkies to puffers- let's see if PufferPunk chimes in.
A
Interesting. I never paid attention to freezer burn. I thought all it is is an area where moisture left the flesh. It is still the same edible flesh just very dry. E.g., dried salted fish is eaten all over the world by people too. Rotten/partly rotten flesh can sicken and kill fish. That's a known. In part, this is why some keepers claim to have abandoned bloodworms, having used some batches (come frozen of course) which were frozen when already partly rotten. Anyhow, I will now pay better attention to see what my experience says. Thanks, Andyroo.
Digestion: Yes, that's, I think, exactly the point: the fats of warm-blooded animals are solid/solidify inside an aquatic, cold-blooded predator, causing hard digestion/indigestion.
Digestion: Yes, that's, I think, exactly the point: the fats of warm-blooded animals are solid/solidify inside an aquatic, cold-blooded predator, causing hard digestion/indigestion.
Snakes & lizards (and sharks & pike & weils) regularly/habitually take mammalian & avian pray, even under temperate/cold conditions. Digestion will be a matter of the types of enzymes present more than digestion temperature. It seems unlikely to me that a catfish wouldn't have these enzymes.
