Happy New Year. My six Clown Loaches are now 28 years old.
- Thread starter Redshark1
- Start date
When the frozen mussels/prawns are on sale here they are bagged and in the shop's freezer. I believe they have been de-shelled, cleaned and cooked prior to freezing. I thaw them in a little warm water and chop them up before feeding. This stops fish swallowing them whole and frozen and stops the dominant fish getting all the food by carrying away the whole mussel/prawn. I suspect that if a large Clown Loach swallowed a whole frozen mussel, which they are well able to do, it might find itself in serious difficulty. Therefore nothing goes into my aquarium in the frozen state, always thawed.
If a Clown Loach steals all the mussels would you say it's being shellfish?
I agree about thawing frozen food first (I would do so in the fridge), but just an FYI - cooking frozen food causes some nutrient loss. Pre-cooked or otherwise.
From a past post of mine .....
My advice when dealing with fresh fish products, buy fresh, freeze for 48 hrs at 0F (-18C) to destroy any potential parasites, and use up within 30 days or so. Freezing will not destroy all micro-organisms, so there is still some risk involved in feeding frozen products, but freezing certainly minimizes those risks. Also note that frozen fish that have been unthawed under refrigeration, should be fed within 24 hrs. (or discarded)
Freezing tends to also increase the concentration of thiaminase in tissue, so the shorter the duration in the freezer, the better. Little is known as to how thiaminase affects various species, and according to various studies the amounts found (even within the same species of fish) tend to vary as well. As previously mentioned most public aquariums tend to supplement to avoid deficiencies. (especially B1, vitamin E, and vitamin C) IMO fish kept in captivity require full vitamin & trace mineral supplementation to some degree or another. This is a non-issue if one is feeding a commercial pellet as the staple, or even stuffing "some" pellets into frozen foods, or supplementing via a commercial pre-soak such as Boyd Vitachem.
From a past post of mine .....
My advice when dealing with fresh fish products, buy fresh, freeze for 48 hrs at 0F (-18C) to destroy any potential parasites, and use up within 30 days or so. Freezing will not destroy all micro-organisms, so there is still some risk involved in feeding frozen products, but freezing certainly minimizes those risks. Also note that frozen fish that have been unthawed under refrigeration, should be fed within 24 hrs. (or discarded)
Freezing tends to also increase the concentration of thiaminase in tissue, so the shorter the duration in the freezer, the better. Little is known as to how thiaminase affects various species, and according to various studies the amounts found (even within the same species of fish) tend to vary as well. As previously mentioned most public aquariums tend to supplement to avoid deficiencies. (especially B1, vitamin E, and vitamin C) IMO fish kept in captivity require full vitamin & trace mineral supplementation to some degree or another. This is a non-issue if one is feeding a commercial pellet as the staple, or even stuffing "some" pellets into frozen foods, or supplementing via a commercial pre-soak such as Boyd Vitachem.
Some additional info, again from a past discussion on feeding fresh/frozen.
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/marine_mammals/mmfish.pdf
I had an old link to a paper written years ago that involved feeding fish in captivity (at public aquariums) but it seems that link no longer works.
This one seems pretty interesting, but I just skimmed it over my lunch break.
View of CURRENT PRACTICES IN AQUATIC ANIMAL SUPPLEMENTATION
HTH
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_welfare/downloads/marine_mammals/mmfish.pdf
I had an old link to a paper written years ago that involved feeding fish in captivity (at public aquariums) but it seems that link no longer works.
This one seems pretty interesting, but I just skimmed it over my lunch break.
View of CURRENT PRACTICES IN AQUATIC ANIMAL SUPPLEMENTATION
HTH
@Redshark, I will point out that my clown loaches absolutely love mussels. Just like yours.
I wonder if they find the mussels similar tasting to snails?
I wonder if they find the mussels similar tasting to snails?
For what it is worth, my clowns absolutely shred the Repashy Igapo Explorer. I also feed them the Bottom Scratcher and the now and then the Spawn & Grow. Both of these are mixed about 20% with the Soilent Green. I feed a lot of frozen food such a s mysis, bloodwworm and brine shrimp.
I also feed a mix of flakes I put together as well as some sinking wafers and sticks.
I used to feed pest snails until I was afraid the clowns got too large to suck the meat out of the shell and would end up swallowing the whole thing. I was worried that snail shell was not the ideal thing to go though their digestive system.
I also feed a mix of flakes I put together as well as some sinking wafers and sticks.
I used to feed pest snails until I was afraid the clowns got too large to suck the meat out of the shell and would end up swallowing the whole thing. I was worried that snail shell was not the ideal thing to go though their digestive system.
Something I remembered to add about my picture one of the females has a hooked tail tip, the other does not.
I always enjoy your yearly update. As I mentioned before, finding your posts several years ago revitalized my interest in this hobby. Glad the clown loaches are still doing well.
I lost a few rainbow fish this past year, but my clowns are adoing well. I had a scare when my big mama scratched herself on something right near her eye, but the wound helped up fine with the help of extra water changes.
I lost a few rainbow fish this past year, but my clowns are adoing well. I had a scare when my big mama scratched herself on something right near her eye, but the wound helped up fine with the help of extra water changes.
