Parasites/Bacteria on live/frozen food?

[mshill90]

I was told today that it's not advisable to feed my turtles frozen krill/silversides, or live marmokrebs because they contain bacteria's and parasites that would cause disease for the turtle..

So, if this is the case, I would assume that it's not safe to feed to the fish because they could get said parasites/bacteria..

My thinking is that freezing any foods will kill the bacteria/parasites.. I mean, that's why I freeze the clams/mussels I get for my puffer.

And marmokrebs are in an aquarium alone by themselves.. so I don't see what parasites they would be carrying.


Am I thinking this correctly? Freezing will kill any living things on the food itself?

 

[Fat Homer]

^ I can't say for sure, but i always thought freezing foods to at around 1-2 weeks would kill most parasites?

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Not certain about parasites being killed by freezing, but it is likely. Perhaps their eggs could survive some freezing? Bacteria can survive freezing, at least that is how I recall it from some microbiology classes in the dim past. The freezing temperatures stop growth, but do not necessarily kill bacteria. Bacteria can enter a dormant state during very cold conditions and can revive very quickly when things warm up. I think this is why it is considered best to thaw frozen meat in a bowl in the fridge instead of on a counter top. (The bowl will catch the juices that drip from the meat as it thaws.)

 

[Piscine]

Parasites die after 24-48 hrs of freezing by most sources(other cite 7 days), and bacteria stops growing in freezing temps.

Turtles' digestive systems can handle the bacteria from raw meat. The human digestive system cannot do so well.

 

[Chromobotia]

My understanding is that, speaking for fish as I have no experience with turtles, parasites and disease can be trasferred via live foods. Parasites and disease cannot be trasfered via frozen foods.

 

[biguebs]

Turtles can eat just about anything, parasites are not a factor for them to the extent that they are for fish. (not to say they shouldn't be avoided)

I honestly doubt that there is ANY risk in feeding frozen krill/silversides. I have fed my turtles silversides on many occasions, no issues. In the wild, turtles will eat anything, including fish that are probably chock full of all kinds of organisms.

What is a marmokrebs? A crayfish? I wouldn't feed them that... just based on the claws.

I give my crew their staple reptomin every few days, and supplement that with shrimp (from grocery, cut into pieces) every now and again to mix it up. I also give them romaine lettuce pretty regularly... they love it and it helps keep their digestive system healthy without contributing to pyramiding or anything like that.

 

[RD.]

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.

 

[mshill90]

Turtles can eat just about anything, parasites are not a factor for them to the extent that they are for fish. (not to say they shouldn't be avoided)

I honestly doubt that there is ANY risk in feeding frozen krill/silversides. I have fed my turtles silversides on many occasions, no issues. In the wild, turtles will eat anything, including fish that are probably chock full of all kinds of organisms.

What is a marmokrebs? A crayfish? I wouldn't feed them that... just based on the claws.

I give my crew their staple reptomin every few days, and supplement that with shrimp (from grocery, cut into pieces) every now and again to mix it up. I also give them romaine lettuce pretty regularly... they love it and it helps keep their digestive system healthy without contributing to pyramiding or anything like that.

Marmokrebs are the self cloning crayfish.

I have DBT's, so vegetation is out of the question. They won't eat it, and it's typically not in their diet.

I am trying to make sure they have a whole diet.. they get reptomin, and a few other pellets, but I wanted to add more, and I was told those foods cause too much risk, that's why I was asking.

I don't think marmokrebs with their pinchers will cause a problem at all. These turtles live for eating anything and everything crunchy.

 

[jakeca77]

I would recommend this link for the PDF from the FDA regarding seafood safety. It talks about storage and freezing etc. If these are the standards for human food safety then they must surely be OK for your fish or turtles as well. Use the find feature in your web browser or adobe acrobat reader or whatever it is you may use. You can see page 92 specifically for info regarding parasites and the proper temp for freezing.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/G...ation/GuidanceDocuments/Seafood/UCM251970.pdf

Regarding bacteria, most will die from freezing temps for several days. There are some that can form endospores or cysts and survive. This can be prevented with quick freezing or flash freezing methods that usually cannot be done in a home environment but are used in many commercial applications. If you are feeding krill/silversides to your freshwater turtles then there is not much worry for bacterial infection because they come from a salt water environment. Most bacteria that live in a saltwater environments are salt loving and will not survive or adapt to a fresh water environment.