Pellets vs Purely Raw Feeding?

Hendre

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Shrimp should also not be fed too often since if I remember correctly they contain the same vitamin inhibiting compounds as goldfish but not as much. as a treat I think it works
 

Stalker_Loneriff

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FYI ....... anchovies are a very fatty fish, IMO they should only be fed sparingly, and not as the main staple, certainly not to warm water species such a bichirs.
thanks for this info.

does this mean there's no chance for a 'main diet' consisting of raw natural food? because its hard to feed tilapia with bones and guts and all.

and how are we sure that all these ingredients from fish food are good for our bichirs?
Fish Meal, Krill Meal, Starch, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Soybean Meal, Fish Oil, Wheat Flower, Dried Seaweed Meal, Spirulina, Dl-Methionine, L-Lysine, Astaxanthin, Canthaxanthin, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Stabilized Vitamin C), Inositol, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Oil, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Niacin, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source Of Vitamin K), Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin, Vitatmin B12 Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Cobalt Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Red 3 (Artificial Color).
there's a lot of them. isn't fish oil also from fish fat?

i did a quick search on ferrous sulfate and seems like its used to to treat iron deficiency anemia

Calcium iodate is used in the manufacture of disinfectants, antiseptics, and deodorants

Copper sulfate was used in the past as an emetic. It is now considered too toxic for this use.


Cobalt Sulfate - Cobalt is obtained from ores via the sulfate in many cases. Cobalt is essential for most higher forms of life, but more than a few milligrams each day is harmful. Rarely have poisonings resulted from cobalt compounds. Upon inhalation of salts, there is some evidence for carcinogenicity.



these are just from 5minute research and i only searched about few of the ingredients. there are many more chemicals/minerals in there that i dont think fish from the wild consume.

these chemicals/minerals are what turned me off from dog food as well and opted to purely whole prey model raw feeding instead.
 
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RD.

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Thiaminase is a non issue, if one feeds pellets a few times a week, or even presoaks their raw foods with a liquid vitamin that contains B1, a few times a week.

To the OP, your fish aren't in the wild, they are living in captivity, even a raw diet isn't closely mimicking their wild diet, and neither is living in a glass box.

A good quality pellet will not only contain a proper balance of amino acids, and fatty acids, but also all of the required vitamins a trace minerals, in a form that is hopefully bioavailable to the fish. Most commercial vitamin premixes make up less than 1% of the finished formula, so each individual mineral is in tiny minuscule amounts. In the State of California one can't sniff their own fart without a cancer warning label. If those trace minerals bother you in that particular food, then don't feed it to your fish. If you are looking for a negative (in anything) you will find it, including the silicone that is holding your glass box together.


There are other whole prey items one can feed, besides anchovies. Smelt comes to mind as one, off the top of my head. I don't believe they are nearly as fatty as anchovy, but one would have to check local sources as to what will work best.
 
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Stalker_Loneriff

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^thanks. i think i've seen smelt in our local fish market but it was also called dilis(local name, which is the same name for anchovies here)

besides anchovies, what other fatty fish should i watch out for?
 
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RD.

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I don't feed raw fish, so probably best if other members here assist you with that. Generally speaking, stay away from the small bony fish, as they also tend to be very high in fat content. This would be fine for a cold water species such as say sturgeon, but not warm water species that come from Africa. That excess fat will do FAR more harm to a fish over the long haul, than any of the trace minerals used in commercial vitamin premixes.

BTW - funny story I will add. Years ago I recall someone on a forum getting very concerned because on their bag of play sand there was a sticker stating that it could cause cancer, so they were warning others to immediately remove it from their tanks. What they didn't realize is that the sand was totally inert once it was under water, and that it was only a safety issue if one was inhaling the dust. :)
 
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predatorkeeper87

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I don't feed raw fish, so probably best if other members here assist you with that. Generally speaking, stay away from the small bony fish, as they also tend to be very high in fat content. This would be fine for a cold water species such as say sturgeon, but not warm water species that come from Africa. That excess fat will do FAR more harm to a fish over the long haul, than any of the trace minerals used in commercial vitamin premixes.

BTW - funny story I will add. Years ago I recall someone on a forum getting very concerned because on their bag of play sand there was a sticker stating that it could cause cancer, so they were warning others to immediately remove it from their tanks. What they didn't realize is that the sand was totally inert once it was under water, and that it was only a safety issue if one was inhaling the dust. :)
I still have people tell me silica sand is bad for aquatic life lol.
 

Woefulrelic

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At the very least if feeding raw I would supplement with a liquid presoak of Boyd Vitachem or similar, 3-4 times per week.
Any clue what the best way to go about this is? I've been cutting tilapia up into a cup and dumping some vitachem, giving it a good stir and feeding 5 minutes later. I'm just curious if marinating this stuff would have a big impact on vitamin absorption or otherwise.
 

RD.

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When I used Boyd's for presoaking raw food, I used to let it sit for an hour or so. I would have left longer, but unthawed frozen food really should be fed sooner rather than later. Also, the fish I was feeding (a puffer) would pretty much chomp the food back as soon as it hit the water.
 
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