Cyprinidae, Goldfish, and Thiaminase
Thiaminase (There are 2 types, Type I & Type II) is an enzyme.
Enzymes are biological catalysts made of proteins.
A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being consumed by that reaction. It makes reactions happen faster. Like if a log rots over 5 years, and you somehow catalyze all the chemical reactions involved & make it rot in 5 minutes.
Our bodies require enzymes to speed some of the chemical reactions required in our metabolism.
Thiaminase destroys Thiamine (Vitamin B1). Rendering it into two molecular parts.
Regular intake of substantial amounts of food containing thiaminase could introduce enough thiaminase into the gut to break down the thiamine in food & render an animal thiamine-deficient.
Some fish contain thiaminase (Type I, not II) and some do not.
Fish that contain Thiaminase:
All members if the family
Cyprinidae
White Bass – Morone chrysops
Bowfin – Amia calva
Bream – Abramis brama (Not the U.S. fish; see this link).
Buffalofish – Ictiobus cyprinellus
Bullhead catfish – Ameiurus m. melas
Carp – Cyprinus carpio
Channel Catfish – Ictalurus punctatus
Fathead minnow – Pimephales promelas (the red rosy is a color morph of this fish!)
Garfish (Garpike)
Goldfish – Carassius auratus
Moray Eel – Gymnothorax ocellatus (since someone recently asked about keeping the brackish water species with turtles&hellip
Gizzard Shad – Dorosoma cepedianum
Spottail Shiner – Notropis hudsonius
Buckeye shiner – Notropis atherinoides
Central Stoneroller – Campostoma anomalum pullum
Common White Sucker – Catostomus commersoni
Lake Whitefish – Coregonus clupeiformis
Like other B complex vitamins, thiamine is considered an "anti-stress" vitamin because it may strengthen the immune system and improve the body's ability to withstand stressful conditions. It is named B1 because it was the first B vitamin discovered.
Thiamine is found in both plants and animals and plays a crucial role in certain metabolic reactions. For example, it is required for the body to form adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which every cell of the body uses for energy.
References:
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/vitamin-b1-000333.htm
www.OPEFE.com
www.piranha-fury.com
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/Thiaminase.htm