should arowana be fed mice
- Thread starter Isaiahm
- Start date
I have no dog in how good or bad fats are for fish, but I'll just point out that beefheart is a very lean protein which can easily have the fat cut away. That's how it's given to discus.
The vast majority of our pets are over fed so their poo contains a lot of undigested food. Pet fish especially. So it's not surprising their poo gets eaten. Many scavenger/ catfish rely on this.
If i had a predatory fish i would probably feed it gut loaded earthworms, not mice
They are cheap and its easy to start a earthworm farm
They are cheap and its easy to start a earthworm farm
The notion came from men of science, that determined long ago that mammal meat, and lipids, were not digested well by most of the commercial finfish they were feeding them to. As far as cost, some of those fats are now far less costly than oil from fish, cost is not a factor. In fact, typically commercial aquaculture has always taken the least costly path when designing food formulas. Plenty of lower cost, lower grade ingredients were used in the past .
(PDF) Review: Use of Animal Fats in Aquaculture Feeds (researchgate.net)
"Rendered animal fats are economical lipid sources that have been used in fish feeds for decades but their use
has been greatly limited for various reasons, such as poor digestibility and nutritive value,
and more recently, fear of disease transmission."
That was a paper written by a very well known aquatic feed researcher here in Canada, 20 yrs ago. There's plenty more where that came from - google is your friend for those interested.
From a previous post of mine here on MFK on this subject .......
Dr. Peter Burgess MSc, Ph.D.,of the Aquarium Advisory Service in England, is not only an experienced aquarium hobbyist, but also a scientist that specializes in the health & disease in fish. He has written over 300 articles and five books on fish health and is a visiting lecturer in Aquarium Sciences and Conservation at Plymouth University, where he works with the University of Plymouth training students in scientific research. Among his other positions, Dr. Burgess is a senior consultant to the Mars FishCare business and regularly runs fish health & husbandry courses for aquarists, fish scientists and vets. He's also a regular contributor & Fish Health consultant for the Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, as well as other magazines devoted to the fish keeping hobby.
Below is an excerpt from the Practical Fishkeeping Magazine and written by Dr. Burgess, titled;
Liver Damage and Red Meats
The routine of feeding beef heart and other red meats to Cichlids can ultimately give rise to health problems. Poultry meat is also suspect. Red meats, including lean meats such as beef heart, contain the wrong sorts of fats - these harden within the cold-blooded fish, leading to blockages and fatty deposits around the liver.
Also, the relative proportions of amino acids within the mammalian proteins are different to those required by fish. Hence, feeding red meats will cause the cichlid to excrete more nitrogenous (ammonia) wastes, thereby placing an extra burden on the biological filter."
The OP should have enough information to make an informed decision on how best to proceed.
Good luck
The fact that those aquaculture products use animal fat, or any other product, means...what, exactly? They are formulating a product at the cheapest cost possible, designed to produce the maximum possible growth rate in fish destined for the chopping block in the shortest possible time. How does that correlate to our aquarium fish, which...opposing opinions notwithstanding...we are attempting to keep healthy for as long as possible?
"Live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse" is a slogan off a T-shirt. I don't think that many keepers of animals...outside of this thread, at least...us it as a mantra.
"Live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse" is a slogan off a T-shirt. I don't think that many keepers of animals...outside of this thread, at least...us it as a mantra.
I don't think there is dispute that lipids are poorly digested but many many research articles get published without peer review, small sample sizes or contradictory results to others. That's the nature of science.
In the real world, by production percentage, most fish farms are in developing countries, make their own food (even I have my own food mill) and do incorporate whatever material is available. While lipids may not be ideal, the meat - blood - bone protein that goes with it is. Preservatives especially become critical as it is very easy to wipe out entire fish stock with badly kept food.
In the civilised world where we can buy processed dry food easily, too much of a good thing is detrimental so the use of fillers and other "crap" to offset the concentrated nature of dry food is actually beneficial.
One of my fish grabbed a wild lorikeet ( bird ) that flew in for a bath this morning. Ate the feathers too! I'll have to screen off the doors when open.
In the real world, by production percentage, most fish farms are in developing countries, make their own food (even I have my own food mill) and do incorporate whatever material is available. While lipids may not be ideal, the meat - blood - bone protein that goes with it is. Preservatives especially become critical as it is very easy to wipe out entire fish stock with badly kept food.
In the civilised world where we can buy processed dry food easily, too much of a good thing is detrimental so the use of fillers and other "crap" to offset the concentrated nature of dry food is actually beneficial.
One of my fish grabbed a wild lorikeet ( bird ) that flew in for a bath this morning. Ate the feathers too! I'll have to screen off the doors when open.
