Spinach Poisoning? O_O

[pupumole]

Need some loach experts here x_x

recently, my parents fed their 14 clown loachs ranging from 3-9" with a homemade gelatin thingy from an online recipe

it includes
fish meat
v8 juice
shrimp
garlic
banana
gelatin
spinach

the difference is... on the recipe it says "frozen spinach" and my parents , being asian , just bought fresh asian spinach from the asian market ._.

they all ate em happily...
BUT 2 out of the 14 , their heads have unhealthy looking black pattern as if like a bruise sort of thing .... there r no other fish in the tank that could harm em like that... so .. .could it be the spinach????

any advice r appreciated

 

[Lupin]

Do you have pictures of the black "patterns"? If these are black spots, those are nothing to worry about. I doubt spinach is the cause. It can be used as part of the gel food recipe. You just cannot blanch it and give it to the fish directly as it tends to get messy whereas gel foods minimize the pollution.

And garlic is quite gross when you add it to gel.

 

[pupumole]

hmmm its less dark today, cuz my parents didnt feed em that gel thing today.. but u can still see theres that awkward dark shade on his head

 

[Lupin]

Does the fish still eat and swim well? One thing to consider in your scenario is only two of your 14 loaches exhibited that unusual coloration. Spinach isn't the cause if it was freshly bought. If it was contaminated with pesticides as most Asian farms do, then your fish would exhibit abnormal health issues by this time.

Which gelatin specifically did they use? What fish meat did they use? Mackerel, tuna, smelts? When were the shrimps bought?

On the v8 juice, I just looked this up.

The original V8 is made mainly from tomatoes and the juices from seven additional vegetables, specifically: beets, celery, carrots, lettuce, parsley, watercress, and spinach. Tomato juice composes around 87% of the total drink.

I wonder why your parents would add fresh spinach if the juice itself has it. If that indeed has plenty of tomato juice, it may be the probable cause but I cannot find other references covering possible side effects of excess tomato intake.

 

[pupumole]

they are eating and swimming well o.o

gelatin was i think "Jell-O"
fish was tilapia
shrimp was fresh bought couple days ago...
and we were thinking that spinach will add more fiber to their diet, that would be healthier

 

[TwistedPenguin]

My Clown Loaches do get that dark 'shading' on their heads at times. Like when they're squabbling over food or one of the hiding spots. Keep an eye on him and I bet he lightens up and then darkens again according to his mood. It may be that you just never noticed it before .

 

[Mr Pleco]

Hmmm? Interesting thread, I hope the spinach was washed well?
Google results below...

The three pesticides found most often on spinach are Permethrin Total, DDT, and Dimethoate.
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/DS.jsp?sk=13024