webtrawler84

hi again all.

This is something that ive been wondering about for a while. I live right opposite a beach (I live in Wales, UK), If you go down to the rock pools when the tide has gone out there are normally loads of little shrimp and muscles in the rock pools.

Would these live shrimp be safe to feed my fish?

thanks in advance for any help

mark

thorpbrian

I'd say no because of the risk of parasites and toxins.

btate617

I used to fed very small crawdads from the creeks when I lived in Ky to some of my bigger fish. The problem is introducing disease to your tank, honestly I wouldn't do it.

Brian

Shawnie

if you catch them and prepare them as if you were going to eat them, (boiling) id say yes they will be fine...

btate617

good point

Slug

What kind of shrimp? The normal pink looking shrimp?

Actually raw is the best. Raw Shrimp and saltwater fish are becoming VERY popular in Discus food mixes now. Lots of success doing so. Really depends on the fish. Some can't handle lots of protein, some just don't like it. But yes, raw shrimp will be perfectly fine for your fish.

Us Discus keepers usually grind it up into a mix with other ingredients, never tried whole or chunked. Store the food as you would frozen bloodworms, in the freezer and thaw out just what you need to feed.

To prepare, de-shell them. If you want to chop the head, do so. Otherwise everything else is good.

Btw, shrimp is one of the best natural foods to enhance the red color in fish!! The other best fish to feed your fish are wild caught Pacific Salmon, Tuna, and Cod.

Nutter

The key to what you had to say/type there Slug is the frozen part. Freezing will kill of bacteria & parasites making it safe for you to feed your fish. So would cooking by boiling. Feeding them live or raw without freezing first is just asking for trouble. Take it from the mad keen fisherman that uses lots of shellfish for bait. Shrimp & prawns carry more nasties than almost anything else in the ocean & are one of the leading ways viruses are spread amongst wild fish populations.

thorpbrian

Yeah, raw would be best if he were buying these at a LFS or maybe a fish market. However, catching them out of the ocean would make me warry of parasites and toxins. Thus the reason I'd also recommend cooking them if your gonna use locally caught shrimp.

On a side note I'd also check local licensing laws before going and catching anything.

Slug

How is a fish market different from the ocean? Where do they get theirs from? Many people arn't understanding the reason not to cook. Cooking destroys many of the good nutrients in the fish or meat because of the heat. It breaks down enzymes and nutrients. Steaming/Boiling especially, most nutrients are left in the water and not in the meat.

Store it frozen and you should not have a problem with any parasites or nasties. Whatever kind of seafood you feed, make it raw from the ocean. FW species lake the nutrients like the SW species.

Would i feed my fish only shrimp? No of course not, a varied diet is best, but Shrimp is a great addition IMO. Never once have I seen anything go wrong feeding raw shrimp. Seen fish that didn't like them, but never a fish that died from eating them. FOOD for thought (), what do your major aquariums feed? Raw fish/shrimp. You're fish cooking dinner in the wild? Raw fish/shrimp.

Am i saying you can't feed it cooked? No, not at all. But you are better off feeding it raw. Salmon, Tuna, Cod, Shrimp, Scallops, Clams...they're all good for fish. Be sure to still feed your flakes/pellets too!

I personally think we as fish keepers, and especially around here are way to quick to boil something to "disinfect" it. Just my opinion of course as I have never boiled ANYTHING in my 10+ years in the hobby that went into my fish tank. Wood, decorations, or food.

Nutter

Don't worry Slug, I understood where you were coming from the first time you posted about the shrimp & I happen to agree with you. That is why I made the point of the frozen part. That kills off any bad stuff just as effectivley as boiling. It's raw, uncooked or unfrozen stuff that you need to be wary of.

Sorry if you misunderstood where I was coming from. Perhaps I should have made myself clearer on the matter.