Feeding fish fresh meat

Not sure if this is the right spot to post this but I couldn't find a section on food or feeding

I have a tandanis catfish he used to be in a tank on his own and I used to feed him chopped up beef heart because that is what is recommended but now I have moved him into my 350 litre community tank

I have silver dollars, angels & clown loaches in this tank as well

My question is can I put fresh meat in this tank, I know my tandanis loves it but I am wondering if raw beef heart can be harmful to the other fish

Has anyone fed raw meat to their fish?

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I'm kind of interested in this because my bottom feeders are carnivorous (well the bumblebee is, and cories kind of are) but I feed them sinking shrimp pellets.

 

I wouldn't expect it cause any issues. The fish that enjoy meatier foods will eat it and those that don't will likely ignore it.

 

I'm kind of interested in this because my bottom feeders are carnivorous (well the bumblebee is, and cories kind of are) but I feed them sinking shrimp pellets.

Don't feed beef heart to the corys it's too high protein for them, they develop fatty lumps & obesity & it can shorten their lives.

 

Don't feed beef heart to the corys it's too high protein for them, they develop fatty lumps & obesity & it can shorten their lives.

As with most foods I suppose that would depend on how often it is being fed to them. As part of a varied diet or as an occasional treat it shouldn't have any negative effects.

 

Some of the pet stores sell that in the same freezer section that they have frozen blood worms, and brine shrimp and other goodies for fish. Alison

 

EricV that's kind of what I was thinking/hoping because I have this pellet food that I tried to feed them & they took it in their mouths but spat it out again as they didn't like it so I was hoping it would be the same with the meat, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't toxic to the others,

I also have an asian bumblebee I never thought that he might like meat as well kidster9700 is that what you meant by ''the bumblebee'' do you have one of these fish as well?
Coradee isn't it funny corys sound just like us, feed us to much protein & we develop fatty lumps as well..lol

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My fish were fine with raw meat. I fed my Oscar and other carnivores kitchen scraps alongside live earth worms and pellets. Variation is key.

 

shusband so you fed them other meat? Were they raw or cooked?
aliray I never knew that, I got mine from the butcher, he said I was the only person in town that bought it, he laughed when I told him what I did with it, he thought I was eating it

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EricV that's kind of what I was thinking/hoping because I have this pellet food that I tried to feed them & they took it in their mouths but spat it out again as they didn't like it so I was hoping it would be the same with the meat, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't toxic to the others,

I also have an asian bumblebee I never thought that he might like meat as well kidster9700 is that what you meant by ''the bumblebee'' do you have one of these fish as well?
Coradee isn't it funny corys sound just like us, feed us to much protein & we develop fatty lumps as well..lol

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Yeah, Asian bumblebee are carnivorous. Mine is about 4" long and eats two shrimp pellets whole. I was thinking a small bit of beef might be yummy for him, but I also give my fishies frozen bloodworms once a week so he's probably okay.
Interestingly, my mystery snails love dead shrimp... When I had that infection in my tank and my shrimp were dying I left them in because it only took the snails about two days to eat them. I also found my big snail on a dead Cory this morning (which was very sad)

 

Sorry to hear about your cory.

 

Sorry to hear about your cory.

Thanks. But he hadn't been looking good. His fins either had fun rot or someone was picking on him.
But back to the point, raw meat!

 

I have collected mosquito larvae from my rain barrels, dosed them in hot water and fed them to my fish - they love them.

Not quite the red meat you're talking about, but "meat".

 

I have collected mosquito larvae from my rain barrels, dosed them in hot water and fed them to my fish - they love them.

Not quite the red meat you're talking about, but "meat".

I would be skeptical about feeding mosquito larvae, or any fresh meat for that matter, due to potential parasites...

 

Thus the boiling hot water on them first.

 

Wouldn't that cook it?

 

Dipping them in hot water won't necessarily kill the parasites. Lots of parasites are pretty hardy. How long are you leaving them in the boiling water?

 

TexasDomer not very long - I may rethink this treat.
kidster9700 you are right - I guess I'm feeding them cooked meat!

 

Right, so mosquito larvae may not be the best treat for the fishies

 

You might want to stay away from that then. It's unlikely that the fish would get a nematode, cestode, or trematode from the beef heart (due to host specificity requirements), but a bacterial (maybe viral? I don't know much about those) infection is possible. You might be safest buying the frozen, packaged beef heart from the pet store. Or just feed brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, bloodworms, or fry to the carnivorous fish!

EDIT: No one has brought this up yet, but stay away from wild-caught pond snails. Snails are often intermediate hosts to trematodes, which then infect many species of fish. So don't add snails that you caught outside to your tanks!

 

You all know that bloodworms ARE mosquito larvae, right?

 

Actually, they're not. They are the larval form of a midge species.

Also, the blood worms I feed aren't wild-caught (frozen - so convenient!). Wild-caught food is what you really need to worry about in terms of introducing bacteria and parasites.

 

My bloodworms ingredients state "freeze dried mosquito larvae only".

 

If you set out a bucket with some water you can harvest the mosquito larvae from that with no need to cook them or anything crazy like that. If you use clean water the chance of any pathogens reaching your tank are almost non-existent and all fish appreciate live foods.

 

That's weird. They're not true bloodworms though.

 

No but they're easy to collect, free, and most importantly ALIVE. It's one of the most natural things you can feed your fish.

And as far as your fish are concerned live food > frozen food > prepared foods.

 

I actually have freeze dried bloodworms as part of my fishies daily diet. Along with the pellets and veggie wafers. And I have tetra tropical crisps because I like those better than flakes.
Then like I said treat day, that's ONLY the frozen bloodworms and I'm going to start adding a zucchinI slice to that.

 

EricV, I wouldn't be concerned about the water carrying the bacteria. I'd be more worried about the mosquitos passing bacteria or parasite to their offspring, which you then feed to your fish. I'm not sure how big of risk it is (it's probably low!), but it's still not something I want to chance. I feed my ABF live crickets (from the pet store, so a much lower risk of them carrying something than wild-caught ones).

I agree, live is better nutritionally, but I don't think I'll feed mine wild-caught live foods. We bring in fish from around the world, and by feeding live, wild caught foods from your area, you're possibly introducing them to something they, nor their ancestors, have ever encountered before. Gut microbiomes are a great example of this, but that's a whole other topic for another day!

 

Exactly what harmful bacteria or parasite do you think can be carried by mosquitos, transferred to mosquito eggs, be transferred to the larvae upon hatching, and then also survive being eaten by fish and then go on to infect them?

 

I don't study bacteria or parasites carried by mosquitoes, so my info is a little vague on specific diseases (though I might be able to find some papers if you're really interested!) I study helminths But there are parasites and bacteria that are passed from mosquitos to their offspring (successfully living through egg laying, hatching, and the various larval stages so that the offspring are infective) - for example, some viruses responsible for encephalitis can survive this. I'm not saying the fish are at a large risk for something from these mosquito larvae, I'm just saying that from a parasitological point of view, it's possible. And it doesn't have to be a virus, bacteria, or parasite whose definitive host is a fish. These can also cause disease in paratenic or accidental hosts.

 

I hear you TexasDomer and I've listened.

 

What about microwaving it to kill bacteria?

 

What about microwaving it to kill bacteria?

I think some bacteria can survive extreme temperatures.

 

I think some bacteria can survive extreme temperatures.

No, that's archaea that survives extreme environments.

 

Fish cannot digest mammalian flesh, or bird flesh for that matter. The fats used by mammals and birds, which are warm-blooded and much warmer than tropical, solidify at the lower temperatures of fish. They're deposited in and around the internal organs, especially the liver, and cause the gradual deterioration of this organ, eventually leading to liver failure. Discus owners have perpetuated the myth that it's a good fish food because it gives fast growth rates, but it shortens the life of the fish.

 

I hear you @TexasDomer and I've listened.

I don't mean to come across as doom and gloom and condescending. I'm definitely not saying what you're doing is wrong! I would probably feed my ABF live moths if I could ever catch them (I don't like bugs - parasites I have no issue with. Doesn't make sense, I know!). Just something to be aware of if an issue were to develop

 

This thread is going a bit far off topic, this is the Op's original question

Not sure if this is the right spot to post this but I couldn't find a section on food or feeding

I have a tandanis catfish he used to be in a tank on his own and I used to feed him chopped up beef heart because that is what is recommended but now I have moved him into my 350 litre community tank

I have silver dollars, angels & clown loaches in this tank as well

My question is can I put fresh meat in this tank, I know my tandanis loves it but I am wondering if raw beef heart can be harmful to the other fish

Has anyone fed raw meat to their fish?

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I like to mimic a pet's natural diet as much as possible without actually feeding a BARF diet. So with fish food, if I broke up salmon into very small pieces or even frozen shrimp that's been thawed may work.

 

I don't have any experience with feeding meats other than frozen bloodworms or beefheart from the pet store, but I am interested to hear what the answer or opinions for this are.

What about feeding dubia cockroaches? My brother has a bearded dragon so I may have access to these. Can fish be fed them?

 

A lot of fish eat insects. Our 4 cats supply my fish with endless moths, flies, butterflies, spiders..... they all go in the tank... Any insect should be fine if the fish can eat it.

Meats I feed are bloodworm, brine shrimp, large krill, 'prawns' (the little ones), cockles, white fish, worms, mealworms...

 

KarenLM I fed mosquito larvae to my fish for minths I have only stopped now as its winter here so there is no mosquitoes
I never thought they could be harmful I thought they would be natural, but like you I may have to rethink that choice
hampalong so the food you listed like prawns, white fish etc..
You feed this to them raw & chopped up?, do you just get worms from the garden? I will try the bug thing as well there is plenty of those around here but I will have to catch them myself as I don't have a cat maybe if I put one of those blue light bug zappers outside to get them

Thanks everyone for your help & opinions I will try the frozen beef heart from the pet store & also the bugs & other meaty foods that have been suggested here, it should provide my tandanis(Mr Cat) with a good varied diet without giving him too much of the one kind of food, thanks again.

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Over here our 'standard frozen small prawns', used for sandwiches and prawn cocktails etc, are actually a species of shrimp. True Prawns are not usually a good fish food as they contain thiaminase which blocks the uptake of thiamine (vitamin B). These 'prawns' come precooked, and just thawed and rinsed, then fed. The whitefish is just frozen bags of fillets- cod, haddock, pollack, whiting etc.

I'm comfortable feeding any bugs because there are no gardening chemicals used nearby. Earthworms are straight from the soil, the pink ones are best I think but they'll eat the ugly ones too. You can also culture Compost Worms in a wormery, feeding them on kitchen scraps...

 

@ While you're at the pet store picking up frozen beef heart, try frozen bloodworms, mysis shrimp, and brine shrimp too! My little cories love those.

 

Try fresh tilapia and shrimp too.

 

Mosquitos carry diseases for mammals, not fish. Other types of aquatic insects or larvae have a negligible probability of carrying fish diseases. They are a completely safe food, I've used it when I could get away with putting out a container for them to breed in (some people don't like my "breeding stock"). I culture these and Daphnia in the same containers at times, unintentionally.

The primary reason for not using meat from mammals is as was stated earlier, the fats are not digestible by the fish. Any seafood, chopped/blended into small enough bites, is good.

 

I have silver dollars as well and initially when I'd drop beef heart, blood worms or whatever they'd ignore it and I'd give them something else. Then all of a sudden they went after the pieces like wild animals. They love it now and will consistently try to compete with the bigger fish for food (with mixed results, haha). So I don't worry too much about it

 

Shouldn't be a problem. I have done so and it's not a big deal as long as they eat it all.

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