Feeding Caribou Meat to Fish?

[stpower]

Just wondering if anyone has fed their fish wildgame, specifically Caribou meat. I fed mine some Christmas day, as a treat, and when I checked my tank this morning one of my Powder Blue Cichlids was dead. It was pure meat, no fat. Just about all my other fish ate it, and they all look fine. First fish lost in this tank.


60G tall, Filstar xP2, Biowheel 170, 2 powerheads, sand substrate, moderate planting, ph 7ish, 0 ammonia. Setup 10months.

2 Tinfoil Barbs 10"ea
2 Spanner T Barbs 3"ea

1 Jack Dempsey Cichlid 5"
1 Kenyii Cichlid 5"
2 Convict Cichlids 3"ea
1 Powder Blue Cichlids 3"

1 Bala Shark 6"
1 Red Tail Black Shark 3"

1 Pleco 10"
1 Zebra Loach 3"
2 Khuli Loaches 3"ea
2 Chinese Algae Eaters 7"ea

1 Banjo Catfish 3"
1 Rope Fish 14"
3 Pictus Catfish 3"ea

Thanks.

[vfrex]

I'm no expert, but is it possible that it was too high in protein for the powder blue.

[wetmanNY]

All mammal meat is marbled with fat. Even the "lean" meat. Mammal fat is saturated. At cold temperatures it goes waxy. Not nice for a cold-blooded critter. The lipids they need are all unsaturated.

Now caribou heart or caribou liver-- that's another story. All the fat surrounds the organs. None in a healthy heart or liver. That's why you feed beefheart, but not T-bones...

[stpower]

I have 2 moose and 2 caribou hearts home in the freezer. I will try that instead the next time I take some out for supper. You do feed it to them raw, right?

[Slimy]

I had a couple of Red Bellied Pacus, I experimented with White-Tail Deer meat. They loved it, so I made it a once a week or so treat. After a few months they developed a fungus and I lost one! Be very careful when introducing any "foreign" or "Wild Collected" substances. Parasites also concern me.

[jbcwilli]

Aside from the caribou, the cause of the trouble may just be the fact that the tank is overstocked. With that many large fish, regular changes of 30-40% of the water would be absolutely critical.

[RumpThumper33]

Oh well mine loves elephant and giraffe kidneys, but....nah just kidding, why are you feeding them caribou? Why can't you be normal like everyone else? Feed them beef heart or something. Caribou? Man, what were you smoking?

[jbcwilli]

Could be because there are a lot more caribou than cattle on Newfoundland.

[fishlips]

I know when I eat a lot of venison I get gout due to the over abundance of protein. Perhaps that fish ate more than the rest and couldn't process all that protein? It sure is cheap enough!

[wetmanNY]

stpower got two of them with the Explorer before he'd backed all the way down the driveway...