Meat for fish

You hit the nail on the head sumthin fishy. It's got to do with the melting temperature of warmblooded fat (melts at a higher temp because we keep our bodies at a higher temp) compared to coldblooded fat. Beefheart is standard practice for discus, but i think it's a holdover from the days when good seafood was harder to come by. Fish also cannot assimilate warmblooded fat as easily, and end up storing it in their liver which causes problems down the road.

ps love the upgraded avatar cloud.
 
Makes sense.... SO, I guess no leftover turkey for the fish :D . I don't buy fish (to eat :D ) too often, but I'll remember my pet fish next time I do!!
 
mooman said:
You hit the nail on the head sumthin fishy. It's got to do with the melting temperature of warmblooded fat (melts at a higher temp because we keep our bodies at a higher temp) compared to coldblooded fat. Beefheart is standard practice for discus, but i think it's a holdover from the days when good seafood was harder to come by. Fish also cannot assimilate warmblooded fat as easily, and end up storing it in their liver which causes problems down the road.
What about piranha and other scavenger fish of that sort? They eat anything dead in the water and much of the time those are mammals. Perhaps they have a special biological function that allows them to digest terrestrial fats?

Inquiring minds wanna know
Roan
 
fish are exothermic, and so rely on their environment to heat them. their digestive process cannot withstand continual intake of saturated fats. In their natural environments, most fish will encounter little saturated fats(or at worst a varied diet containing different fats), and so have no problem.

When a fish eats flesh, it is doing so because of the need for protein, usually for growth, but also for locomotion in some carnivores.

detrivores have the same inability to process saturated fats, but would likley be less of a target for carnivores.

As for piranha's - thats a good question... they would obviously eat whatever their prey has eaten...hmmmmm
 
I'm sure different environments/diets have led to a variety of physiological adaptations for different species of fish, but for most: "No mammalian protein" is the rule and not the exception. For the record, the study that my information is based on was performed on farmraised salmon that were fed diets that either did, or did not contain mammalian protiens. Those that did had a shorter lifespan, and a higher chance of developing liver disease.
 
out of interest mooman, did the study you read say anything about omega 3 oil levels in the feed? If so epa & dha levels? id be interested it to read if you have it... im convinced they complement and accelerate fry growth...
 
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Roan Art said:
My otos, kuhlies, clowns, and corycats love zucchini the most. My neon tetras and glo-lites love yams the best.

Roan

Hmm...interesting.
 
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