Affordable high protien food for catfish
- Thread starter bradharm18
- Start date
Ok. I just got a rtcxtsn hybrid last week and the LCD said they had been feeding them beefheart and freeze dried krill. I didn't give him any of that for 4 days and now he eats spectrum sinking pellets with no problem. I did some research and I found that the chicken liver bait u can buy from tackle shops are high in protein. I plan on trying out out tomorrow. I'll let u know how he likes it
CiChLiD cRaZy!!!
CiChLiD cRaZy!!!
There's nothing wrong with chicken liver and beef heart, but I have trouble finding the latter consistently. The other problem is chicken liver especially has flavor enhancers and salt added much of the time, so you kind of have to watch for that.
I've also fed venison to various fish. It's plenty low in fat. I was feeding it to my juvenile discus because I had so much on hand and they were doing fine. If they can eat it I'd have no doubt catfish would do fine.
If you have an asian market, try to find whole fish and filet yourself, or sometimes they have oddball small whole fish for human consumption like gouramis and eels and stuff, and it's still cheaper than fish food or prepackaged filets.
Last time I was at one I actually saw a whole fresh 2ft long clown knife for $2.99 a lb, and I was thinking "wow you guys coulda sold that alive for more" lol.
But yeah, anyway, they also tend to have whole or live tilapia cheap, and whole shrimp. And they also carry more organ meats like beef heart than standard grocery stores, and for a better price.
As far as regular fish foods, check into the bulk bins at some of the pet stores. The foods are usually decent quality and cheaper than prepackaged.
I've also fed venison to various fish. It's plenty low in fat. I was feeding it to my juvenile discus because I had so much on hand and they were doing fine. If they can eat it I'd have no doubt catfish would do fine.
If you have an asian market, try to find whole fish and filet yourself, or sometimes they have oddball small whole fish for human consumption like gouramis and eels and stuff, and it's still cheaper than fish food or prepackaged filets.
Last time I was at one I actually saw a whole fresh 2ft long clown knife for $2.99 a lb, and I was thinking "wow you guys coulda sold that alive for more" lol.
But yeah, anyway, they also tend to have whole or live tilapia cheap, and whole shrimp. And they also carry more organ meats like beef heart than standard grocery stores, and for a better price.
As far as regular fish foods, check into the bulk bins at some of the pet stores. The foods are usually decent quality and cheaper than prepackaged.
The following is a repost from a comment that I made here last year.
Fish aren't hard wired to assimilate the fatty acids found in beef, chicken, etc anymore than they are hard wired to assimilate large amounts of carbs. These excess lipids get stored in & around the organs, and eventually shorten the fishes lifespan. Can these foodstuffs offer amino acids, and solid growth, yes, no question about that, but that doesn't qualify them as being a good source of food for a fish.
Even a lot of the major discus keepers have moved away from beefheart over the past decade, for these exact reasons. It's a great food for breeders that simply want quick growth in their juvie fish (so they can take them to market quicker) but it is most certainly not an ideal long term diet. Lee Newman, Curator of Tropical Waters at the Vancouver Public Aquarium has spoken out against feeding beefheart many times, for the same reason as I do, it tends to lead to fatty degeneration of the liver.
Dr. Peter Burgess MSc, Ph.D.,of the Aquarium Advisory Service in England, is not only an experienced aquarium hobbyist, but also a scientist that specializes in the health & disease in fish. He has written over 300 articles and five books on fish health and is a visiting lecturer in Aquarium Sciences and Conservation at Plymouth University, where he works with the University of Plymouth training students in scientific research. Among his other positions, Dr. Burgess is a senior consultant to the Mars FishCare business and regularly runs fish health & husbandry courses for aquarists, fish scientists and vets. He's also a regular contributor & Fish Health consultant for the Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, as well as other magazines devoted to the fish keeping hobby.
Below is an excerpt from Practical Fishkeeping Magazine titled; Liver Damage and Red Meats, where Dr. Burgess spoke out against the use of mammal meat when feeding fish.
If someone can show me a long term feed trial performed by an accredited institution that involves feeding beefheart and/or chicken to catfish, with no negative health issues I'd be more than happy to change my position on the subject. The fact that some people feed this type of garbage to their fish, and the fish eat it, doesn't equate to there being "nothing wrong" with it.
Fish aren't hard wired to assimilate the fatty acids found in beef, chicken, etc anymore than they are hard wired to assimilate large amounts of carbs. These excess lipids get stored in & around the organs, and eventually shorten the fishes lifespan. Can these foodstuffs offer amino acids, and solid growth, yes, no question about that, but that doesn't qualify them as being a good source of food for a fish.
Even a lot of the major discus keepers have moved away from beefheart over the past decade, for these exact reasons. It's a great food for breeders that simply want quick growth in their juvie fish (so they can take them to market quicker) but it is most certainly not an ideal long term diet. Lee Newman, Curator of Tropical Waters at the Vancouver Public Aquarium has spoken out against feeding beefheart many times, for the same reason as I do, it tends to lead to fatty degeneration of the liver.
Dr. Peter Burgess MSc, Ph.D.,of the Aquarium Advisory Service in England, is not only an experienced aquarium hobbyist, but also a scientist that specializes in the health & disease in fish. He has written over 300 articles and five books on fish health and is a visiting lecturer in Aquarium Sciences and Conservation at Plymouth University, where he works with the University of Plymouth training students in scientific research. Among his other positions, Dr. Burgess is a senior consultant to the Mars FishCare business and regularly runs fish health & husbandry courses for aquarists, fish scientists and vets. He's also a regular contributor & Fish Health consultant for the Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, as well as other magazines devoted to the fish keeping hobby.
Below is an excerpt from Practical Fishkeeping Magazine titled; Liver Damage and Red Meats, where Dr. Burgess spoke out against the use of mammal meat when feeding fish.
If someone can show me a long term feed trial performed by an accredited institution that involves feeding beefheart and/or chicken to catfish, with no negative health issues I'd be more than happy to change my position on the subject. The fact that some people feed this type of garbage to their fish, and the fish eat it, doesn't equate to there being "nothing wrong" with it.
I hope you don't mind in the future if I use this, I will definitely give credit to the source and you. Very informative rd!
Thanks!
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http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?504763-Cheap-plants-less-nitrate!-POTHOS
*Go S. Vettel #1 rb8--4 MORE RACES LEFT! LET'S MAKE IT 4 BACK TO BACK WINS & 3 WDC!* :beer:
Local Asian Supermarket............Go to the frozen section and look at the shrimp..........Popcorn shrimp, 28-35 shrimp...............
Thanks RD. This echoes closely and lends strong support to what has been discussed in the link I posted - aquatic vs non-aquatic foods for fish. Sorry, I am again talking about that thread - its not an obcession, just turned out to be a closely related discussion.
National shops are a good idea. Also, I've found a local fish shop - a regular town fish shop run by Koreans in this case - that sells me 25 lbs of frozen whole marine fish they call "Spot" for $20. It is something hardly any human would eat under normal circumstances but my cats and Co love it.
National shops are a good idea. Also, I've found a local fish shop - a regular town fish shop run by Koreans in this case - that sells me 25 lbs of frozen whole marine fish they call "Spot" for $20. It is something hardly any human would eat under normal circumstances but my cats and Co love it.
