Deli Meat For Mr. Fishy?

[fishysmell]

Hey, I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on throwing deli meat (thin sliced ham, turkey, chicken, etc.) in as food. I rip it all up into flake food sized bits (.5 - 1 cm diameter or so) and throw it in. The fish love it and its a lot cheaper than live or frozen food. The rainbows and yoyos especially go crazy over it. Does anyone know if this is a good/bad idea and why. It doesn't seem to cause any problems but then again I started it only a couple days ago. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[420Loach]

well...my uncle used to feed his oscars mcdonalds hamburgers twice a week as treats(something about making good fertilizer for plants with the emulsion) and they would do flips when they saw him with the bag, they loved em, and it didnt seem to harm them, but im not sure how the turkey would affect them in the long run(it is healthier than a mcdonalds hamburger )

but hey...i think if a turkey died and fell in a stream everything would take a bite out of it!

 

[prhelp]

I think that nitrates and nitrites are used for preserving packaged deli meats -- not sure if you're using packaged, and not sure if they'd have equivalent effects of the nitrates/nitrites we all know and love -- I'm no chemist -- but just something to investigate. I'm glad they like it, though!

 

[fishysmell]

No this stuff is all purchased over the counter. I don't know if it is preserved like that before but you can watch 'em slice it up in the store. Packaged deli meat is nasty, I doubt the fish would even like it =).

 

[catfishmike]

prhelp has it right nitrites are used to help preserve deli meat.also beware that too much land based protien can have adverse affects on your fish.fish aren't able to digest these protiens like we can so instead they get fatty liver tissue ans d increased health problems.but on the flip side to all of this beefheart and turkey are offten used as fish food.do a little checking around on the web for homemade fish food to find ratios that are acceptable for your kind of fish.some fish do well with a high protien diet and others will suffer very quickly when fed high protien diets e.g. discus like high protien uarus don't like high protien.

 

[Antwan]

I would think that turkey would definitely not have the same nutritional value as the fish food or you will definitely have problems. Carnivores would love it though. I wouldn't worry about the nitrites and stuff if its deli sliced meats. Its only the little packaged sanwich meats that have high amounts of nitrates.

 

[fishysmell]

I'm not talking about feeding them deli meat everyday. I figured I'd throw some in about 2 or 3 times a week. Most of my fish eat it and seem to like it. The ones that go crazy over it are my redfin rainbows, cherry barbs, harlequin rasboras, white skirt tetras, white tip tetras, yoyo loaches, key hole cichlids, and bleeding heart tetras. So basically the majority of my fish seem to like it. I don't have any uarus so I don't have to worry about that. The rest of the fish take some nibbles at what they can get but all the hyped up ones usually get there first. The rasboras will even defend a piece they can't quite fit in their mouth from the rainbows...3 inch rainbows. If you still think I shouldn't do this tell me, but I figured I'd fill ya in =).

 

[catfishmike]

tha was just one example.i would only do this once week at most if not only once a month.if you want to feedyour fish like this i would just use beefheart and garlic ground into a thick paste.like i sad try checking out some homemade fish food recipes.as for h meat being lower i nitrites because it's deli and not packaged i would say no.if you have a way to find out use it.foods meant for human consumption often have many things fish would never eat.even if it seems harmless,use only organic foods when in doubt

 

[fishysmell]

Okay thanks for the help, I appreciate it.