Are human grade raw clams, oysters, mussels, etc parasite free?

[LAReefer4Life]

Was curious on the topic of fresh clams, oysters, etc. from a market deli, is it possible for them to carry unwanted parasites??? possibly @Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 or some of the #fishmedic team would chime in.

 

[BaliReefBox]

I would guess anything is possible but imo very unlikely

 

[Dooly]

Bought a couple lbs of live New Zealand mussels and a good number of them had a large parasitic pea crab living inside them. You know the seaweed “beard” you pull out before eating them? The beard was the crabs legs and when I pulled it out… well.. let’s just say I don’t eat mussel anymore

 

[Lowell Lemon]

In a word yes. But fish seem to,thrive on such foods.

 

[LAReefer4Life]

Bump

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Bump

Sorry - just seeing this. That is a pretty broad question. If by "parasite" you mean flukes and protozoans that typically infect reef fish in aquariums, then the answer is not that I know of. If you mean bacteria, then yes...that's why they have that warning about not eating uncooked seafood. However, the bacteria involved are pretty common in marine aquariums, so I don't take that as a major concern...but it is for humans. At a conference once, a group of 20 aquarium curators went out to a seafood restaurant in Virginia Beach. The other 19 were aghast when I ordered oysters on the half shell (grin).

Jay

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Human grade oysters are highly nutritious and probably safer than the frozen ones from fish stores or other sources

 

[NMU1963]

Was curious on the topic of fresh clams, oysters, etc. from a market deli, is it possible for them to carry unwanted parasites??? possibly @Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081 or some of the #fishmedic team would chime in.

For my grouper and eel I’ve always bought frozen shrimp and silversides and have never had an issue. Fresh may be fine but no guarantees

 

[dhnguyen]

I would assume that as long as you rinse well before feeding there shouldn't be any problem. I also personally think that food grade seafood for human are most likely much safer than whatever they used for frozen fish food.


All that said I tend not to feed shellfish much since they are filter feeders and can introduce a lot of unneeded nutrients into the tank.