Does fat equal health in fish?

[jsker]

I blame @jsker for my fat and happy fish :D His fish "smoothies" have greatly increased the girth of a couple of my fish. Or maybe they are just "big boned" as my mom used to say about me. LOL :eek::rolleyes:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/preparing-frozen-foods-for-my-fish-and-corals.300448/#post-3677350

:rolleyes:;Hilarious;Hilarious

 

[Abhishek]

I feed Nori, 1.5 10"X10" sheet in 3 clips for my fishes. about 1/3 cubic inch frozen Mysis with flake mixed with about 1/3 teaspoon flakes, mixture of Omega One flakes, in AM and my auto feeder feed pellets 4 times a day during the day. Otohime size C1. Sometime I feed them when I go home at night. The Nori are all consumed during the day.

I am contemplate of feeding the fish 8 times a day during the day. I got an additional feeder for this already and will start this soon. Of course I will decrease the amount each time, and will cut back on the Nori and the frozen and flakes in AM.

I see you have a high amounts of pellets and flakes fed everyday . Must be working great for
you as they are so healthy . However , I shall share again instances from my days of discus keeping .

Most discus will never realize that they are overfeeding and will continue to eat until they drop dead literally .

Tetrabits if you have ever heard of , used to be the go to food for many Asian and American breeders to get multiple feedings done in a day .
However , there are instances where tetra bits would swell and swell in the discus stomach
Causing bloating and constipation in the long run .
Hence , we would start feeding boiled peas and Epsom salt (either in food or in water column) to work as laxative and even go with days of no feeding .

Even now , I do a few things that are different and don’t expect anyone to follow but just my 2 cents apart from regular 3 times feeding of LRS and hikari mysis . Please remember that these might sound stupid and idiotic but these have worked for me and hence just sharing merely .

I randomly skip food for a day or 2 in a month for my fishes .

Once a week , all my tangs and wrasses get a little bit of boiled peas among their food .

White worms or sometimes fresh California black worms fed at least once a week or even blood worms .

No flakes or pellet foods in my main tank . It’s just my fear against bloating from discus days that keep me from not using them .

 

[sfin52]

No my fish was bitten in half. I think I got a shark in the tank. How

 

[Big G]

No my fish was bitten in half. I think I got a shark in the tank. How

Powerhead?

 

[sfin52]

Powerhead?

Not sure. I highly doubt it. For that to happen power heads would have to be off and that didnt happen. I believe it was a fish. Puffer Cinnamon clown or pink spot watchman

 

[Big G]

Not sure. I highly doubt it. For that to happen power heads would have to be off and that didnt happen. I believe it was a fish. Puffer Cinnamon clown or pink spot watchman

Looks cut with a knife or very sharp teeth. I vote the puffer.

 

[sfin52]

Looks cut with a knife or very sharp teeth. I vote the puffer.

Well one of my fish is fat and healthy. Thats why I dont think it was a power head

 

[alton]

Fat and Happy or Skinny and Sad? I think we can all agree Stress kills more humans or fish than being pleasingly plump.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

 

[Lasse]

Most fish are programmed to eat then when food is available and that´s not always the case. Therefore, they can eat and eat and eat. Most fishes gut is like a tube – taking in in one end – taking out in the other – eat and poop is the general way of living. In nature – the average nutrient content in natural food are very low and when we start to feed them with high protein – high fat dry food – they eat like it was natural food but in reality, they get small bombs of nutrients. Most dry food contain between 5 – 7 times more nutrients compared with nearly almost natural food sources.

Fat is the primary energy source for fish – fat that is eaten but not used will be stored in different part of the fish. Protein that’s have been eaten will be building blocks in the body and exercises (swim a lot) works like bodybuilding. Surplus protein will be converted into fat and stored.

For me is the goal that my fishes shall look like they do in the wild and grow in the same rate. There is a myth that modern dry food for the aquaculture industry is designed for give healthy fish. It is not – it is designed into give the best growth rate until the fish is slaughtered. The fish lifespan is 1 to 2 years.

I feed only once a day, rather much at that moment but only once. I am only using frozen food, adult artemia and cyclops – no dry food. Do my fish spawn – yes. Are my fish fat – no. Are they starving – no

And there is differences between species to. Most tangs are vegeterians - they should have 100 % food from algae or eat the algae growing in the aquarium - not high protein dry food. Their guts are 5 - 9 time longer than many other fish.


Sincerely Lasse

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

No my fish was bitten in half. I think I got a shark in the tank. How

Jaws all over again.

 

[CherBear811]

Love a plump fish! I do try to feed quality nutrition though so whatever weight they have is derived from quality food. I also provide heavy flow channels for fish that want to swim a lot. If they are in the channels swimming all day and still plump, I'm a happy camper.:D

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Optimal weight(for humans) is actually between normal and overweight. Underweight and overweight have the exact same life expectancy and obesity has the worst, obviously...

Think of pellets as a McDonald's Big Mac and flakes as a Burger King Whopper. They are highly processed and dried and preserved to be able to last years in a can. In no way shape or form are they healthy. Just like dried dog or cat food, it's like feeding your furry pet happy meals every day for his entire life. They are ok when used sparingly, but aren't healthy at all. When fed healthy, whole food and not processed junk, the health of our pets and ourselves improves dramatically. I feed my fish LRS foods exclusively and supplement my herbivores with pure nori.

To answer the poll, I voted Yes, fat fish are healthy fish... but maybe take my translation of fat, as well fed but not obese.

 

[GoVols]

@eatbreakfast , @3Ford1AstonFamily... ;Wacky (jacked up user name), @HotRocks and #reefsquad

Is it myth or fact:

1) Fish grow the the tank size

2) If you have a larger fish in a smaller that recommended tank size...
It will grow smaller, but it's organs will keep growing and shorten the fishes lifespan

:)

 

[Brew12]

1) Fish grow the the tank size

Myth - Fish will grow to a size based on many factors, tank size is only one of them. I feel people are often confused when they see that a fish has a maximum length of 10". That doesn't mean that every fish of that type will grow to 10" in the right conditions. It means that it has the potential to grow to that size. Even in the wild it may have an average length of 7".

2) If you have a larger fish in a smaller that recommended tank size...
It will grow smaller, but it's organs will keep growing and shorten the fishes lifespan

I've never heard this one but I have to think its a myth.... juts a feel on that though.

 

[MikeAndrews]

I always aim for chubby fish! Chubby fish are healthy fish and have more vitality in case they do ever get sick or go off their food for a bit. Thin fish worry me in an aquarium environment lol

I never had a chubby fish go on a hunger strike and fade away!

 

[Dan Watson]

“I am torpedo. Feed me!”. I mean overfeeding can kill. It
can also produce a monster specimen. Large healthy fish are as common as slim, near emaciated fish in a natural, healthy system. It’s a dog eat dog world afterall, isnt it? But too thicc can be scary. Ive seen a lot of dead fish, reptiles, insects, and even mammals (including humans) that ate themselves to death. Is it healthy? Clearly a no. Is it incorrect to replicating a reef system? (unheathy or not) Also no.
More importantly lets ask how to produce the best, healthiest system at lowest cost possible. Overfeeding is never cost effective nor heathly for a system. Nor is it natural in almost every case.
All in all, pick your battles wisely. Maybe u have an ******* damsel who hogs food and deserves a swift fat death, or maybe you have a bully gem tang you care about. Maybe your struggling to feed a dying reef member (most often the case). You need to decide what is best yourself and note your observations, and hopefully publish them
with ellaborate details. I just hope the best for all of you curious about this subject as its been one of conflict for me.

 

[RobW]

Farmed fish are not unhealthy and I totally disagree with what you're saying about eating wild vs farmed. Yes wild can be more enjoyable to catch and cook but they also have far less access to food than those at fish farms, hence why they have a lower fat content, not because the diet is bad or they're unhealthy.

I tend to disagree with some of that... have you seen the way they farm some of these fish? Take tilapia for instance... the worst fish you could possibly eat. So bad for you and they feed them chicken feces! Gross! I much prefer a wild caught fish for dinner over anything farm raised.

 

[saltyhog]

I gotta disagree that fat fish are uncommon in nature. I rarely see skinny fish but I see lots of fat (my wife prefers the term "fluffy") fish. This video was taken from dives on 3 days picked randomly. and are pretty indicative of what I see when diving. Species include mainly tangs and parrot fish who are the most common fatties. There is one plump Rock Beauty angel.

 

[OrionN]

I gotta disagree that fat fish are uncommon in nature. I rarely see skinny fish but I see lots of fat (my wife prefers the term "fluffy") fish. This video was taken from dives on 3 days picked randomly. and are pretty indicative of what I see when diving. Species include mainly tangs and parrot fish who are the most common fatties. There is one plump Rock Beauty angel.

The fishes in this video are plump, and healthy I am sure.