call me crazy...

travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
So there was recently a thread on dosing vitamin c, an I said I'll try something crazy- so I did.
I supplemented my fishes diet with a slice of grapefruit weighted down with a rock- and my tangs went crazy over it.
They loved it... and it may just be me but I swear I saw my purple tang's color get deeper and more beautiful after she took a couple of bites!
Even crazier, I did the same thing later in the day today with a strawberry and even though my fish liked it they like the grapefruit more.
pics later...
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelerjp98 http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402751
no, not so far.... but I will do tests and keep updating on how all the levels are... etc.
Persoanally, I would not give my fish anything they would not find in an ocean where they came from. I could understand dosing a tiny bit of C vitamin because the vitamin most likely is found in some kind of ocean plant or something.... but not a chunk of grapefruit.
This just my personal opinion....I'm not picking on you, but a chunk of grapefruit is too weird for me. Maybe someone with greater knowledge will chime in with some pros and cons of what your doing.
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
I used to feed goldfish oranges (when I manned the fish dept where I work) and they loved it. I would cut it into rings and they would just leave the rind. I'm not sure how I feel about this method in SW.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402774
Personally, I would not give my fish anything they would not find in an ocean where they came from. I could understand dosing a tiny bit of C vitamin because the vitamin most likely is found in some kind of ocean plant or something.... but not a chunk of grapefruit.
This just my personal opinion....I'm not picking on you, but a chunk of grapefruit is too weird for me. Maybe someone with greater knowledge will chime in with some pros and cons of what your doing.
I see your point there but I feel that I'm replacing that ocean plant that would have vitamin c in it, instead of just putting c in it directly.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Two potential problems off the top of my head. Digestion and acidity.
First, I have to geek out for a moment, algae is not a plant. Separated at the Kingdom level in scientific classification, algae is more different from plants, then humans are from most animals. The only true flowering plant that lives in the ocean are seagrasses, which generally don't inhabit the reefs our tangs are from. Point being tangs only natural consume algae, which has a far softer cell structure. Algae is 'mushy' compared to any plant (most of the time), which leads me to my first point. So when feeding terrestrial plants to marine fish, their relatively simple digestion systems, may or may not be able to handle the tougher cells of plants. One bit of advice would be to blanch any foods first. In a boiling pot of water, add the fruits/veggies for 3/4 minutes, then immediately add to a large bowl of freezing ice water. Add extra to the freezer for storage. Thaw and feed as you wish This will help to break down the cellular structure some.
The other point is acidity. Marine fish live in a environment with some natural relative hardness to it. I can't help but wonder if frequent feeding of acidic foods might potentially lead to health problems.
Again, these are just spit-balling ideas, nothing fact or even possibly incorrect statements. Just thoughts of potential concern.
 
C

cuccaro

Guest
Talk to my friend he's a marine biologists. He said feeding fruits twice a week would not do anything but need to stay away from high sugar fruited because the algae will feed off sugar like crazy
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuccaro http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402887
Talk to my friend he's a marine biologists. He said feeding fruits twice a week would not do anything but need to stay away from high sugar fruited because the algae will feed off sugar like crazy
I PERSONALLY wouldn't feed my fish grapefruit. A nice algae sheet will keep your tang healthy and happy. All fruit is sweet and a natural sugar....people who vodka dose can also use sugar instead. I think your playing with fire, but it's your tank.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by AquaKnight http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402879
Two potential problems off the top of my head. Digestion and acidity.
First, I have to geek out for a moment, algae is not a plant. Separated at the Kingdom level in scientific classification, algae is more different from plants, then humans are from most animals. The only true flowering plant that lives in the ocean are seagrasses, which generally don't inhabit the reefs our tangs are from. Point being tangs only natural consume algae, which has a far softer cell structure. Algae is 'mushy' compared to any plant (most of the time), which leads me to my first point. So when feeding terrestrial plants to marine fish, their relatively simple digestion systems, may or may not be able to handle the tougher cells of plants. One bit of advice would be to blanch any foods first. In a boiling pot of water, add the fruits/veggies for 3/4 minutes, then immediately add to a large bowl of freezing ice water. Add extra to the freezer for storage. Thaw and feed as you wish This will help to break down the cellular structure some.
The other point is acidity. Marine fish live in a environment with some natural relative hardness to it. I can't help but wonder if frequent feeding of acidic foods might potentially lead to health problems.
Again, these are just spit-balling ideas, nothing fact or even possibly incorrect statements. Just thoughts of potential concern.
I completely agree... I just plan on supplementing my tangs' diet with some citrus if I moniter them for the next few weeks and everything seems OK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402892
I PERSONALLY wouldn't feed my fish grapefruit. A nice algae sheet will keep your tang healthy and happy. All fruit is sweet and a natural sugar....people who vodka dose can also use sugar instead. I think your playing with fire, but it's your tank.
I'm not feeding my fish grapefruit. I'm supplementing their diet along with the regular algae sheets, etc.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelerjp98 http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402915
I completely agree... I just plan on supplementing my tangs' diet with some citrus if I moniter them for the next few weeks and everything seems OK.
I'm not feeding my fish grapefruit. I'm supplementing their diet along with the regular algae sheets, etc.
LOL...I didn't think you were just feeding them grapefruit....I was just saying I would PERSONALLY not give my fish any grapefruit. It's your tank and you can do what you want, I was not trying to be mean. Opinions are like armpits, everyone has a least two and most stink. Giving our opinions is what we do on this site. I meant no disrespect.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/387047/call-me-crazy#post_3402927
LOL...I didn't think you were just feeding them grapefruit....I was just saying I would PERSONALLY not give my fish any grapefruit. It's your tank and you can do what you want, I was not trying to be mean. Opinions are like armpits, everyone has a least two and most stink. Giving our opinions is what we do on this site. I meant no disrespect.
oh no... I COMPLETELY didn't take it that way!!! I really DO appreciate the comments!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top