Can/will fish detrimentally over-eat?

[elegance coral]

I like the way he started out his response.

"Boy your fish is incredibly healthy and surely is plump and sturdy.

Sounds like a good description of your fish to me. At least judging by the two pic's I've seen.

Is your fish active?
Does it have good color?
Does it seem stressed out at all?

I would much rather see a fish that arguably may be a little on the heavy side, than to see the opposite. IMHO, 99% of the fish ailments in this hobby stem from malnutrition. Not obesity.

 

[SDguy]

Areed on all fronts. I'm just a bit of a worrywart about my butterflies

The fish in question has been in my care coming up on two years, and is very healthy, active, and surprisingly large. He's even taking on what Kevin refers to as adult form... less round, more elongated anal and dorsal fins...

Compared to when I first got him:

 

[elegance coral]

Areed on all fronts. I'm just a bit of a worrywart about my butterflies

:lol: As it should be my friend. :lol: :thumbsup:

The fish in question has been in my care coming up on two years, and is very healthy, active, and surprisingly large. He's even taking on what Kevin refers to as adult form... less round, more elongated anal and dorsal fins...

An accomplishment you should be proud of. Not everyone gets to watch their butterflies grow and mature while in their care. You must be doing something right by this fish.

Compared to when I first got him:

IMHO, He, and your other fish look beautiful and healthy. Much better than fish I see in many other tanks, or LFS's. I see lots of tanks where the owners should be concerned about the health of their fish. I've seen quite a few pic's of your fish too. I've seen no cause for alarm in any of your fish. They all look very healthy to me.

Peace
EC

 

[aquaph8]

Thanks for posting that Peter. I like my fish on the fat side but there's always that one fish that takes it too far and goes blimp on me, LOL. There's a gone line between feeding the harder to feed fish and the ones that race to every piece that enters the tank.

 

[jazzman7838]

Good advice from Kevin.

Obesity and fatty liver are pretty prevalent in fishes that have been in captivity for a long time. I would estimate that, absent obvious causes like parasites, tankmate aggression, and poor water quality, it is the #1 killer of fish that have been in captivity over a year.

FWIW squid and shrimp are both good low fat options that should be mixed into a well balanced diet for omni/carnivorous fish. Piscine mysis, cyclop-eeze, and blackworms are all good to get fish eating but classic "junk food" for fish that are very high in fat.

 

[SDguy]

FWIW squid and shrimp are both good low fat options that should be mixed into a well balanced diet for omni/carnivorous fish.

Do you have references? I've heard the opposite about squid.

 

[jazzman7838]

Do you have references? I've heard the opposite about squid.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/4197/2

It's high in cholesterol though.

Clam is another good food. Low in fat and cholesterol.

 

[SDguy]

Interesting. I have no clue how that applies to fish though. I'll have to look it up later but I recall a thread specifically talking about a watchman goby with fatty liver disease due to over feeding of squid.

 

[SDguy]

This was the incident I was referring to:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17695591&postcount=140

For the life of me I can't find his original post though...

 

[jazzman7838]

I'd be curious to know how they determined that squid was the cause of the problem--was the fish only fed squid?

 

[SDguy]

I'd be curious to know how they determined that squid was the cause of the problem--was the fish only fed squid?

As someone with many fish that are, or are coming up on, many years old, this is why I find these topics, and contradictions, interesting, and of value.