Feeding Silversides

mcozad829

mcozad829

Premium Member
OK I did a search for BTA and Silversides and found nothing more than casual mentions.

I was recently warned in another thread that feeding silversides is a bad idea for my RBTA. The search I conducted showed that a lot of people stated they were feeding silversides, a few mentioned a spoiled silverside killed their nem, but all seafood can spoil so you run the risk of a bad krill or shrimp also.

My question; Is feeding silversides a bad idea? Why? Was there a study done or something or is it just a topic with many different opinions?

Thanks Guys
 
The reason why more people are saying no to Silversides is because they're not safe for human consumption and therefore go under less and less requirements for safe transport and care, they could sit for weeks unthawed before finally being frozen and sold to unknowing buyers. At that point, they're filled with nasty bacteria and rot that could harm a nem with one bite, and the person feeding wouldn't know it, because frozen doesn't stink.

Atleast this is from what I've read repeatedly on this forum from more exprienced people. I myself choose Mysis and Plankton as frozen foods for my nem, when I do feed him myself, my clown feeds him brine shrimp and flake food.
 
Hello again--there are numerous posts in here over the yrs. about nems dying after being fed silversides (that were probly thawed then refrozen in store). Why chance it? I use frozen seafood medley from Publix; it gives them a good variety & never had any problems. Fish love it too.
 
what up swampy

So the real idea is... stay away from foods not intended for human consumption as they are not inspected rigorously and nems are sensitive eaters?

This includes the krill I've been feeding him along with the silversides. I thought people had an issue with silversides specifically and not just pet quality foods.
 
Ok I feel stupid...

I don't understand, if the issue is spoilage... why just silversides? One would think that all frozen fish foods go through a similar process as the silversides do.
 
Any frozen fish food can spoil, so I include krill as well, though there are far less accounts of them as suspects of killing nems. There's no need to feed a nem frozen foods when salmon, scallops, and other fresh fish are fine. Whenever we eat fish I cut off a small chunk for the nems -- it's usually on the small end that typically gets overcooked anyway.
 
Why do so many people feed silversides to their nems, in general? I wouldn't even imagine buying them since I don't own large predators. Just curious...
 
Sorry I wasn't clearer. Yes, all frozen foods can spoil from thawing then refreezing; but there are plenty accounts here of silversides being bad for nems, while I don't ever recall reading that krill was the culprit.
 
SDguy said:
Why do so many people feed silversides to their nems, in general? I wouldn't even imagine buying them since I don't own large predators. Just curious...
Click to expand...

Personally I have had a vacuum sealed flat pack left over from when I had my lion fish still about 3 months ago. I read many accounts of people feeding them and never really thought it an issue. Looking back I of course acknowledge that a lion fish is quite a bit more resilient than a nem.
 
For some reason it was just the most common suggestion over the years, and I think especially from way back when lighting was so weak and misunderstood(so many of us started w/ shop lights or plant grow lights) it was more important to be spot feeding since lights alone back then just didn't really cut it for corals and nems.
I fed silvers for many years, and scoffed at warnings, until it happened to me, and 3 LTA's all at once, so it was not just a random nem death, it was obvious.
Never again, scallops and raw shrimp from grocery store are all I ever do now.
 
D-Nak said:
Any frozen fish food can spoil, so I include krill as well, though there are far less accounts of them as suspects of killing nems. There's no need to feed a nem frozen foods when salmon, scallops, and other fresh fish are fine. Whenever we eat fish I cut off a small chunk for the nems -- it's usually on the small end that typically gets overcooked anyway.
Click to expand...

well I got a 2' red snapper in the freezer, that should last a while lol
 
davocean said:
For some reason it was just the most common suggestion over the years, and I think especially from way back when lighting was so weak and misunderstood(so many of us started w/ shop lights or plant grow lights) it was more important to be spot feeding since lights back then just didn't really cut it for corals and nems.
I fed silvers for many years, and scoffed at warnings, until it happened to me, and 3 LTA's all at once, so it was not just a random nem death, it was obvious.
Never again, scallops and raw shrimp from grocery store are all I ever do now.
Click to expand...

Your post from when it actually happened to you is what I found when I searched and made me inquire if it was specifically silversides or fish foods in general. So I have learned from your misfortune, Thanks Dave
 
mcozad829 said:
Your post from when it actually happened to you is what I found when I searched and made me inquire if it was specifically silversides or fish foods in general. So I have learned from your misfortune, Thanks Dave
Click to expand...

I have been a great teacher in many things using that method!lol
Oh well, we gotta post both good and bad in order to advance, right?
 
SDguy said:
Why do so many people feed silversides to their nems, in general? I wouldn't even imagine buying them since I don't own large predators. Just curious...
Click to expand...

I think the belief is that feeding a nem a whole fish -- guts and bones included -- provides the nem with more nutrients. However, I don't know if that's actually true, since the nems spit out the bones anyway. And, since nems don't need to eat in the first place, any food that they eat is supplemental to what the zooxanthellae provide. I see the risks as too great compared to the benefits.
 
This is my 2 cents worth on silversides and I have to mention I didn't read all of the posts previously on this thread but here goes: Silversides are actually hard for the nem to digest. There are other foods that are easier on the anemone's digestive system. When I had my anemone, I used to feed it thawed frozen squid and krill and mysis and brine shrimp. I don't think it has anything to do with if it is safe for human consumption or not because most human consumption foods have additives and preservatives in them that aren't necessarily good for marine fish and animals. If you feed a silverside, it should be ground up first and frankly, they are gross enough, who wants to bother to grind them too. You should always feed quality foods. By the way, my anemone got too big for my tank and I had to get rid of him :( But not because of lack of nutrition.
 
PS: If the animal has a mouth, the animal has a mouth for a reason so I do believe that if the animal has a mouth, and a digestive system, it needs to eat.

:)
 
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