Watermelon Anyone???

[Instant Tang]

No, not a wrasse- I'm wondering if anyone ever puts watermelon rinds into a fish tank? I clip organic romaine lettuce and zuchini for my tangs to eat- something so many people and LFS do...yet romaine lettuce is as foreign to the ocean as is watermelon I think.

I'm wondering if anyone supplements any "table scraps" into a tank for variety and to break the monotony of flake, pellet, mysis, nori, etc! I mean, if a watermelon DID make it into the ocean and broke apart on a reef, wouldn't the inhabitants eat it just like any opportunistic feeder would?

Cheers,

Robert

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

I never feed my fish terrestrial foods. See no reason for it, as you can getmarine foods, algaes, easily enough.

 

[Instant Tang]

Well, one could argue that, unless you keep an indigenous reef refugium for each species of fish, that ANY prepared fish food product isn't really very natural and is, in fact, some form of processed food- thereby making it "terrestrial" as it's not something that can be found in that fish's natural environment...

I might contend that the occasional piece of terrestrial flotsam that's made its way (naturally) into the reef environment and fed upon by the animals therein is just as, if not more, natural that processed flake, pellets, freeze dried, etc. etc....

Anyone see what I'm getting at?

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Nori or other seaweed is going to be much more natural of a food than a watermelon.

 

[Instant Tang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7614572#post7614572 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jeremy Blaze
Nori or other seaweed is going to be much more natural of a food than a watermelon.

hahahah! agreed. Your line cracked me up though for some reason.

 

[whiteshark]

Romaine lettuce has almost no nutritional value. It should not be a tangs main source of greens. As for the watermelon, I agree. There is no reason to add it to the tank...

 

[stykthyn]

they were just talking about this yesterday in the clownfish forum, I still dont agree with it.

 

[Manderin]

is that really a good idea??

 

[eskymick]

I think there are a lot of natural sugars in watermellon. Would that be the same as adding vodka or a tablespoon of sugar (like some do to control nitrates)?

As an aside, there is a long-time keeper of a very healthy Moorish Idol in this forum, who reports that one of his Idol's favorite foods is banana and/or banana mixed with plaster of paris. His Copperband Butterfly loves it, too. Go figure !!??

 

[whiteshark]

I love fast food burgers and fries, twinkies, candy bars, ect....

Doesn't mean its good for me.

 

[Instant Tang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7618473#post7618473 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stykthyn

they were just talking about this yesterday in the clownfish forum, I still dont agree with it.

Looks like the fish are enjoying it....what was the thread in the clownfish forum? I want to go read it!

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Something to think about- we should not get caught up on whats "natural" and what's not. Beer is a natural drink for humans (it's made specifically for human consumption), yet it is far from healthy- although I'm sure I'll get lots of arguments about that! On the other hand, milk is totally unnatural for humans (it's made to be consumed by baby cows), and we get benefits from it.
I am not advocating puting watermelon or romaine or any other greens you might find in your fridge in your fish tank, especially when a suitably proper diet exists, but I'm just saying we should be careful in discounted anything that is not "natural".

 

[SDguy]

I think there should definitely be a distinction between treat and staple food. I think lots of things are OK as a treat, but unnecessary, IMO. I saw the aquarium in Maui give their tangs a whole head of romaine lettuce. It was gone in a matter of minutes.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Something else to think about is why a public aquarium might put obvious food into a tank. As SDguy said, public aquariums will often put romaine by the crate in, because all the visitors will know it's supposed to be food, the fish will eat it, and people love seeing animals eat. Aquariums and zoos are attractions, and rely on people coming in, and liking what they see. As SDguy also said, I'm sure it is not the animal staple diet, only a treat when the tanks have the greatest attendance. How many typically people would see nori tied to something, and think, wow, the fish are gonna eat! They probably think its paper or slime, anything but food. So aquariums put in lettuce, spinach, broccoli, because everyone knows that it's food, and will flock to watch the fish eat. It is a great marketing ploy.
However, not many of us have huge attendance concerns for our aquariums. If this is the case, why not put noriin instead of romaine. Sure, a leaf now and then probably wont kill them (or even affect them in the slightest), but why not put something in that almost absolutely has a better beneficial property?

 

[Instant Tang]

I think it's about the word you said "treat"...I wasn't trying to suggest ever that anyone should abandon "naturally occuring (however unnaturally processed!)" fish foods as the predominant food put into our tanks- I was just wondering as i was walking by my tank the other day with a watermelon rind in hand, if my tangs would enjoy it as a treat..nothing to give them everyday, but something on a rare occasion to rock their little 72 gallon, fairly predictable (maybe even boring?) world.
All this talk of keeping things "natural" cracks me up a bit...it's pretty dang unnatural to put live animals that live in a boundless ocean (probably no where near each other!), into a limited glass box, blast it with artificial sunlight, maintain a totally constant thermal and chemical environment and drop in food that they would NEVER otherwise see in the real world.
And to any REAL fish out there reading in on your submersible internet fishcomputers, I say if a watermelon floats your way from a nearby storm debris center, crack that sucker open and enjoy it! Fish life is short...eat a treat/dessert when it comes your way.

 

[whiteshark]

Seems from that pic the fish enjoy the flesh of the melon as opposed to the rind. In that case, I would just consider it a waste of a good peice of watermelon! I don't see why you couldn't try it as a treat (as long is it has no effect on water quality). I would rather eat it, however... As long as these things are very occassional treats, I don't really have anything against it, I guess. I would worry about water quality above all else.