What are fish solubles and fish meal?

[John D Hirsch MD]

The first critical step in healthy nutrition is reading and understand labels and product contents. If you see fish solubles and fish meal in the first five ingredients, it is a major component of the product.

Fish solubles are produced as a by-product of the fish canning and the fish oil production industries. Almost any fish can be used. The whole fish (menhaden, herring and other algae eating oily fish) or more likely discarded fish parts (from tuna, salmon, cod, squid, etc.) are partially cooked, and then placed into a hydraulic press. The liquid produced is centrifuged to remove the oil which contains the majority of the essential fatty acids including EPA and DHA, the principal Omega 3 fatty acids. These oils have many uses including Omega 3 supplements for us, but are also used in industrial production of paints and putty as an example.
This means the remaining water containing fraction devoid of many nutrients can then be condensed or dried to produce condensed fish solubles or dried fish solubles. What is left in the press is fishmeal.

The important fact is that fish solubles and fish meal based foods that you are purchasing lack many essential nutrients.

So are fish solubles and fish meal healthy foods for any of your pets?

On a personal note, this is one of many ingredients that you will find on everyday packages of aquarium foods. When you come across items on food package labels that you don?t understand or can't even pronounce, let? discuss it here. Plenty more to follow.
Doc

 

[b-ridge]

So what's your opinion on the larrys foods and the rods food

 

[Doctor Eco Systems]

I use both of them. Great products. A healthy diet is an all natural varied diet. They both provide an all natural varied diet. I do wish they would both produce a line of products without the supplements and additives. Are they really necessary and if so, how did Mother Nature do it without them. I am not a fan of terrestrial vegetable matter including carrots, peas, broccoli, etc. There is no reason to think that macro algae like green, red, and purple seaweed would meet the nutritional requirements of any omnivore in our hobby. I know they are ingested but wonder if they are digested and the nutrients absorbed or just added to the detritus in the tank. My personal experience with a wonderful black tang who I take to shows in video format lives happily on those macro algae and eggs.
Doc

 

[b-ridge]

It's something in there foods that trigger the response of fishes. Fish that won't eat. Finicky fish. Breeding fish. Etc
So I would assume you feed a varied diet? No person or fish for that matter wants to or does eat the same food multiple times a day. In the wild fish primarily eat the same thing but have different choices as to what. Like seaweed or macro algae for that matter

 

[John D Hirsch MD]

I feed an all natural wholesome varied diet 2 to 3 times a day. I never feed the same product twice. I use no supplements or additives as I believe that all natural foods including fish eggs are both necessary and sufficient for a healthy diet.

 

[skiwez]

What kind of fish eggs? The sushi variety? Is there something we need to look out for?

 

[John D Hirsch MD]

No I don't use sushi eggs. I use a higher grade egg. Skiwez as not to promote products, I will send you a pm.

Sushi eggs or masago are from Capelin. Capelin, Mallotus villosus, is a small forage fish of the smelt family found in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin also eat a great deal of krill and other crustaceans. Whales, seals, cod, squid, mackerel, beluga whales and seabirds all prey on capelin. Capelin roe generally has between 3 and 4% protein, moderate amounts of lipids including Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, and are packed with vitamins and minerals.

 

[skiwez]

Thanks for the info, appreciate it.