Frozen shrimp from seafood counter at grocery store Okay?

[FishyMel]

My eel loves the fresh shrimp on ice at the seafood counter in my grocery store. Is it okay to feed this to him and the other fish in the tank? I am worried that they may put sulfites or preservatives on the fresh food at the grocery store? Any opinions would be greatly appreiated. My eel likes the fresh shrimp better then petstore krill. TIA

 

[captivereefs]

As long as it is not the orange looking cocktail shrimp. The preservative they use is toxic to inverts and some fish. It may not happen right away but over time it is very bad for them!

 

[captivereefs]

Try scallops or oysters; they are very safe and are usually greedily eaten!

 

[steve-s]

Sodium tri-polyphosphate is a common preservative used in the retail seafood industry fresh, frozen or otherwise. Be sure you soak/rinse all food types in RO water before you use them.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Hara]

just a maybe silly comment, but my store puts the COOKED shrimp on ice. The raw fish is in the refrigerated pans but no ice in them. Make sure you are getting the raw shrimp.

 

[FishyMel]

In Louisiana, your shrimp are truly fresh since you have the biggest shrimp industry in the nation! So..they aren't put on ice. Everywhere else, even the fresh shrimp are on ice because they have to travel. Thanks for thinking of me though.

Steve, thanks for naming the chemical used as a preservative. I knew there was something they use. I'm not sure the people behind the counter even know when the stuff is treated. Does washing the seafood really make enough of a difference or should I stick with pet store stuff which is much pricier?? I'd have to kill any of my fish.

 

[steve-s]

Does washing the seafood really make enough of a difference or should I stick with pet store stuff which is much pricier?

Soaking in RO and then discarding the water before feeding does actually help. It won't remove all of it but will dilute it a great deal. Tri poly isn't going to hurt any of the animals either, it's moreso a fuel for unwanted algaes.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Nitrate]

I've been using grocery store shrimp and scallops for about 3 years with no ill effects that I'm aware of.

 

[lefthan]

You may also want to feed it Ghost Shrimp wich will be fine for him/her to eat.

 

[swiftwing7]

what about taking live shrimp and freezing them. Sometimes i have shrimp leftover from fishing, would tehy eb okay to feed. I would freeze them for a few days to kill germs before i put them in the tank. Would these be harmful?

 

[steve-s]

If they where a SW species it would be fine. A more humane way of doing this would be in a pail/bucket or ice water before freezing. AFAIK, most germs and bacteria do not die when frozen. Since the pH remains basically the same, it moreso just slows down their progress to a crawl. As far as the shrimp being a concern in that regard, I wouldn't worry about it as long as they are healthy from the start.

Cheers
Steve