Nice Article
First off I'd like to thank you for for acting like a grown up and not taking offence to anything. I'd like to participate more on these when threads don't go sour.
Instead of me typing up lots of reasons and answers I'm just going to throw a link your way to an article to make this easier.
Does Beefheart have a place in fish nutrition?
Thank you for providing something that offers information towards my questions that i have. Personally, i won't take offense if anyone on here disagrees or negatively criticizes what i think or am doing. I look forward to the different ideas on here and knowledgeable information.I try to keep an open mind to the possibilities of doing things in different ways, one of the beauties of having forums such as these.
Regarding the article... There were a couple of ideas i think which are mentioned by this article that do not apply to the cichlids i have. This article concentrates specifically on discus, which from my understanding are a type of cichlid but require stricter guidelines than African or Southern/Central American Cichlids, such as higher water temperatures and pristine water conditions which have to be monitored strictly. A more "fragile" cichlid that requires greater care.
Also, the article concentrates specifically on beef heart, which i know you mentioned was the closest you could find to raw steak/chicken. Steak/Chicken would not affect a Rift valley cichlid or Southern/Central American cichlids the same way it would Discus, me personally, i would probably not feed this to discuss or even live feed given that they seem to be more sensitive to changes. I actually believe this article points out very good points which coincide with what i believe as well. I will quote directly from article and emphasize a bit of what i understood from it
"Ill-informed speculation about the poor digestion of mammalian saturated fats has always led to the ignorant assumption that the presence of these specific fats in the discus diet causes blockages in the digestive system. In fact this is not the case, it is EXCESS levels of these mammalian fats which are usually the cause of digestive (particularly Excretory) problems. This is due to minor differences in the types of enzymes present within the digestive tract. Digestion and excretion of the correct concentrations of these fats occurs unproblematically as part of the usual digestive process. Some of the saturated fats are not able to be completely digested and during digestion they are partially broken down and as with all unwanted fats on undigestable materials are simply passed through."
I agree with this. I think that in feeding Muscle tissue/Meat Protein/ Steak/ Chicken, etc, the fat around the meat is what would cause bloating or inflammation in a Cichlids stomach or digestive tract. For this reason, and maybe i did not mention this before, there are certain steps i take to prepping meat given to my fish
1. Remove fat from meat
2. Cut into pieces similar to their pellet food size which i know they have no problem digesting, maybe even on the smaller side to be honest.
3. Hand feed to try and minimize excessive eating by one particular fish(the dominant ones usually)
4. This is provided in intervals, not daily. Sometimes i may go a full month without feeding steak/chicken but during these times i might substitute with live feed such as live shrimp or feeder fish bred at my LFS.
Towards the end of the article, it states:
Whilst the latter may be true of low quality, less complex beef heart products there is no evidence, peer reviewed or published research to suggest that feeding beef heart has any negative effect on the life span of discus fish (or others). While it is still essential not to disregard any possibility until scientific evidence is confirmed, we must observe our own use of the food and note that it has been in use as a sole product in the hatcheries of the worlds most prolific discus fish breeders for decades leaving us with no proof of ill effects as of yet. Real life evidence if ever we heard it.
The end of the article concludes that while these may be observations or theories which have knowledgeably been thought of, there is no "concrete evidence" or "scientific proof" what the direct negative correlation between beef heart and the life span of discus, or other fish, is.
I appreciated the feedback and information you have provided. I don't disagree with your point of view Andrew, this still has not provided information that would regard my choice of diet to my fish as unhealthy or have a long term negative effect on my fish. I really enjoy all feedback and am happy that this thread has opened up the way it has.