Sophie Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 I'm going to buy a beef heart from my local butcher today, i was just wondering if anyone has had experience feeding it to BN catfish? I have heard that for feeding oscars you trim of the fat, and chop the lean peices into cubes. You then freeze the cubes and when required, grate them on a everyday cheese grater and serve. Is that going to work for my 4cm & 6cm BN's? Also is it ok for it to be frozen and then thawed or should it be served fresh? I'm really not sure what I'm doing and any advice would be appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bewarebrunette Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 I don't feed my BN beef, are you looking for something to feed them generally? They love zuchini and mushroom. I was under the impression they got bloat if they ate too much protein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Bristlenose catfish are predominantly vegetarians you shouldn't prepare beef heart for them..... they produce enough wastes on vegetable rich foods but waste from beef heart will be a cleaning and ammonia nightmare.... give them plenty of vegetables, algae tablets / flakes / pellets.... they will eat anything that falls to the bottom of the tank... the occasional blood worm yes... the occasional frozen shrimp yes.... but beef / beef heart is definitely a food that shouldn't be fed to them - use seafood / fish bait/ if you desperately have to feed them meat of any kind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophie Posted October 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 (edited) Hmm.. i heard from another post on here that it helps them grow quicker and they only need a tiny amount. But i wouldn't want to make them ill. I already bought the heart, but i'll save it for the dog & cats! With the mushroom, should i cook it or peel the skin off or just put it in as it comes? Thanks guys Edited October 30, 2010 by Sophie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 for profit... a lot of humans see the necessity to push the envelope and try to make plants and animals grow faster than normal so they can sell them quicker.... personally I'm not convinced it does them any good in the long run.... baby BN's grow pretty fast as it is on foods more attuned to their normal diets... and excrete enough wastes doing so! meaty foods will only make more fatty wastes and mean more work on cleaning..... If you want to feed them some protein use seafood - you can buy frozen mysis shrimp, frozen black shell shrimp and frozen bloodworms from you LFS to treat them to some extra protein.... but they do love a good chunk of zuchinni or pumpkin or carrot! Have never fed mine mushroom before but the mushroom should be soft enough for them to eat as long as the skin is free from anything that could harm them - when in doubt always peel.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiinks Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 The bloodworms NEVER make it to the bottom of my tank! Even the bettas nibble at the zucchini because they are greedy little buggers. I didn't know you could give them mushrooms, just pop them in or should I prepare them somehow? I don't think anyone will reply in time, but I'll peel one and see if they go for it. I try to feed them shelled peas too, but once again, when the bettas find out the catfish are munching on something, they need to have a share of it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhong89 Posted November 3, 2010 Report Share Posted November 3, 2010 My bristlenoses didn't like mushroom, but I only washed, sliced and thrown in; no other preparation. But I've discovered they do like blanched green beans cut horizontally, they like it as much as they like their zucchini. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TasV Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 My marbled BN love pumpkin too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 Beef heart fed to fish DOES increase the growth rate and colour. Downside is it is said to cause liver and kidney problems and shortens the life expectancy quite a bit. NOT RECOMMENDED. I grew up in a house with an 8th x 3rd x 3rd full of chiclids. My father used to feed beefheart twice a week for years. When he stopped using this lots of little problems that he had with the fish disappeared. With the quality of food available at your lfs, it's not really necessary. Only my adviceSorry. 8ft x 3ft x 3 ft tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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