FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hi People

I was just sitting around thinking...you know when you boil eggs? eggs are a great source of protein, i was just thinking hell maybe my oscar would like that, do you think it would be ok to drop some egg white once in a while into the tank?

Never thought of that one I would try only a very small piece and even then minium of once per week. I assume you are refering to boiled eggs only.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Yes i do mean only boiled eggs and only once in a while as a treat, i'm sure this would be a great supplement for big cichlids once in a while.[img src='/images/forums/halo.gif' border=0]

Sounds like a good idea! Egg whites have no fat content and very low calories, which would basically mean its almost a sole protein supplement for your fish (along with some other vitamins and minerals).

I'm not sure if oscars would actually go for it though, since they dont really have flavor or scent, or if the fish can use the proteins from the egg. I think it should be able to, since egg whites are supposed to be a better source of protein than beef pork fish etc.

actually, and ACIDRAIN might have to come along to correct me here, but I think a lot of New World cichlid breeders use crumbled boiled egg yolks to feed fry with so they'll grow to selling age as quickly as possible. I'm going to send ACIDRAIN a pm to check this out to see if I'm right but I believe I've heard of this before.

Oh I've used egg yolks for tadpoles and angelfish fry, but its a bit messy for larger fish. Egg whites actually have more protein than egg yolks too, but breeders cant use it since fry cant eat it.

After it hits the water, it crumbles and seems to dissolve into little bits and pieces that floats around.

If my memory serves me correctly I can vagualy remember using egg yokes for livebearers fry 30+ years ago.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith


Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

well there you go...if egg yolks are safe for fry then there should be no problem (except maybe messy water) with you oscar eating egg whites.

I gave some egg whites to my oscar and red devil last night, and they loved it, plus it DID NOT make the water messy at all, so you can be sure this will be their new weekly treat.

Personally, I have never used the egg whites, as to my knowledge, they don't contain all the important stuff in them, that fish need for good health, like that of the yolks. I was always under the impression that they were actually more of just a gelatinous material. As the chickens (or any egg laying animal), when fertilized, live in the "white" (clear when not cooked) stuff, and digest the yellow part, not digesting the white part. For this reason, is why the yolk (yellow part) is so nutritious, and a really good food source for fry.

As for feeding egg yolks to fry, well breeders, including myself, use it for the very smallest of fry. Yes it does cloud the water, and you will need to do daily or every other day min water changes. But, it is an excellent choice of foods for very small fry. With most of the smallest fry, you will need to feed them something that clouds the water, or something live that is very small. As for it floating on the surface of the water, well I use a food processor or blender to mix it first. Then it mostly ends up on the bottom of the tank after a few hours. Very easily cleaned up at the end of the day with a water change. You see, the smallest of fry types, cannot/do not swim all around the tank looking for food. And, they can't see anything but that which is right in front of them. For this reason, you have to place foods really close to them. And, if you are not using live foods that swim around all the time, then you need something that clouds the water. Cloudy water means that the extremely small particles of food are floating around. Thus, the food moves to the fry and all around them. Giving them a very richly nutritious food source.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

Hey Acidrain,

At what stage do you usually start feeding the egg yolk? I definetly want to try it on some baby geos.

Thanks!

Personally, I have never used the egg whites, as to my knowledge, they don't contain all the important stuff in them, that fish need for good health, like that of the yolks.

you know, that's what I was thinking last night, but it was late so I didn't want to say anything until today when I was more awake.

Ink, I use it as first foods, when I use it. I rarely use it though, as I have other live foods I prefer. I more so use micro worms, but if they are too large I use viniger eels. If for some reason I lose some fry when feeding them these live foods, on the next batch of fry I will then use the egg yolks.

I have never had any luck with green water. Oh I can make it very easily, just never had any luck using it as a first food. I always have lost the fry. I have had a lot of luck with live infusoria though. But, if the infusoria does not work, again, I will try the egg yolks on the next batch of fry.

The biggest reason for using the live foods, is they move around and live while doing so. So, eventually they will find their way to the new fry and get eaten. There is no wasted foods that cause or require a water change then. With the egg yolks, I like to do a water change on a daily basis, as the left overs will start to rot and thus cause an increase in the ammonia levels.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

o0o, well I have no live foods so I guess I should try the egg yolks on the geophagus fry till they accept crushed foods or such. I should start feeding when they're free swimming right?

Oh, and did you have luck with frozen/free dried food for fry, daphnia in particular?? Or rotifers?

Hmm,

Egg whites are an excellent low fat source of high quality protein.... Nice treat for oscar..

From someone who once studied nutrition, and now makes everything into a dysfunctional sammich.



The Amazon Nut...

Yes, after considerable thought, I believe the white maybe/are a good source. After all, many people eat them for just that. I just had never thought about it that way. I just don't understand how. I mean, the reason people stay away from the yolks, is because of the cholesteral. And yet, the whites don't have it in their part. But it was my understanding that the cholesteral goes along with the protien. This is what has me wondering.

Ink, I have had some luck with frozen BBS, but the problem with it is, again it lies on the bottom and what does not get eaten will need to be removed, as it will eventually rot and cause an ammonia spike, if too much gets added and not cleaned out. I have tried the powdered daphnia, and well have had good and bad luck. The good luck was, that it worked, and the fish lived off of it. But the bad luck was, they did not grow very quickly at all, in fact they grew very slow as compared to other foods. I compared this food source with rainbow fry. And the fry that got the viniger eels grew much more quickly, like 4 times as fast, than those on the powdered daphnia. I have also had great luck with the APR. But I only use it for a short time, like just until they can take live micro worms. Microworms are really easy to keep, you should look into ordering some. They sell them from several places on the net. And they are really cheap. Care is just to keep them wet and add some oatmeal about once per week or so. And you can gut load them with different stuff, such as foods and stuff that may help aid in coloration of the fish.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...