# Fish for blue tongues



## Trench (Jan 31, 2011)

Can someone please tell me what is wrong with feeding fish to blue tongues?, as i have feed it to five different blue tongues and they all loved it and had no ill effect from it.


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## meehan05 (Jan 31, 2011)

obviously there nothing wrong with feeding fish to blue tongues then? your probley just going to get blasted of people who have owned blue tongues for some time and think they know it all... good idea i would have never of thought of it


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## hornet (Jan 31, 2011)

meehan05 said:


> obviously there nothing wrong with feeding fish to blue tongues then?


 
I wouldnt say that, do we know what kind of fish tench has fed his blueys? No. Do we know how long he has been feeding fish to his blueys? No.

As far as i know its only saltwater fish (the fish used in catfood) thats not good which i would think may have something to do with the oils and/or high salt content. Freshwater fish should be fine


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## Dannyboi (Jan 31, 2011)

Oils, High salt content and mercury. If you fed your blue tongue's enough tuna they would die.


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 31, 2011)

Evidence?


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## Dannyboi (Jan 31, 2011)

Evidence on mercury poisoning???


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## Nagraj (Jan 31, 2011)

There's probably nothing intrinsically wrong with feeding fish to Blue Tongues but can't imagine a BT managing to catch a live fish in the wild and I doubt it's part of their natural diet.


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 31, 2011)

Dannyboi said:


> Evidence on mercury poisoning???


 
That a Blue tongue will die from eating tuna


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## Dannyboi (Jan 31, 2011)

Tuna is high up on the food chain so it gets compounded amounts of mercury when it eats other fish. Having a high mercury content means that eating an excess of tuna will cause it to build up and compound in the blue tongue. Mercury is an enzyme inhibitor and will slowly kill the blue tongue.

Dolphins have been found dead on the beach and the cause to have been mercury poisoning.


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## jordo (Jan 31, 2011)

It's called biological magnification, animal systems don't have the capacity to remove certain substances (like mercury, DDT etc) from the body so it slowly accumulates and increases in concentration as you go up the food chain. 

Although this is at a very slow rate so I couldn't imagine if a bluetongue was occasionally fed fish that it would show any adverse effects. Just like it doesn't have an effect on most people as far as I know (but it is advised to eat smaller fish that are lower on the food chain). Obviously dolphins are more at risk as they feed exclusively on fish and other marine prey.

I think, as others have said, any problems with feeding fish to reptiles would be the differences from their natural diet... oil, protein etc. Which again shouldn't be a problem if it is part of a good varied diet or an occasional treat.

If you are inclined to feed fish obviously use 100% fish rather than anything flavor enhanced.


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## Tiliqua (Jan 31, 2011)

> can't imagine a BT managing to catch a live fish in the wild and I doubt it's part of their natural diet.



Can't imagine them tackling a cow in the middle of the paddock either, but they seem to thrive on beef or lamb whiskas cat food


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## Dannyboi (Jan 31, 2011)

jordo said:


> It's called biological magnification, animal systems don't have the capacity to remove certain substances (like mercury, DDT etc) from the body so it slowly accumulates and increases in concentration as you go up the food chain.
> 
> Although this is at a very slow rate so I couldn't imagine if a bluetongue was occasionally fed fish that it would show any adverse effects, just like it doesn't have an effect on most people as far as I know (but it is advised to eat smaller fish that are lower on the food chain). Obviously dolphins are more at risk as they feed exclusively on fish and other marine prey.
> 
> ...


 It has affected some people but they were eating high food chain animals such as dolphin. If you gave your bluey fish all the time you would see the effects for sure.


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 31, 2011)

Dolpins are going to eat a whole lot more Tuna than the average Bluetongue, my 15 yo cat has been eating Tuna sometimes twice a day since I got him and he's going strong. I think a Blue tongue will die from poor diet or even boredom before mercury poisoning

How can you say for sure?


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## jordo (Jan 31, 2011)

Ok well the solution would be to use smaller, lower food chain species if you believe in it that strongly but I can't find any evidence. I don't eat tuna but I don't think they even label warnings on the can? Personally I don't see the point of using fish when there are much cheaper alternatives anyway.


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## Klaery (Jan 31, 2011)

Keep in mind canned tuna is usually smaller animals less then a year old and so have significantly lower mercury levels than your average adult tuna.


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## Dannyboi (Jan 31, 2011)

I think American food organisations are pushing towards having more warnings. Anywho hence staying away from salt water species as some scientists are saying the mercury comes from aqua furs and that would mean a higher concentration in the sea than in rivers. Mercury is becoming more of a concern as there is some research to suggest that the mercury levels in the ocean are rising but some research to suggest it has stayed the same. I rarely eat tuna as I prefer much nicer fish but well Gummy shark is pretty high up there too isn't it. King George Whitting however is low on the mercury list and that is one of my preferred fish. The only thing I would say is that a diet that consists of tuna for a blue tongue would not be wise as mercury would be present and can be a danger to the health.



danielk said:


> Keep in mind canned tuna is usually smaller animals less then a year old and so have significantly lower mercury levels than your average adult tuna.


Fair point.


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## jordo (Jan 31, 2011)

I agree with you Dannyboi, but I just think the risk is very low. I think regardless of what people feed there pets they need variety for a healthy diet and they should be fine.


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## Dannyboi (Jan 31, 2011)

Yeah the risk is low at this stage but if mercury levels continue to rise it may become more of a concern. The only time I would say no variety is with Spectrum and Fish food. There are probably other reasons people say to not feed blue tongue's the fish from cat food I have heard it for years now. Never given the reason though.


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## Elapidae1 (Jan 31, 2011)

LOL at least they and we will die laughing.


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## Nagraj (Jan 31, 2011)

Tiliqua said:


> Can't imagine them tackling a cow in the middle of the paddock either, but they seem to thrive on beef or lamb whiskas cat food


 
I'm sure their diet is more likely to include invertebrates than either mammals, fish or birds but they are more likely to come across a suitable mammal prey than a piscine one in their natural habitat. I'm yet to see a goldfish wandering around a paddock.


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## FAY (Jan 31, 2011)

Nagraj said:


> I'm sure their diet is more likely to include invertebrates than either mammals, fish or birds but they are more likely to come across a suitable mammal prey than a piscine one in their natural habitat. I'm yet to see a goldfish wandering around a paddock.



I agree, they are more likely to come across something dead in the bush than to go fishing.


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## Tiliqua (Jan 31, 2011)

Touche there Nagraj,
nice to see these forums still allow a sense of humour and that didn't turn into WW3 lol. I feed mine a staple of tinned cat food with soft fruit, insects and vetafarm pellets to supplement. Non of mine have had any dietary problems for the past 14 or so years. Strangley enough, if you check out some UK caresheets/forums they mention feeding pink-tongued skinks marine molluscs, anyone tried that over here?


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## Fuscus (Feb 1, 2011)

While the frequency of goldfish wandering around a paddock is properly statistically insignificant (more research needed), I'm sure if a bluey came across a drying puddle with some easy to catch stranded fish within, it would not be adverse to a piscean banquet.


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## Nagraj (Feb 1, 2011)

I don't think we need to bring astrology into it as well.


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## Trench (Feb 1, 2011)

I have feed them both fresh caught fish and canned cat food that had both fish and prawns in it.


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