Goldfish diets and thiaminase

[gillsy]

Just thought I'd post this link.

I've been an avid supporter of not feeding goldfish to aquatic snakes. I have keel backs thtat get a varied diet depending on what I can find on special at the time.

They do get goldfish on the occasion but not often due to thiaminase found within their tissue. Thiaminase is a enzyme which stops VItamin b1 absorption. This is a vitamin which is only available through diet.

Mine get anything from silver perch fingerlings, sleepy cod, rainbow fish and tadpoles (and toad poles).

As keel backs become more common I suspect this will become more of an issue, so be aware.

Green tree snakes who are fed a diet of goldfish will also be affected, there are many cases overseas of garter snakes having issues. With goldfish diets.

Anyway here's the link.

Thiaminase

 

[Smithers]

As goldfish are used as feeders for other fish like Oscars is the same likely to those who eat the goldfish,...even turtles?

 

[sarah_m]

I saw a documentary where alligators in a particular lake were having all sorts of bizarre symptoms and the cause ended up being that the bulk of their diet was an introduced species of fish that had high levels of thiaminase.
I wonder if this is something particular to reptiles?

 

[gillsy]

Haoiens with all animals, fixes and minks used for fur were getting issues because they were fed carp entrails.

Burke and Wills had issues during thei exploration because of a plant they were eating, - similar to scurvy.

The gators would have been eating the introduced silver carp. There are tones per sq meter.

Turtles will suffer as well however as most people feed pellets and frozen foods they get sufficient B1

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Yep this affects a range of captives such as file snakes, keelbacks, small elapids, aquatic monitors and of course Tree Snakes.
Real Fish Farms will have large "bulk" sale fish, depending on the speices.

 

[eipper]

veta farm sea bird tablets.....designed to replace thiamine broken down in frozen fish

 

[gillsy]

From the research I have found less than 20% of the diet of goldfish and it's ok.

I check Livefish.com.au - Australia's aquarium fish home delivery experts! for specials when I run out and just get bulk orders of what's available.

I usually let them stand in their own tank for 2 weeks before feeding them off as well.