Live Food Parasites

[Jasper]

Hello all,
I have a young bimac in a 55 gallon tank, and I had a question about live food. How concerned should I be about potential parasites on live food? Is there any real risk of transmission of parasites, or is it okay to get live food from some place like h-mart or a local seafood place?

 

[Deleted member 14033]

I don't know for certain. I feed mine the peeled raw shrimp you buy at Walmart. It is cheap.
I have fed live emerald crabs too. My main concern is not as much parasites but the quality of the water they came from. If you go to a fish store and buy crabs or snails from a system that contains corals and other inverts... you will probably be fine. I would avoid chain pet stores out of caution. I would hate to buy a crab that managed to get exposed to some medication that hurt the octopus.
Wild caught stuff would be ok to in my opinion... if that is a possibility.

 

[Hadla]

Also read the ingredients from the bags if you buy in bulk! I try to avoid anything that isn’t just water and seafood
For that reason, I’ll usually go to Whole Foods or a similar store just for frozen shrimp/scallops. Also make sure it’s raw and not cooked! Cooking removes valuable nutrients

 

[Deleted member 14033]

Also read the ingredients from the bags if you buy in bulk! I try to avoid anything that isn’t just water and seafood
For that reason, I’ll usually go to Whole Foods or a similar store just for frozen shrimp/scallops. Also make sure it’s raw and not cooked! Cooking removes valuable nutrients

I personally use the peeled raw shrimp the great value brand. I have not had any problems that I am aware of. This is the ingredients. My buddy would use frozen shrimp for some of his fish and I decided to try with no ill effect.
Here is a pic to show the ingredients.

 

[Hadla]

Yeah I do too sometimes