DIY Food - Is Alaskan Salmon an ok ingredient?

[mcliffy2]

Not having much luck with an answer in the DIY forum, so figured I'd try here.

I am working on making my own food that is entirely made from sustainable seafood, so my choices are limited. The one ingredient I am wondering about is alaskan salmon. Is the reason you don't normally see it in food because its more expensive, or because it wouldn't be good for the fish?


Here are is the entire list of the ingredients I'm planning in case anyone has suggestions:

white shrimp
bay scallops
mussels
alaskan salmon
green nori
broccoli
carrots
cyclopeeze
selcon

maybe:
I'm checking with PE and hikari for the sustainability of their shrimp farms and depending on what I find will be adding mysis and brine.

[BangkokMatt]

I can't think of any reason why you can't use it.

[Outerbank]

I would think it would be a very good choice.

It is likely way too expensive for use in commercial fishfoods.

[LukFox]

The only bad thing I've heard about salmon is that you shouldn't feed it too often to "lazy" fish like eels and lions because of its fat content. For more active fish it should be okay I think. My fish actually don't like salmon though, so maybe before putting it in your mix you should try feeding a little to see how well it is received. No one in my tank likes salmon or yellowtail for example, so I have stopped offering these foods.

[Elysia]

My fish love raw salmon. In fact, it is my spotted mandarin's favorite food.

I have read that the mysis used by PE is a species introduced to a Canadian lake or pond (was suppose to be food for some fish species, but didn't quite work out that way...) and PE decided to harvest them rather than have the gov't try to undo what had been done. Don't know if its true or not, as I think I read it on ReefCentral, but...

[Terra Ferma]

Alaskan salmon is all wild and more or less sustainable (although it sure ain't what it used to be).

Shrimp is tricky: farms pollute pretty bad, gulf shrimp are caught with bottom trawlers which wreck the bottom (Gulf scallops are also caught this way) and have huge by catch. I get wild caught shrimp from Mexico which are more or less not killing anything extra during collection but there is very little fisheries enforcement there.

[mcliffy2]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who pays attention to sustainability issues :)

In Chicago, Peapod carries Shedd-approved seafood that is certified as sustainable. I was able to get farm-raised shrimp, farm-raised "bay" scallops, and alaskan salmon delivered to my door. I also picked up some MSC-certified mussels at the local whole foods. I added nori, selcon, and flake food to this mix. For about $30 (including the bottle of selcon), I got the equivalent of about 3 packs of Rod's food, so I figure I don't save as much as I would going the Asian market route, but I still cut my cost in half.

[RicksReefs]

I use Omega one fish foods and it's loaded with whole salmon.

good stuff, good color, and good acceptance by the critters.

http://www.omegasea.net/best.html