Raw shrimp from grocery store?

[tjm9331]

So I just picked up a bag of frozen raw shrimp from my local grocery store to feed my Niger trigger. As I was thawing it I happened to look at the ingredients and it read ‘shrimp, water, salt and sodium tripolyphosphate’

I want to make sure that this is ok to feed my trigger before giving to him. I’ve feed him frozen raw shrimp before but I don’t remember any salt or polyphosphates being in it.

If anyone could give me a quick answer on this that would be great. TIA


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[mcgyvr]

Its fine

[Pslreefer]

It’s certainly ok, but I would also feed a variety of foods.

[tjm9331]

Originally Posted by Pslreefer

It’s certainly ok, but I would also feed a variety of foods.

Oh I do, shrimp, squid, clams on the half shell, mysis and he also eats nori

I just happened to run out of shrimp lol

Thanks for the replies guys


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[mwilliams62]

I would only do fresh not the ones that are frozen.

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[Pslreefer]

Oh also try to get wild vs farm raised

[tjm9331]

Think I’ll play it safe and go out to the local fish store tomorrow and pick up some fresh wild caught


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[nereefpat]

It's certainly safe for you and your trigger to eat.

If the sodium triphosphate makes up a significant percentage of the weight, it will spike your phosphate readings. I've used the chemical to raise phosphate levels in my tank, and a tiny pinch (a few grains of salt sized) will increase my levels 10 ppb phosphorous (0.03 ppm PO4) in 125 gallons.

[tjm9331]

Originally Posted by nereefpat

It's certainly safe for you and your trigger to eat.

If the sodium triphosphate makes up a significant percentage of the weight, it will spike your phosphate readings. I've used the chemical to raise phosphate levels in my tank, and a tiny pinch (a few grains of salt sized) will increase my levels 10 ppb phosphorous (0.03 ppm PO4) in 125 gallons.

Would rinsing the shrimp in RO/DI water help remove some of this chemical? I typically thaw it in a cup with DT water before feeding not sure if it removes any of that chemical but the shrimp doesn't hang out in the tank for too long, the trigger is like a Hoover once he sees the shrimp it's gone and what ever little pieces he may spit out the yellow tang finishes up.

[mcgyvr]

Its fine...dont waste your time worrying about the minute amount used...

[nereefpat]

I agree that it's probably fine.

How much is in it, and if soaking in water will help, are good questions that will be tough to answer. It might be worth measuring, just for curiosity's sake, PO4 before and after. Of course if your trigger just snarfs it down, you probably won't see any change.

[billdogg]

For years (25 of them), I bought all of my Undulated Moray's food from the kroger seafood counter. They'd save me the stuff that was a day past it's "sell by" date (but still perfectly fine) for pennies - they were just going to toss it anyway.

And FWIW - AFAIK, 99.9% of shrimp available in the market have been previously frozen - they get frozen on the shrimp boats to eliminate spoilage. If you happen to live on the coast where shrimp day boats come to port, then perhaps they will be truly "fresh". Otherwise, probably not so much.

[davocean]

Yep, almost all shrimp are frozen right on the boat, perfectly fine.

[nereefpat]

Originally Posted by billdogg

And FWIW - AFAIK, 99.9% of shrimp available in the market have been previously frozen - they get frozen on the shrimp boats to eliminate spoilage.

Originally Posted by davocean

Yep, almost all shrimp are frozen right on the boat, perfectly fine.

Yes. The frozen shrimp is obviously fine, but the OP's concern was...

Originally Posted by tjm9331

I’ve feed him frozen raw shrimp before but I don’t remember any salt or polyphosphates being in it.

I don't remember seeing that preservative in the frozen shrimp I buy either. I think we all agree that it's fine to feed it. I would just be curious about the affect on tank phosphates.

[tjm9331]

I think I’m either going to try Rods Reef predator blend or LRS chunky might be a little pricier but at least I’ll know it’s safe for both fish and tank


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[davocean]

Originally Posted by nereefpat

Yes. The frozen shrimp is obviously fine, but the OP's concern was...
.

My comment was in agreement w/ billdogg and in reference to this comment.

"Think I’ll play it safe and go out to the local fish store tomorrow and pick up some fresh wild caught"

You're probably going to thaw it out anyway, do so in RO water and rinse

[Tastee]

If you are concerned about Phosphates you could thaw and rinse a sample in RODI and then test the residual water for Phosphates. You could then extrapolate how much that level of Phosphates will raise your aquarium based on the volume of water in the aquarium. If your sample size is small and there is a measurable amount of Phosphates you may need to dilute your sample first to avoid a Phosphate reading higher than your test kit can register.

E.g. Rinse the normal feeding volume of frozen shrimp in 100 ml of RODI. Test that 100 ml sample. If it is above the limit of our test kit, dilute it 10:1 by adding 900 ml of RODI. It it is still too high add 9.9 litres RODI to dilute it 100:1. Etc.

Let’s say you do dilute it 10:1 and it tests at 0.36 ppm Phosphates. If your tank was 244 litre as mine is, then you are adding 0.00015 ppm Phosphates per feed. That would take a lot of feeds before you increased Phosphates by any significant level. For larger tanks it will be even more feeds.

Of course this will only be true for the Phosphates we can test for but it would be a start.

[Fourstars]

I dose sodium tripolyphosphate and nitrate to my tank weekly. But I have a light fish load and mostly SPS and LPS corals. IF both your readings are zero I wouldn't worry about it.