Kinds of "nori" to avoid?

[Shalori]

Hi guys,

I've heard alot of people say they're going to the Asian stores to purchase nori for their fish, so I decided to go have a look. When I arrived, I found a whole aisle of choices.

I was a little discouraged at first, because all of the packages I originally saw said "toasted" or "roasted". I don't know that it would hurt the fish to use that, but I assume that any heating would have the potential to lessen nutritional value.

I bypassed them and continued down the aisle, and did find some choices that said they were "dried". I found alot of different types, there were packages that were strips of kelp, some that appeared to be strands of seaweed, some that had pictures that appeared to be what we called "ox tails".

I did read the ingredient lists, making sure there was nothing listed except seaweed.

When reading the package, I noticed that they mentioned that some of it expands to 10x it's size. This made me question if the fish could nibble some, and have it expand in their stomach? So I thought I shoul pre-soak in tank water, before introducing it into the tank.

They were all very inexpensive, so I bought 3 types. One of the thicker kelp strips, one of the seaweed strands, and one sheet style that was a red/brown variety.

So far, they didn't seem to care for the thicker kelp strips, they didn't seem to acknowledge it was food. They were mildly curious about it, but didn't really try it. The ruddy colored sheets were more accepted, but seemed to disintegrate quickly. They picked at it. The strands of seaweed were by far the favorite (though none were devoured as quickly as the twolittlefishies nori i had in there previously.

I was wondering, though, do we know if there's any particular type that could be bad for them for some reason, any kind we should avoid?

Or is it ok to just experiment with your critters' personal likes/dislikes?

Thoughts?

 

[returnofsid]

Shalori, I'm not really that familiar with all the different types of Nori, though I've purchased both 'roasted' and 'dried' nori. If you'd like, I can move this thread to Lee's Marine Fish Discussion forum, where you'll get great advice from Lee. If you'd rather not move it, which is just fine, I'd still suggest you read through the stickies in that forum. Lee is very knowledgeable, in the areas of Fish Health, Fish Nutrition, Fish Foods....heck, if it's "Fish" related, he's the guy to go to!! You'll find lots of great information, in his stickes, that I think will help you with your question. I would just advise a lil' patience, as he is a busy guy, so sometimes it takes him a day or so to answer. Also, he doesn't venture outside his forum very often, which is why I suggested moving this to his forum. Just let us know, if you'd like it moved. Until then, here's a link to his forum, for further reading.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15

 

[Krish]

I ditto Sid's recommendation to move to Lee's forum. You will get the attention you need to your question as I'm not too sure how much Lee ventures out of his section with so much going on in there.

 

[Shalori]

Sure Sid, that would be fine.

I did do some perusing on some of his threads, as I tried doing a search on my question before I posted it (didn't want to post a question if I could see it was already answered).

I just wasn't sure where I should post this, so feel free to move it

thanks

 

[returnofsid]

Shalori, while we appreciate you searching, to avoid asking a repetitive question, please don't ever worry about that. We're much more concerned with you asking, and finding the right answer, than asking a duplicate question!!

 

[Frankie]

As you stated, toasted nori looses it's nutritional value from the toasting.

There should be one labeled "untoasted" with no additives. This is the one you want.
I found it best to feed nori by cramming it into a coral skeleton like plate coral or sum such that has lots of crevices. Drop that to the bottom and let the fish graze naturally on it like they do in the ocean.

 

[Shalori]

Aw, thanks Sid. I spend a fair amount of time pokin around here, but mostly search for things, rather than post. It's been my experience that forums can be a funny place, and I've seen people get flamed for accidentally annoying someone. So I do appreciate your sentiment.

and thanks to ffrankie for the suggestion of how to present the nori.

 

[leebca]

I suggest you read this long post, Shalori: Lee’s Post on Fish Health through Nutrition on Reef Frontiers:
Fish Health Through Proper Nutrition and this one:
How to Feed Marine Algae to Fish

The second post above focuses on nori and some its short-comings. One of the lesser known problems with nori is that many of the brands are cooked or dried with heat being applied which partially cooks it. For humans, that's okay. Not for fish, though.

 

[Shalori]

Thanks Lee

 

[psb]

I go and get the sheets of 100 green or red and it costs about $10 to 13. I have never had good luck with the more natural seaweeds. It works fine. I feed many other things and while it does shred I have gotten around this be putting it in a mesh bag. I cut the corner off of an onion bag and use a magnet to attach it to the glass.

 

[fishoutofwater]

I rubbeband my nori to a pvc pipe and hang it in the tank. i use a 1/4 sheet a day and its gone in a matter of minutes. I also get mine from the asian market and get the untoasted no additives one. runs about 8 bucks for 100 sheets. been usingit for year with never an issue.

 

[Shalori]

Thanks for the input guys

Lee, I read through the threads that you posted a link to (thank you) and I saw that you said you weren't a fan of nori, and advocated instead for fresh macro. But you mentioned that dried seaweeds were ok (but can be hard to distinguish dried from heated). Please do correct me if I misread/misunderstood any of this. Still I'm curious if there's any kind I should avoid? Anything I could find while prowling around the markets that the fish shouldn't be offered?

Thanks again

 

[returnofsid]

Avoid any kinds that have extra ingredients included.

 

[leebca]

Use nori for the one color (green) offering when:

1. It has no other ingredients (like returnofsid mentioned); and
2. You know it has not been 'roasted' or heat dried.

If unsure about either of the above, don't use it.

Prefer above the above kind of nori those macro algae that are dried and packaged, even when 1. and 2. are met. You will need to use multiple colors of algae (e.g., Angels often prefer red) and some of those you'll have to obtain as dried macro algae (not nori).

And lastly, one step even higher up the ladder is fresh, undried macro algae, although precautions may be necessary to prevent pathogens from getting into the DT system.

Hope this helps.

 

[Shalori]

I had wondered about fresh macroalgae, but I don't have any idea how you can be sure it's free of any "nasties" before introducing it. You obviously don't want to heat it, so what would you do?

Thanks again

 

[Frankie]

Hello Shalori,
You can harvest your own macroalgae's in a refugium type setting.

 

[leebca]

I grew mine in a refugium as part of the overall DT system -- so it was fish disease-free. If grown elsewhere, just verify it has come in contact with no fish for 8+ weeks, or water that had fish in it, for 8+ weeks.

You can quarantine it yourself for 8+ weeks if you know it has come into contact with fish; 6+ weeks if you think or were told it had not come into contact with fish at all.

Lastly, you can freeze it for 48 hours. The parasites and 'higher' life-form pathogens will die.

 

[Frankie]

Hello Lee
Good stuff. I never thought about freezing it before.

 

[Shalori]

Interesting, I didn't think you could freeze plants, because I thought I'd heard once somewhere something about water forming ice crystals that damage the cells of the plant and cause it to disintegrate. So that's really good to know, that I can use the freezer for "sterilization" after all.

So somewhere I read (can't remember if it was in one of your threads?), you can sometimes find fresh seaweeds at Asian stores, I assume you'd want to freeze or quarantine it before feeding?

Thanks

 

[leebca]

The last choice would be freezing. Freezing does break cell structure. It thaws looking like cooked spinach. Still good; still free of certain pathogens and parasites, but not as nutritious as fresh.

Store bought macro algae may be okay. Just determine if any preservatives or additives were used in the handling and don't use those that have any added chemicals. Humans can tolerate a lot of chemicals in low quantities that could kill or seriously harm marine fishes.