619 Fish GOD Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Hi All How do i prepare green prawn Meat for my fish? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Peel, Whiz and serve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanceswithDingoes Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Make sure you use prawns that have not been treated with an anti-bacterial preservative otherwise it will knock your bio-filter for six. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Does this mean prawns bought from the Coles Deli is no good? How would this knock out the bio-filter it gets eaten by the fish? If you leave left overs in the tank then i guess i can see what you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Prawns are treated to stop them going off and so they look nicer for longer. I cant remeber what the name of the chemical it may be no good for fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlos Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 wel how do you know whether they have been treated or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Prawns meant for human consumption i suppose. So maybe we gotta get our prawns fresh from the markets and peel them ourselves. Bit pricey to feed our fish with a food that i would rather eat I feed mine uncooked variety from Coles, so far no ill effects or unexpected deaths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 If they are fit for human consumption then you can assume they are treated. I dont know if this is proven by any scientific means or weather its a assumption made by hobbiests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 The prawns are usually treated on the boats I believe I think from memory farmed prawns are ok but I cant find any info on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Agreed. Although personally i dont believe there is a need to seek out farmed prawns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pride Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 what about frozen bait prawns? I've used those before with no dramas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 They don't use chemicals on green prawns at all. Cooked prawns they spray with food dye If you go to most resturants/delis they buy them in HARD frozen boxes which can be thawed overnight in a coolroom and can be kept for close to 2 weeks after openning which is plenty of time to sell them IMO thus meaning no need for chemicals HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 The chemical is actually added to the prawns in the trawler, prior to freezing of the prawns. This info came from a member that works in the seafood industry. Methinks the chemical used is Sodium Biosulphate (spellin?) A very potent substance that is often used to sterilize things and inadvertently kill all of the bacteria in your tank. I believe that prawns sold as bait for fishing have not been treated but I have not had that verified. All prawns sold for human consumption should be considered treated at least to some degree with this stuff. Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisandelana Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Hi, I go fishing at least once a week and will feed my frontosa colony left over bait prawns as a once a week treat. I have been doing this for about 2 years any have never noticed any ill effects to either fish or water quality. As a keen fisherman I have noticed that not all bait prawns are of the same quality and will not use some of the cheaper varieties. I can recommend Hawkesbury Green prawns. While I would not eat bait prawns myself - they do look good enough to eat unlike some of the others on the market. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
619 Fish GOD Posted July 28, 2005 Author Share Posted July 28, 2005 Thanks All I feed my Dwarf cichlid/Community tank the Prawns and they loved them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLL Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I would go with bait prawns. I used to work (many years ago) a trawler off box head (nsw) and bait prawns were never treated with anything but ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrontyKing Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Prawns are treated to stop them going off and so they look nicer for longer. I cant remeber what the name of the chemical it may be no good for fish. ← The prawns are usually treated on the boats I believe I think from memory farmed prawns are ok but I cant find any info on it ← As someone who works in the seafood industry, I'll tell you Josh you are right when they are treated on boats. The chemical used is sodium metabisulphate which stops the prawns from going black and can keep longer in both a fresh and frozen state. They don't use chemicals on green prawns at all. Cooked prawns they spray with food dye If you go to most resturants/delis they buy them in HARD frozen boxes which can be thawed overnight in a coolroom and can be kept for close to 2 weeks after openning which is plenty of time to sell them IMO thus meaning no need for chemicals HTH ← Sorry teflon but where did you get your info from? ONLY green prawns are treated to prevent them from going black. The colour of a cooked prawn is determined with the feed they are given in their life before they are cooked hence good feed=good colour, poor feed=poor colour. 2 weeks shelf life? Highly unlikely. If you could keep prawns for 2 weeks in a fresh state I'd be a millionaire. Prawns and most seafood tend to go off in about 5-7 days in their fresh state. The chemical is actually added to the prawns in the trawler, prior to freezing of the prawns. This info came from a member that works in the seafood industry. Methinks the chemical used is Sodium Biosulphate (spellin?) A very potent substance that is often used to sterilize things and inadvertently kill all of the bacteria in your tank. I believe that prawns sold as bait for fishing have not been treated but I have not had that verified. All prawns sold for human consumption should be considered treated at least to some degree with this stuff. Matthew ← Matthew you're on the right track only the sodium metabisulphate isn't really used to sterilize things. Sodium meta can be found in a whole range of foods and even wine. What it does to humans in some cases and I mean only very few is cause an allergic reaction be it swelling or a break out of pimples etc etc depending on the person that's affected. Bait prawns are not treated with any chemical and yes anything pretty much for human consumption should be considered treated unless it is brought in FRESH from the boats to a wholesaler as myself and a few others that don't want chemicals in their products as we have a customer base within the Sydney Fish Markets that takes all our product same day for that same same reason. HTH. Nick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 So Fronty King the original point of question....Is it ok to feed prawns? Which ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrontyKing Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 I wouldn't feed them frozen, processed prawn meat or whole prawns with the exception of bait prawns. If you go to your local fish shop that sells fresh harbour prawns or krill which is in season now, buy that cause I'm positive they haven't been treated with anything. HTH Nick. P.S. If you're having trouble finding anything give me a buzz and I'll point you in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Cool thanks....so we should peel them ourselves then? One for my fish, one for me mmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrontyKing Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Yes peel them yourselves(which is a bit time consuming but the fish just love them) but you'll have to cook yours first before eating it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLL Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 HA not sure that I would eat those frozen bait prawns though. Ever heard that saying 'gone off like a prawn in the sun'? Leave a few in some water in the sun for a day and you get to see those nice black prawns. I suppose that is also one way to prove that they do not have any additives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Prawns are treated to stop them going off and so they look nicer for longer. I cant remeber what the name of the chemical it may be no good for fish. ← They don't use chemicals on green prawns at all. Cooked prawns they spray with food dye If you go to most resturants/delis they buy them in HARD frozen boxes which can be thawed overnight in a coolroom and can be kept for close to 2 weeks after openning which is plenty of time to sell them IMO thus meaning no need for chemicals HTH ← Sorry teflon but where did you get your info from? ONLY green prawns are treated to prevent them from going black. The colour of a cooked prawn is determined with the feed they are given in their life before they are cooked hence good feed=good colour, poor feed=poor colour. 2 weeks shelf life? Highly unlikely. If you could keep prawns for 2 weeks in a fresh state I'd be a millionaire. Prawns and most seafood tend to go off in about 5-7 days in their fresh state. There are over 100 years experience in my family of kitchen work thats where I got my info from. Coolrooms should be at a temp of -4 degress which is a frozen state 4 times over meaning that the stock is frozen and can be kept for longer then 2 weeks in actuall fact. Also the colour of cooked prawns dosen't come from anything to do with food, its the fact that they have been dropped into boilling hot water to be cooked hence the red colour and spray them with food dye to keep that colour, They also do the same with meat Also are you sure the so called "chemical" they spray on the boat is not to remove the shell for the pelled prawns? I have also heard of prawns being sprayed with "formulin" which is also a a crock, I have been on a trawler a few times to catch prawns and never was a thing sprayed on anything my mate also does it for a job so I will ask him and get back to you all with a 100% answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrontyKing Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 Also the colour of cooked prawns dosen't come from anything to do with food, its the fact that they have been dropped into boilling hot water to be cooked hence the red colour and spray them with food dye to keep that colour← The feed certainly does have something to do with the final colour of prawns as does the location that they are caught from. Yes a prawn turns orange/red once you cook it but there are so many variations in the colour eg one is of a darker red/orange than the other which comes back to what the prawns eat. A good example of this is any 'good' prawn farm in QLD. They will tell you the same thing. BTW why would you want to spray a prawn with food dye when the colour once cooked stays the same unless they are of poor quality, and I'm not saying that your family of a hundred years in the kitchen chooses to use such a poor quality prawn? I have been on a trawler a few times to catch prawns and never was a thing sprayed on anything my mate also does it for a job so I will ask him and get back to you all with a 100% answer← Not all boats use sodium metabisulphate but ask your friend for arguements sake. In S.A. prawns are darker than most parts of the country so the use of Sod. Meta is used to stop the prawns going darker quicker, same goes for some regions in W.A. . On the east coast, as far as I know and in my 18 years experience in the seafood industry in dealing with prawn trawlers, Sod. Meta is very rarley used as the prawns are alot whiter natuarlly and hold out more in a fresh state than most parts around the country. Nick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLL Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 I can confirm from experience that sodium metabisulphite (and other treatments and antibiotics) is used as a preservative on trawlers and prawns are put into salt water with this compound in it and that it does indeed help stop 'black spot'. It is also somewhat corrosive to metals, especially in freshwater. I don't know if it does anything to live fish though or if it remains in peeled and washed prawns. Anyway, cheap old bait prawns cost far less as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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