# does anybody have the real answer to this



## tiran (Apr 27, 2007)

is smelt good or bad for piranhas i really need to know the right answer because i have alot of it and i need to know if i need to get rid of it or not, it was wild caught its been cleaned and froze ive only fed it to them once or twice


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

If its the whole fish with head and fins it is *excellent.* Just smelly and be careful to make sure you remove any uneaten smelt or it will cloud up the tank big time.


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## tiran (Apr 27, 2007)

Dr. Giggles said:


> If its the whole fish with head and fins it is *excellent.* Just smelly and be careful to make sure you remove any uneaten smelt or it will cloud up the tank big time.


its whole fish with out head


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

it is good for your piranha. provides solid nutrition.


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## P-Dee (Jun 1, 2007)

good but wicked messy as Dr.Giggles posted


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## fishguy1313 (Feb 19, 2007)

I feed a lot of smelt and I don't think it's that messy.


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## viralmouser (Apr 28, 2007)

I bet it's a great source of calcium as well.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

rainbow smelt has thiaminase in it. which is bad, to what extent, i dont think anyone can be exactly sure.
i cant even find smelt in the stores around me anyway, so its not an issue for me.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Yes it is good. Majority of ppl feed their Ps that here I believe. I think (CAUTION OPINION COMING) it has a STRONG FISHY smell to it AND there isn't anything light about its smell! My Spilo doesnt eat it anymore???I guess the pellets crickets and shrimp have been too much of a treat!


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

heres a fact:he who smelt it, dealt it.

hahaha, sorry, couldnt hold that one in.


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## acb (Nov 9, 2004)

Nick g said:


> heres a fact:he who smelt it, dealt it.
> 
> hahaha, sorry, couldnt hold that one in.


Smelt is a good food, but you cant feed just smelt. Varied foods are the BEST


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## LS1FDRx7 (Mar 6, 2007)

I feed my Piranhas smelf all the time. I do Bi-weekly feed of Smelt then I would change it up to something different. I also use Headless Frozen Smelt. It doesn't make the tank smell if it's all eaten within a good 10-20mins. Alot of us here feed our Piranhas Smelt, but not just only smelt. Change it up to something different... such as pellets, shrimp, catfish nuggets, salmon. They show great color on the Piranhas


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## Corner (Feb 27, 2007)

They are good food, but if you use a lot of smelt it leaves a lot of oil in your tank, and your water suffers.


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## Dezboy (Apr 2, 2006)

yeah agree with the rest, you will need regular cleaning and good filtration with smelt


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Nick g said:


> rainbow smelt has thiaminase in it. which is bad, to what extent, i dont think anyone can be exactly sure.
> i cant even find smelt in the stores around me anyway, so its not an issue for me.


Go to the fish section of the market. They mostly all have it frozen...but....its probably gutted and cleaned already.

Dont know if thats a big deal? Being what was stated earlier about the "whole thing"


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## compton4x4 (Aug 5, 2007)

If you dont overfeed, then you wont have a problem with it clouding up the tank. They are very oily, thats why they smell so much, if you leave the food they dont eat in too long, you could have problems.


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## -NBKK- (Jun 22, 2007)

Dr. Giggles said:


> If its the whole fish with head and fins it is *excellent.* Just smelly and be careful to make sure you remove any uneaten smelt or it will cloud up the tank big time.


Why the whole fish and not the ones that have been gutted and missing the head ????


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

Nick g said:


> heres a fact:he who smelt it, dealt it.
> 
> hahaha, sorry, couldnt hold that one in.


 LMAO


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## barbianj (Aug 3, 2003)

I thought that I had heard that smelt contains more thiaminase than goldfish. Does anyone have any info on this?


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## -NBKK- (Jun 22, 2007)

Ya i read about it and apparently is does not. Certain types of smelt ( with in the smelt family do) but the ones we get do not.


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## barbianj (Aug 3, 2003)

> Ya i read about it and apparently is does not. Certain types of smelt ( with in the smelt family do) but the ones we get do not.


Thanks. Do you know which have thiaminase and which do not?

How would I be able to identify the ones that have thiaminase so that I do not feed them to my fish?


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## -NBKK- (Jun 22, 2007)

Rainbow smelt do. I'm not sure what ones they sell at grocery stores but they are not rainbow smelt. I know for sure that carp , gold fish , and channel catfish are high in it. 
stick to this diet http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=166397 and your Piranhas will do Great.


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## barbianj (Aug 3, 2003)

I'm good on what to feed my fish. I don't feed them smelt, myself, but I see that many people do. I have only seen smelt solt as that, not rainbow smelt or thiaminase enriched smelt. How would you know that you are buying the correct ones, or if you caught them yourself, how would you be able to identify them?

From what I have read, rainbow smelt occur throughout North America and the Great Lakes.


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## Hater (Apr 21, 2006)

I was a big fan of smelts but I've read somewhere that Smelt contain Thiamanese. After that, I cut the smelts of my Piranhas diet. However, I can't see any harm in feeding a smelt here and there.

Hater


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