Does freezing kill all pathogens?

[Wolf89]

I am fortunate to live on the Bouge sound, meaning I can collect all sorts of seafood year round. I would really love to make a food for my reef out of that, using oysters, clams, flounder, shrimp, any other bait fish, occasional squid. Anything that I can find really, maybe some blue crab? Anyways, I'm worried about disease spread. So can anyone confirm if freezing kills all pathogens? How long would I have to freeze? Thanks!

 

[Shep]

Nope, freezing does not kill pathogens.

 

[Wolf89]

Nope, freezing does not kill pathogens.

Well, how would I make it safe?

 

[jamo130788]

I would suspect all deep freezing would do is slow down metabolic rate for any persistent organism you are trying to get rid off. I would boil(cook) instead if I had to take a stab at it

 

[reaper0268]

I live on the Chesapeake Bay. Freezing your crab and sending it straight to the steamer will make them safe to eat. Bluefin crab is a lot of work.

Freezing inactivates them. Steaming kills them.

 

[lapin]

By exposing pathogens to uv light, the right spectrum for the right amount of time will make them harmless. Not easy to do with solids. Temp will kill them but might make your food a pile of mush.

 

[Shep]

Well, how would I make it safe?

Cooking it is really the only option....unless you have access to some radiation lol

 

[Mastiffsrule]

May I suggest reading the 2 attached links. Both really good in my opinion. Years of knowledge and info in both.

The cliff notes version...feed fresh/frozen, live foods.

See what you think. I really enjoyed them.



https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/clams-the-best-food-for-a-reef.520/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nutrition-and-fish-health.603925/

 

[bluprntguy]

This study shows that velvet is rendered dead at 8 degrees. It can’t survive freezing:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6539091

There are similar studies for ich and other pathogens showing that they can’t survive the freezing process either.

Bacteria can survive freezing, but most people aren’t worried about having bacteria in their tanks, in fact we try to encourage it. We are concerned about preventing diseases. Those can’t survive freezing.

 

[RobW]

Cooking it is really the only option....unless you have access to some radiation lol

Set your cellphone on to of it for a bit. Lol!

 

[Wolf89]

Cooking it is really the only option....unless you have access to some radiation lol

wouldn't cooking kinda defeat the purpose of feeding fresh food?

 

[Shep]

wouldn't cooking kinda defeat the purpose of feeding fresh food?

Yep but you asked how to kill the pathogens lol

 

[Peace River]

wouldn't cooking kinda defeat the purpose of feeding fresh food?

Cooking food for fish certainly limits the benefits. When you personally eat raw fresh organic vegetables you get many of the health benefits and (potentially) also some pathogens, however if you cook the vegetables to an appropriate temperature then you limit the benefits and limit the risks. I am not advocating for cooking your fish food nor advocating against feeding fresh food, rather I believe it is important to pay attention to the source of your fresh food for your fish in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks. Good luck!

 

[Paul Sands]

I would suspect all deep freezing would do is slow down metabolic rate for any persistent organism you are trying to get rid off. I would boil(cook) instead if I had to take a stab at it

Your suspicions are not correct from the science I’ve seen. What “persistent organisms” are you worried will survive freezing?

 

[Shep]

Your suspicions are not correct from the science I’ve seen. What “persistent organisms” are you worried will survive freezing?

Are you saying freezing will kill all the pathogens?

 

[jamo130788]

source: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...ezing-food-doesnt-kill-e-coli-and-other-germs

Your suspicions are not correct from the science I’ve seen. What “persistent organisms” are you worried will survive freezing?

 

[Paul Sands]

Are you saying freezing will kill all the pathogens?

Pathogens is pretty broad term. Will freezing kill ich/velvet/flukes and other diseases? Yes.

What exactly are you concerned about getting into a tank?

 

[Wolf89]

Pathogens is pretty broad term. Will freezing kill ich/velvet/flukes and other diseases? Yes.

What exactly are you concerned about getting into a tank?

anything that will harm my fish

 

[Shep]

Pathogens is pretty broad term. Will freezing kill ich/velvet/flukes and other diseases? Yes.

What exactly are you concerned about getting into a tank?

Care to share a link? I am willing to bet that freezing would not render something infected with ich/velvet/flukes safe

 

[Paul Sands]

Care to share a link? I am willing to bet that freezing would not render something infected with ich/velvet/flukes safe

Uh. See the post in this thread up above by @bluprntguy

 

[Wolf89]

Pathogens is pretty broad term. Will freezing kill ich/velvet/flukes and other diseases? Yes.

What exactly are you concerned about getting into a tank?

So you're saying it's safe to feed these to my fish? I only care about ich, velvet, etc that will harm my fish. I want bacterial diversity in my tank.