Homemade Food - Fish Bones question...

[Celtic_Fox]

Hello and thanks in advance for any advice you're able to post!

I'm about ready to grate and/or blend some fish food but have concerns about one of the ingredients (smelt) and the bones in them.

In some other thread (can't find it right now - may have been another board), Smelt were suggested as one of the ingredients (after cutting off the head and tails). But I have concerns about the rest of the bones in the Smelt - particularly concerned because my fish are all on the smaller size and thus small digestive tracts...

So my question is: Should I be concerned about sharp bone fragments and therefore not include the Smelt at all?

Thanks again!

 

[Reef.]

I wouldn’t add, if the fish are small they will likely prefer very small food so I would miss that ingredient out, if you are blending the food you could make it worse as then the bones will then be abled to be swallowed and get stuck.

 

[ichthyogeek]

If you're super concerned, then why not remove the spine, but keep the guts and the smaller bones? That way you keep the protein/lipids (fish flesh/skin), as well as any probiotics (from the guts), and a small amount of calcium (from the pinbones), while removing the relatively large spine bones.

 

[Celtic_Fox]

If you're super concerned, then why not remove the spine, but keep the guts and the smaller bones? That way you keep the protein/lipids (fish flesh/skin), as well as any probiotics (from the guts), and a small amount of calcium (from the pinbones), while removing the relatively large spine bones.

I thought about removing the spines, but I think the rib bones would be more dangerous, would they not? (Isn't that the type that usually get stuck in our throats and guts?)

I was thinking of just using the guts, but that's a lot of tiny fish to gut - what a pain. ;-P

 

[ichthyogeek]

I thought about removing the spines, but I think the rib bones would be more dangerous, would they not? (Isn't that the type that usually get stuck in our throats and guts?)

I was thinking of just using the guts, but that's a lot of tiny fish to gut - what a pain. ;-P

While it's true that the rib bones are usually the ones that get stuck in the throats and guts....how often have you known somebody to ingest a fish spine, or a whole fish? I feel that there's a correlation/causation issue here. Pin bones get stuck in the throat more easily than spine bones because people are ingesting the meat that surrounds the pin bones and avoiding the spine bones. I could be wrong and there could actually be a massive culture of people that eat the entire fish...

And if you're making fish mush, it shouldn't be that much effort to just toss the bones into the blender first, give it a whirr, and then add in the other ingredients and giving it another whirr, right?

 

[ScottB]

Get a fillet of mackerel. It is a very oily fish. Or ask your fish guy for the oiliest fish he has.

Clam guts are good for some extra bacteria.

 

[Celtic_Fox]

While it's true that the rib bones are usually the ones that get stuck in the throats and guts....how often have you known somebody to ingest a fish spine, or a whole fish? I feel that there's a correlation/causation issue here. Pin bones get stuck in the throat more easily than spine bones because people are ingesting the meat that surrounds the pin bones and avoiding the spine bones. I could be wrong and there could actually be a massive culture of people that eat the entire fish...

And if you're making fish mush, it shouldn't be that much effort to just toss the bones into the blender first, give it a whirr, and then add in the other ingredients and giving it another whirr, right?

I'm hoping to end up with something other than mush (or puree), so I was going to try and grate it with a fine grater first. But fish guts, even frozen, probably won't grate well, so I maybe blend those separately and mix them in with the grated stuff at the end.

As all my fish are three inches or smaller, I think I'll avoid any and all bone fragments that I can.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Celtic_Fox]

Get a fillet of mackerel. It is a very oily fish. Or ask your fish guy for the oiliest fish he has.

Clam guts are good for some extra bacteria.

Thanks and yep, got some fresh clams for the mix!

 

[WVNed]

I would purée them and put them through a strainer in the kitchen.

 

[Cole.mormon]

Just feed mysis

 

[ScottB]

Just feed mysis

Mysis is a very protein rich food source for sure. On the flip side, it is not a natural food source for marine animals. That is one reason many hobbyists supplement mysis with other meaty saltwater prey animals. And nori.