Tilapia/Trout fillet....

[RedSidedSPR]

People keep saying to get farm raised... the TJ stuff is from Canada. Is that oK?

[Didymus20X6]

The thing is, you're always going to be at risk. Even the best mongers will occasionally get a sick fish (although, they will typically know what to look for). The best thing to do is just learn what to look for yourself.

But having a trustworthy monger will go a long way in helping you with that. As Alton Brown and Emeril always say, "It pays to get to know your vendors." Not only do you get a sense of whether you can trust them or not, but if they like you, they will go out of their way to help you. Become friends with the people you buy your fish from.

Bottom line: take it from the guys who feed people. Know what to look out for in whatever product you use.

[ConcinusMan]

Thanks, and yeah, not worried about the price if theres a good amount.

How do I know if it's safe though? I mean, what makes the fish from Walmart unsafe?

And are you saying farm raised because Canada is a no? Is farm raised always safe?

I just know fillet can be bad, I dont want to buy the wrong stuff

Rainbow trout is almost always farm raised and is a good fish to feed to your snakes. All farm raised fish are generally lower in contaminants such as PCB's and mercury when compared to wild fish.

I don't think it really matters where you get your tilapia. It all comes from the same handful sources. Mostly farms in the far east.

People keep saying to get farm raised... the TJ stuff is from Canada. Is that oK?

I would imagine it's fine. It might even be cleaner. The farther north you go into Canada and the arctic, the cleaner fish tends to be. There's less pollution.

[RedSidedSPR]

If I can find rainbow trout I think I'll go with.

Is there a place i don't want to get it from? I mean, if its from alaska, out of country is it safe?

[Chondro788]

I eat Wal-Mart Tilapia and Salmon all the time, and have fed some to some of my problem feeders as well. Never researched it, but I agree with what was said about it all coming from the same sources, and don't always trust such things as "farm raised". Just because its "FR" doesn't mean that farm is in the US, or even a good clean source for that matter. But then again, I eat tons of Bluegill caught in neighborhood ponds, so I don't worry too much about it! If its fish and it smells good, I eat it!!! And don't get me started on how good sushi is!!!

[ConcinusMan]

If its fish and it smells good, I eat it!!! And don't get me started on how good sushi is!!!

To hell with mercury and tapeworms. Eat it anyway!

[Chondro788]

To hell with mercury and tapeworms. Eat it anyway!

Not gonna live my life worring about everything. There are rivers in my area I know not to eat from, but if "they" say its ok, I eat it. Not to mention eating squirrel, rabbit, venision, duck, ect. The more meat I can put on my table while enjoying the outdoors the better! Kill it, cook it, eat it!!

[Didymus20X6]

The cooking part is the key: parasites don't like high temperatures and tend to die when exposed to them. That's why pork and poultry are typically cooked to 165f, because that's the temp at which most organisms can no longer survive. Except maybe for those volcano microbes, but those tend not to turn up in food very often for some reason.

[ConcinusMan]

The body does very slowly eliminate mercury. It's only a problem if you accumulate it faster than you can eliminate it. With a lot of species of fish, this means that if you eat more than a serving or two per month, you're taking in mercury faster than you can eliminate it. You won't have any symptoms until it reaches toxic levels and by then it's too late. You've just become a "mad hatter"

Farmed fish has much lower levels. The reason tilapia doesn't have hardly any at all is that fact that they are largely vegetarians. Bluegill are loaded with it, no matter where it's caught. Methyl mercury is a by-product of air pollution and ultimately ends up in the water where it accumulates in every increasing amounts, as you go up the food chain. Since you're at the top, if you keep eating it... well... it's your body, your brain. You decide. Is eating all that fish really worth that?

Science and technology: Mercury poisoning and Minamata Epidemic

Mtodo Allegra

Virtually all fish on the market contains mercury. Some at low levels but it's still there. It's not even safe to eat more than two servings a month of just about all salmon except wild alaskan. Scary.

[kibakiba]

I guess that explains why I am the way I am... Hehe!