Smelt & silversides

[kimbosaur]

Since I received the reply from Omega One, I have found a few articles on the species "Brachyrostralis" and it appears that they are an "ice fish" native to the Yangtze River of China. The only references I can find to the species are Chinese. I find it very strange that there is so little information on a fish that is mass sold across the world. Could it be possible that there is another name for them?

Nevertheless, I don't feel comfortable with this source of "silversides" and will continue to be on the hunt for some of those other brands.

[RedSidedSPR]

Pet stores should carry Sally's brand. That's what I use.

[Steveo]

Breathing some life into this old thread... are parasites a concern with frozen fish?

[guidofatherof5]

Depends on the temp they were frozen at and the length of time they've been frozen.
Many parasites are killed by freezing. It's the parasite eggs that can survive much longer that are the concern.

http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/nematodes.htm

[Steveo]

Thanks, Steve. I'm hoping to pick up some silversides this weekend, hopefully the packaging will indicate temperature and length of time.

[ConcinusMan]

It won't, but they are flash frozen (nearly instantaneously frozen at extremely low temperature using liquid nitrogen) before they are packaged, and kept frozen until you buy them. I wouldn't worry about parasites at all, and I've never seen any signs of worms, dead or alive, in the silversides. Can't say that about fish meant for human consumption.

[mibr]

In regards to what Shannon pointed out concerning smelt, European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) is an exception, it does not contain thiaminase. However, most, if not all other species, do.

Sccording to information on thamnophis.eu (/thamnophis/?page_id=884) the species Osmerus eperlanus does contain thiaminase.

[mikec205]

I catch my own silversides and they are a smelly fish when they are still alive.