Guide of TYPES OF FISH

FDA Consumer: Mercury In Fish: Cause for Concern?
This article originally appeared in the September 1994 issue of FDA Consumer and contains revisions made in May 1995.
But reports that these and some other large predatory fish may contain methyl mercury levels in excess of the Food and Drug Administration's 1 part per million (ppm) limit has dampened some fish lovers' appetites.
FDA scientists responsible for seafood safety are also concerned about the safety of the eating these types of fish, but they agree that the fish are safe, provided they are eaten infrequently (no more than once a week) as part of a balanced diet.
According to FDA toxicologist Mike Bolger, Ph.D., approximately 2, 700 to 6, 000 tons of mercury are released annually into the atmosphere naturally by degassing from the Earth's crust and oceans.
trace amounts of mercury are soluble in bodies of water, where bacteria can cause chemical changes that transform mercury to methyl mercury, a more toxic form.
Fish absorb methyl mercury from water as it passes over their gills and as they feed on aquatic organisms.
Larger predator fish are exposed to higher levels of methyl mercury from their prey.
Methyl mercury binds tightly to the proteins in fish tissue, including muscle.


TYPES OF FISH

Tropical Fish Food
In this section you will find articles about different types of tropical fish food and how to feed you fish in order to ensure optimal health.
Correct feeding is also very important if you want to breed fish, since certain food types or an increased amount of food can trigger spawning in many species.
If you are a beginner fish keeper we recommend some of the introductory articles that describe the different types of available fish foods and how to feed your fish.
This section of the articles library do not only include feeding guidelines and different opinions regarding fish food, but also has a lot of articles about how to raise live food for your fish by cultivating Brine shrimp, Daphnia, Fruit flies, Vinegar eels, microworms etcetera.
You can also create your own tropical fish food for herbivore species from vegetables.
A high quality flake or pellet food is a good base for many tropical fish species that except non-live food and that base can then be supplemented with your home-grown treats to ensure a varied and well balanced diet.
If you do not want to grow your own food, most fish stores will sell frozen meaty foods that you can store in your freezer.
Different tropical fish species will require different types of food.

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info: TYPES OF FISH


Photo by nasismiddle.nbed.nb.ca

Choosing Safe Fish: Too Little Data on the Menu
Copyright This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose.
See 'Mercury in Commercial Fish: Optimizing Individual Choices to Reduce Risk ' on page 266.
In recent years, both the benefits and the potential health risks of eating certain types of fish have been well publicized.
Consumption advisories by government agencies as well as media reports have raised public awareness of high mercury concentrations in certain fish, particularly swordfish, shark, king mackerel, and tilefish.
In this month’s issue, scientists at Rutgers University, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection contend that such efforts still are not enough to allow consumers to make truly informed decisions about which fish to eat, how often, and in what quantities [ EHP 113:266–271] ..
With the overall objective of exploring how the information communicated in public health advisories might be enhanced, the group looked at the potential variation in fish mercury levels between regions within a state, between neighborhoods of different economic strata, and between types of stores.

Benefits



Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Mecury in Fish - Updated Information (22 December 2004)
Our advice is that it is safe for all population groups to eat 2-3 serves per week of most types of fish.
There are only a few types of fish, which we recommend limiting in the diet.
Pregnant women, women planning pregnancy and young children should limit their intake of shark (flake), broadbill, marlin and swordfish to no more than one serve per fortnight with no other fish consumed during that fortnight.
For orange roughy (also sold as sea perch) and catfish, the advice is to consume no more than one serve per week, with no other fish being consumed during that week.
The general population should limit consumption of these types of fish to once per week.
However, the unborn baby is generally exposed to low mercury levels through maternal fish consumption with very subtle effects on neurodevelopment resulting, such as attention, learning and memory.
Methylmercury is the form of mercury considered the most harmful of those that occur in food.
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and it accumulates in the aquatic food chain, including fish and shellfish.
However, methylmercury tends to accumulate preferentially in fish that are larger, longer living or predatory.

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