how to prepare silversides

crankbait09 · 12/27/2017, 03:11 PM

I picked up my first pack of silversides yesterday to see how my BTA would take to it. I cut a 1/4" piece from the body, making sure not to use the tail, or the head. I then thawed it in water, and placed it on the nem. He just held it there for a good while, before the peppermint shrimp, and the yellow coris wrasse stole it.

So A) the nem may not have been hungry (last time he ate was saturday/maybe sunday), or B) the nem couldn't do anything with it due to incorrect prep on my part.

Is there something I need to do to prepare this for him? Do I remove the meat inside the silverside, or just leave it as is?

when feeding the nem mysis shrimp, it comes in a slab, or ice cube. Since they are not solid chunks of meat, how do you feed the nem this food since it's almost like coral food at that point? Unless you should use freeze dried mysis.

little help anyone?

Pslreefer · 12/27/2017, 03:13 PM

Why would you cut off the head and tail?

I’ve always fed it whole or cut in half.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

crankbait09 · 12/27/2017, 03:14 PM

um, well. the silversides I have are like 3-4" long. suckers are huge. my nem is only the size of a silver dollar.

saf1 · 12/27/2017, 03:18 PM

You don't need to feed the anemone. If you do silversides are not a good choice especially for one the size you noted. I would feed it using a turkey baster with mysis shrimp. You can also rotate it with brine shrimp. Easier to digest.

crankbait09 · 12/27/2017, 03:20 PM

i hear mixed reviews about silversides. most do, some do not.
whats wrong with them?

saf1 · 12/27/2017, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crankbait09

i hear mixed reviews about silversides. most do, some do not.
whats wrong with them?

Boney more or less. Difficult to digest. Prawns or shrimp work really well when cut to proper size. Something that small I'd just use the turkey baster with thawed brine or mysis shrimp.

I started with one rose bubble tip and now have six. Not my ideal number - honestly prefer one. However, over the past 6 or so years they have split for various reasons. I always thought people feed silversides to try and force the splitting. I started feeding them because it was a food source I already had and also heard people recommend it. I used to feed them to my Elegance coral which did eat them regularly. But once I started reading mostly bad things when feeding them to anemones I stopped.

I don't have anything specific honestly. Just what I read here and on another forum so tend to play it on the safer side. My clowns give it just about every food they eat anyway so I don't need to target feed.

crankbait09 · 12/27/2017, 03:48 PM

my clowns haven't paired up with it yet, so i haven't seen that happen.

olemiss reb · 12/27/2017, 07:09 PM

Issue with silversides is that they're frozen whole, guts intact. If they thaw at some point before they get to you, there is a good chance they will spoil. A spoiled silverside can take down a nem. They also have elevated thiaminase levels although that can be nullified with vitamin soaks.

12/27/2017, 03:11 PM	#1
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	how to prepare silversides I picked up my first pack of silversides yesterday to see how my BTA would take to it. I cut a 1/4" piece from the body, making sure not to use the tail, or the head. I then thawed it in water, and placed it on the nem. He just held it there for a good while, before the peppermint shrimp, and the yellow coris wrasse stole it. So A) the nem may not have been hungry (last time he ate was saturday/maybe sunday), or B) the nem couldn't do anything with it due to incorrect prep on my part. Is there something I need to do to prepare this for him? Do I remove the meat inside the silverside, or just leave it as is? when feeding the nem mysis shrimp, it comes in a slab, or ice cube. Since they are not solid chunks of meat, how do you feed the nem this food since it's almost like coral food at that point? Unless you should use freeze dried mysis. little help anyone?

12/27/2017, 03:18 PM	#4
saf1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: California Posts: 2,259	You don't need to feed the anemone. If you do silversides are not a good choice especially for one the size you noted. I would feed it using a turkey baster with mysis shrimp. You can also rotate it with brine shrimp. Easier to digest. __________________ -saf1 Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef

12/27/2017, 07:09 PM	#8
olemiss reb Molon Labe Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Louisiana Posts: 1,550	Issue with silversides is that they're frozen whole, guts intact. If they thaw at some point before they get to you, there is a good chance they will spoil. A spoiled silverside can take down a nem. They also have elevated thiaminase levels although that can be nullified with vitamin soaks. __________________ secesh

12/27/2017, 03:13 PM	#2
Pslreefer In Memoriam Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Port St Lucie, FL Posts: 597	Why would you cut off the head and tail? I’ve always fed it whole or cut in half. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12/27/2017, 03:14 PM	#3
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	um, well. the silversides I have are like 3-4" long. suckers are huge. my nem is only the size of a silver dollar.

12/27/2017, 03:20 PM	#5
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	i hear mixed reviews about silversides. most do, some do not. whats wrong with them?

12/27/2017, 03:48 PM	#7
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	my clowns haven't paired up with it yet, so i haven't seen that happen.