Catfish are "garbage fish", can they live by eating feces and garbage? Why is it cultivated in large quantities in the south?
I remember when I was a child, one of my favorite fish was catfish. Because fish like grass carp, carp and crucian carp, they are all more spiny, and they are afraid of getting stuck in the throat.
Although the catfish is smaller, it has no thorns, almost all of it is meat, for people who love to eat fish and are afraid of fish bones, catfish is the most ideal kind of fish.
But now when it comes to catfish, many people shake their heads at them, and many people will jump out with a sentence of "this is a garbage fish, don't eat it." And if you ask the reason, they will tell you, "This kind of fish can grow up eating garbage and feces, who dares to eat it?" ”
In fact, this is a misunderstanding of catfish, and this pot catfish is not willing to carry it. If it really is a garbage fish, then why is it still being farmed on a large scale in the south?
(1) It turns out that catfish are also divided into types
In the past, catfish was very popular with the people of the mainland, especially in the northern region, it was a fish that both men and women and children liked to eat. In the folk, there is also a saying that "catfish stewed eggplant, support the old man", which shows the local people's love for catfish.
But later, the attitude towards catfish has changed by 180 degrees, so that many people who love catfish have become "black powder". This is because the mainland introduced the Egyptian pond carp, so that many people have been stupid and unclear since then.
As we all know, the domestic catfish have high requirements for water quality, only in some places with clear water quality, if the water quality is polluted, it is difficult for them to survive.
The Egyptian pond carp is different, it comes from the Nile, which is a river with a lot of sediment. And compared with the mainland catfish, this fish has the characteristics of wide feeding, fast growth and large size. And its advantages are low oxygen tolerance, strong adaptability, and easy reproduction.
This fish can really survive even in stinky ditches. And because of the characteristics of this fish, even if no one feeds food, they can survive for a long time.
Because they can prey on everything that can be eaten in the water, including animal carcasses, garbage, and living animals such as rats and frogs. As long as they can eat, they can prey.
It is also for these reasons that since the arrival of the Egyptian pond mackerel, some people have regarded the native catfish as garbage fish, in fact, this is completely innocently shot.
(2) Is Egyptian pond carp a garbage fish?
Some people say that Egyptian pond mackerel is a garbage fish, but add a reason, that is, this fish loves to eat feces, and some farmed farmers will feed it with animal excrement, so that the fish grow faster.
In fact, this is also a misunderstanding!
First of all, the fish that loves to eat feces is not only the Egyptian pond mackerel, but also a fish that loves to eat feces, like the grass carp, one of the four major fish we are familiar with. They like to eat their own excrement, and some fishermen who farm grass carp will also pour in some animal excrement.
Secondly, these are not directly poured into it, but are fermented. Fish farmers occasionally feed fish with some pig manure and chicken manure as feed.
This is because the faeces of these animals are a non-toxic but inexpensive natural fertilizer that provides a large amount of nutrients to plankton in the water. And these excrement are only fermented, and no one will be stupid enough to pour them directly into it.
Because the feces contain a large number of pathogenic bacteria and parasites, the fish that are directly poured into it will get sick and die in large quantities, which is not worth the loss. So these are all fermented in advance, just as farmers ferment them as farm manure to water the crops.
Finally, the fact that Egyptian pond mackerels can survive in sewage does not mean that they love the sewage environment and love to eat garbage.
In fact, Egyptian pond catfish and mainland catfish also like to grow in a clean water environment, and some of the reason why they can survive eating garbage and feces in the gutters is only because this fish has strong vitality.
In order to survive, they have to eat all kinds of things to fill their hunger, which is also the instinct of living things. Therefore, it is inappropriate to call the Egyptian pond carp "garbage fish".
(3) Why is there a large number of breeding in the south?
As an economic fish introduced from the mainland, egyptian pond mackerel has a large number of cultures in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan provinces, and in recent years it has been promoted as an important economic fish because of its high economic value.
Compared with the mainland catfish, this fish has the characteristics of fast growth, high yield and low cost. In general, Egyptian pond carp can reach three or four pounds in a year, and it is not surprising that the two years with better conditions can grow to 10 kilograms.
At the same time, this fish does not have any fish bones, and the fish meat is also very delicious, although the taste is worse than the mainland catfish, but its nutritional value is still very high. This fish is delicate to eat, rich in fat, and smooth and tender, and is still a fish that many people love to eat.
In some vegetable markets in the south, Egyptian pond mackerel is a very common fish, like many restaurants of sauerkraut fish, most of them use Egyptian pond fish.
(4) Conclusion
As an economic fish introduced from the mainland to breed, the Egyptian pond carp has a strong vitality, low oxygen tolerance is also strong, coupled with strong disease resistance, fast growth rate characteristics, by many farmers loved.
In recent years, some farms of Egyptian pond mackerel have escaped into the wild, and then they enter the sewage ditch, sewers and other environments to grow, by eating garbage and animal carcasses, feces grow up, and then we say that they are "garbage fish", in fact, this is unfair, especially the catfish connected to the mainland are also rejected, which is a complete misunderstanding.
As long as it is a catfish purchased in the market by formal means, it can be eaten with confidence. I hope that everyone will not believe in rumors and do not spread rumors.