Consuming Raw Fish

Like fruits, humans have been eating raw fish for millions of years. Fish can be much better consumed raw than meat, for containing far less connective tissue.

Consuming food containing sugars and fibers within 2 to 3 hours after having consumed raw fish or egg yolk can cause severe cramps. Try eating fruits before consuming sashimi, and take your time.

To judge fish on freshness, it has to be a whole fish ; the slime-layer must be intact, and the gills should be moist and bright red. (except for mackerel, whose gills are brown) The scales must be both intact and shiny, and firmly attached to the body. The cut-wound edges must have a fresh scent. The flesh has to be firm. Poking your finger in the flesh, it has to bounce back. Fresh fish has convex eyes, which shouldn't be bloody but bright white, with shiny black pupils. There should not be any signs of browning due to oxidation. Just remember, fresh fish does not smell.

Tweet

Sucker Fish - The Best Cleaning Crew

If you have an algae eater, you may have been told to get a sucker fish, or algae eater. These fish have specially designed mouths that allow them to latch on to surfaces and suck off the algae. Some people call catfish sucker fish as well. Catfish usually clean waste off the bottom of the fish tank. These types of fish are a great addition to your tank, as they help to keep it clean.

There are many different fish on the market that are commonly labeled algae eaters. Some are better at eating algae than others. Here are some of the most common fish that are labeled as algae eaters. First, the Siamese Algae Eater, which is a fish with a jagged black horizontal stripe down its back. The False Siamese Algae Eater looks very similar, but the black stripe ends at this fish’s tail. The Flying Fox has a smooth black stripe down its body. Finally, the Chinese algae eater is mostly solid black. These algae eaters have a little bit of a deceiving name. They will eat algae, but they will eat leftover food first. They are preferred by aquarists that have trouble with hair algae, as they will eat this type readily.

Tweet

Ancient Romans Like Fish Sauce

A shipwrecked first-century vessel carrying delicacies to the richest palates of the Roman Empire has proved a dazzling find, with nearly 2,000-year-old fish bones still nestling inside clay jars. Boaters found its cargo of hundreds of amphorae in 2000 when their anchor got tangled with one of the two-handled jars.

The ship, estimated to be 100 feet long with a capacity for around 400 tons of cargo, is twice the size of most other Roman shipwrecks found in the Mediterranean. Its cargo of an estimated 1,500 well-preserved clay amphorae was used in this case to hold fish sauce — a prized condiment for wealthy Romans.

Tweet

How Do Fish See in the Dark?

Since sunlight never reaches the deeper parts of the sea, these regions are always totally dark. Yet fish live here and swim about without bumping into each other.

How is this so? . . . Well, fish actually “see” without their eyes; they use other sensory organs.

The next time you catch a fish, look for a line running along its skin, from the gills to the tail. All fish have this marking, called the lateral line. All along the lateral line are openings in the fish’s skin. These openings allow water vibrations to reach sensory organs which are located under the lateral line.

These sensory organs, in turn, are connected to the fish’s nervous system, and are very sensitive to slight vibrations in the water.

By reading the vibrations in the water around it, a fish can tell when another fish is approaching, what direction it’s coming from, and how far away it is. The fish can also tell when a rock or other object is close by, because these objects cause vibrations as water flows around them.

So a fish can navigate through the darkness without striking another fish or a rock, and can “see” even in total darkness!

Tweet