> Prawn shells and insect exoskeletons are both chitin, so yes they'd do the
> same job. I don't think many (any?) vertebrates can digest chitin, which is
> a polysaccharide (same sort of thing as cellulose) so maybe it's just roughage.
> Cheers
> Chris Howe
It is, I believe, for the most part roughage. Many fancy goldfish
breeders here in the US use it as such to keep their pets' intestines
working properly. Fancy golds are very prone to intestinal blockages due
to their "deformities." Frozen brine (mostly just exoskeleton and little
else) is the "roughage" of choice here.
Julie Z. <><