Tropical feeders ok or not

[somefinnfishy]

I can get bags of 30-40 full grown Benous aries tetras also exodons and a couple other species of tetras at the auction for $5.I pay the same amount for a bag of feeder guppys-gold fish At the LFS the tetras are a bigger meal and probialy a lot heathyer than gold fish or feeder guppys.
Do you think its right or wrong.Keep in mind my piranha probialy eat lots of tetras in there native waters.

[OrionGirl]

I don't have any moral quibbles with feeding live critters. However, making sure those feeders are healthy is of utmost importance. Buying 'regular' fish instead of goldies increases the odds of healthy fish, but doesn't gaurantee it, so make sure you quarantine the feeders before feeding them.

I am in favor of training fish to accept prepared foods, and using feeders as conditioners or treats--easier to keep food in the freezer than in a tank.

[somefinnfishy]

I actualy think the exodons are more humane than goldys as they can bite back.
Curently I still have them on live blackworms and glassworms still only 4"
I also have 5 silver arro's that just droped their egg sacks that will take feeders in a month or two.

[OrionGirl]

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the feeders not to fight back--after all, you don't want the fish being fed damaged, right? We used to have an octopus, and would feed her baby crawdads. We snippped their claws off, even though she should have been able to eat them either way. We didn't want to risk her losing a tentacle.

[thom336]

i am against feeding live fish as food. of course, live food such as brine shrimp, daphina, bloodworm and alike are ok, but not live young tropical fish. this is just an opinion. i would feed your piranha beef heart, dead fish from fish monger, and other propriety fish foods...they would be just as happy, if not more so as it would be a more well-rounded diet.

what happens in nature, and what happens in the aquarium are so far taken from each other that you cannot draw the two together really. the tetras and such have a chance to swim away and survive in the wild, whereas this is not possible in the aquarium, and they are just lambs to the slaughter. in the wild the piranha would also not have so many meals, and the fish they eat would be supplemented by wild berries and as such. in the aquarium we have control, and we can control what we feed our fish, and there are many better foods for them out there than live fish. also, live fish being eaten causes alot of mess, and they are very fatty...remember that in the wild, the piranha wont have such regular food and would have alot more exercise, and so the fat wouldnt be a problem...but in the aquarium it ultimately is.

so, i wouldnt recommend the feeding of live tropical fish to carnivores such as piranha, but in the end it is up to you.

[Dr Fishy]

I guess the big question here is what do the tetras think?

Just kidding :Angel:

The feeder conundrum has been raging for quit a few decades. Health concerns are easy to uderstand, but what about the size of the fish being fed? They all can cause choaking of the fish doing the eating. So besides the above mentioned health issues be sure to feed the right sized fish to your "Pets". This might seem like a given but you might be suprised at how many people try to feed to big a feeder to the pets only to have their pets succumb to this fish after it is swallowed so deeply that it cannot be removed without damaging the pet. (After working in a pet store some years back I found that not everyone understands this problem) As for the piranah feedings you can use small mice also and skip this topic altogether! (eeewww grossss). I have seen videos and live feedings of this and it does work.
Dr. Fishy

PS Just some food for thought! :duh:

[Kasakato]

Check the date!

[Slappy*McFish]

lol...man, these old topics keep getting brought back from the grave don't they?

[Dr Fishy]

The poll brought me here maybe remove the poll if it is that old...

[Watcher74]

:look: Where did you find this artifact?

[StreetCypher]

Nothin wrong with bringing up an old topic.

I think feeder tetras are no different than feeder goldfish, minnows, or any other kind of live fish. I know for a fact that pred lovers in the east feed not only feeder goldfish, but feeder platys, baby catfish, tadpoles and bullfrogs.

I once fed my old lima shovelnose a few left over tetras before taking a tank down. It was amazing seeing the thing stalk them and hunt them. Its behaviour you will never see with frozen foods. That said, my fish have never seen feeders before, but that may change soon.

[zave2340]

live is the best way to go. you see you pets hunting skills. This is something that ALL fish need, They NEED to show there natural insinct or they will losse it and become boring fish. When i had my Brutis Burtis, i could not get him to get dead food no matter how i tried, But drop in a feeder minnow, and i watch him hide under rocks until just the right momment, then SLAM, like pack man. I always found it amazeing to watch anther creature show its hunt insitinct since we seem to have lost them becuase of prepared hamburgers and places like McDonald's.....


and yes, tetras are find to feed, if thats what you chose to feed then cool let it rip. I wish i could have feed my brutis better, he died becuase of ICH from a minnow. **** you crappy LFS (BTW i dont shop there anymore)

[Kasakato]

Lol, the dumb homepage! Someone get rid of the polls! Please!

[shadrac]

thers nothing wrong with it i have a 75 and every fish in there eats other fish and sometimes we get bored of the reg feeders of guppys, white clouds, and baby danios. so me and my step dad go and pick out a bunch of little fish like tetras and stuff to give them. its great i love watching the fish hunt

[scavenger]

When it comes to this topic, I am a bit divided but leaning more towards being against it. I personally don't like to see a living creature being killed and eaten by another. But I do understand that many people disagree since predators naturally kill in nature. Its just that tetras, minnows and danios are the fish I keep and amongst my favorites and if there are alternatives to using feeders, I'd rather use the alternatives to avoid extra suffering. Like for example, in nature, cats are predators that catch and eat small mammals and birds and yet I don't see feeder rats or feeder budgies being sold for cats. I doubt that the lions and tigers at the zoos are being given feeder antelope or feeder deer.

So, I'm sure most of you totally disagree with my opinion about feeder fish being cruel but thats only my opinion and heck, what do I know?

[jaylin]

Health concerns are easy to uderstand, but what about the size of the fish being fed? They all can cause choaking of the fish doing the eating.

I'm sorry, but I read this and thought "when was the last time you saw a piranha choke?"

Don't mind me. I'm just a tad off in the sense of humor department.

[sublime1184]

HA! that will never happen...maybe Dr. Fishy doesn't know piranha have teeth :huh:

[Kasakato]

I dont know? Do they :D