How to get feeder fish healthy

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flaskeeter

AC Members
Apr 24, 2005
6
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I was wondering if anyone has a treatment regimen they use to get goldies from a feeder tank healthy and safe so they can live as pets in my already established tank. I like the look of longfinned comet types, and I see some really nice-looking ones at a local chain from time to time. I'd like to give one or two a good home, but I know that feeders don't always receive very good care and can come with parasites, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks!
 

thebrandon

I like fish
Jan 29, 2009
1,846
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36
Tucson, AZ
I have 2 feeders right now that my oscars(when I had them) just ignored. They ate all the fish but these two and just lived with them, I didn't do anything special to keep them a live.
 

67chevelle

Basset Hound
Jul 30, 2008
2,286
2
38
Keep them in a quarantine tank and feed them a good quality food for at least 2 weeks.If they are eating and appear healthy after that,put them in you established tank.If at any time they seem to have disease in the QT tank,treat them for whatever disease they have.I would keep them in the QT tank for at least 2 weeks after they show no signs of any disease.They should not be kept with tropical fish,they require different water temps.
 

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
1,799
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0
Northern Virginia
If you feed a food with a lot of garlic it can help to rid them of any internal or external parasites. Fresh garlic will work too, and they will take it. Just chop it up, press it, and feed it along with a high quality prepared food.
 
Goldfish are like dogs...they will eat just about anything. :)

I'd go with what Reptile said...quarantine them, feed them stinky garlic with other good foods and watch them...I'd keep them in the QT for at least a month though...and keep that water Clean, clean clean.
 

flaskeeter

AC Members
Apr 24, 2005
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Thanks so much for all your replies! Of course, qt is an absolute must. The garlic idea sounds intriguing, going with a natural remedy is always a plus in my book. Do you know how garlic stacks up against meds as far as efficacy - the health and safety of my established goldies must come first! But it would be wonderful to save a life, and I have no room for another big permanent tank. Thanks again!
 

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
1,799
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Northern Virginia
I personally would not use any chemical medications unless you have a known pathogen that isn't responding to other treatments. Any chemical medication has the potential to do harm as well as kill the pathogen.

There are not many studies out comparing garlic and chemical medications. But one did show it to be a safe and still effective treatment against ick as opposed to chemical medications like malachite green. But if you are looking for something like 'malachite green is effective at normal doses 80% of the time and garlic used at a minimum concentration of X is 90% effective' I am not aware of any information like that.

As long as the water quality is high and they get a high quality food they should be able to deal with everything on their own. I got almost two dozen feeders about a month ago and all of them are doing very well. No signs of any problems at all. It also depends on the care they received before you got them. Some shops take much better care of their feeders than others.
 

Kashta

Always Niko's fault.....
Jun 24, 2008
4,676
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USA West Coast
Real Name
Susan
Agree with all that's been said. Another drawback to using chemical treatments when we're not sure, or as just a precaution is they won't work as well in the future if something happens and you really need it. It's kinda like us using a lot of antibiotics when we don't absolutely need to. There develops a resistance to it with frequent use, which makes it less effective.

With feeder fish, just watch them for a long time before you decide. You can see their overall condition as a group and by watching, you'll pick out the stronger, healthier fish. Then quarantine, like the others said. They've really been starved in shipment and in the store, so feed them often in small portions for the first several days. Helps them build up their strength and fatten up a little. That will probably be the first time they've ever had a decent amount of food on a regular basis. Feeders get neglected by most folks because they know they're just going to get eaten by something else soon.

A lot of the fish I have came from feeder tanks. They make wonderful pets and grow into beautiful specimens. When I found out I was getting Alexei and Sprocket from Flaringshutter, I decided I also wanted an all-white comet companion to go with them. I loved the contrast I saw in Flaring's photos of her big white common (Upstart) in with the yellow-orange comets. I went to Petsmart to check and they had 5 white feeders (comets). That's when I got Sibelius. This was in December... he was about 1-1/2 inches long then and only cost 12 cents.

This first picture shows him a few weeks later. He was a dorky looking fish then.. his tail was less than half as long as his body. I just took photos of him today. It's been roughly 3 months and he's a little over 4 inches long. He's more streamlined already and his fins are starting to get longer. His tail is about 3/4 the size of his body now and they're just starting to flow more as he moves. He's still just a juvenile, but I think he's going to be very handsome when he grows up. (Included the loach pictures because they made me laugh while taking the pictures.)

sibelius-inch long.jpg sibelius-4inches.jpg 03-03-09_0336.jpg 03-03-09_0403.jpg 03-03-09_0415.jpg 03-03-09_0408.jpg 03-03-09_0411.jpg
 
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