dino Bichir

[reptileguy2727]

the most natural thing isnt always the best. home raised foods arent completely safe. the food still decays, now or later it still affects the water quality of the tank. it wont do any harm to not allow them to eat live food even if they LOVE it.

if you raised the food yourself and it is that important to you to feed live food it still isnt necessary, but of relatively low risk. i just dont think the very few minimal benefits are worth the risk in general to ever recommend live food. its only use in individuals that will accept prepared foods is if it is required for breeding.

 

[travis]

Uneaten food doesn't immediatley decay - yes it does. most live foods do not survive in an aquarium. feeder fish and ghost shrimp are the only ones that will really never die.


If raised by the keeper in a controlled enviroment, the food is almost always free of disease - same with pellets/frozen food.

It more closeley replicates the fishes natural diet - sort of, but this isnt really a good thing.

Awakens fish's natural instincts; fish absolutley love snapping up live - true

 

[dorkfish]

Really, I don't see how you think improve upon a fish's natural diet with manmade foods - fish have been evolving to specific enviroments and diets for thousands and thousands, way before humans walked this earth - and people have only been keeping fish for a few hundred years.

So what's so bad about replicating the fish's natural enviroment?

 

[travis]

fish have been evolving to specific enviroments and diets for thousands and thousands, way before humans walked this earth - and people have only been keeping fish for a few hundred years.

So what's so bad about replicating the fish's natural enviroment?

are you kidding?

 

[FreddytheFish]

Uneaten food doesn't immediatley decay - yes it does. most live foods do not survive in an aquarium. feeder fish and ghost shrimp are the only ones that will really never die.

I never said it wouldn't die, but it wouldn't decay as easily as prepared food. Ever been fishing with live earthworms? You can leave the worm in for a while, and if you pull it our its still usually wriggling.

If raised by the keeper in a controlled enviroment, the food is almost always free of disease - same with pellets/frozen food.

Yes, but I'm not trying to prove that prepared food is bad, its a miracle. I love the stuff. I'm trying to prove that occasional feedings of live food are benficial to the fish.

are you kidding?

 

[Sunni Side Up]

For the love of fish...

I want to thank everyone for great suggestions. I thought it would be all right for me to “steal” Magafish’s thread on bichirs since we could all learn about bichirs’ size and diet together. So, I do apologize to Magafish for such intrusion if I offended you and if you're returning your bichirs to the store… wish I could take them….

It seems like while on the subject of live and prepared food, we’re a bit entangled into the "war of the fish world"…. jk! ~
Hmmm….. what to do?.... Live food or not?…. All the excellent debates all mean well, and I’ve been using both prepared and live food for all my fish!
After having said that, I think I should start my own threat, uh... sorry, I mean thread, and could you all not give up on me and move to my thread to help me?

Again, sorry Magafish, and thank you all!

 

[Toirtis]

it also unnecessarily risks exposing many pathogens

Actually, the risk is quite small.

(and in wild caught foods, also chemicals such as pesticides, even if you dont use them on your lawn)

So, where, precisely, assuming your yard is larger than a postage stamp, would the worms become exposed to pesticides?

i have also found it increases aggression levels in fish compared to ones that are never fed live.

And in 35 years, I have never observed that at all.

[quoite] dont you think there is a reason zoos and aquariums will use prepared fodos as long as the fish and animals will take them?[/QUOTE]

You have not, apparently, worked in many zoos and aquariums, where live and fresh foods are very often used.

 

[Toirtis]

the most natural thing isnt always the best. home raised foods arent completely safe. the food still decays, now or later it still affects the water quality of the tank.

So does prepared food.

 

[Toirtis]

Do you mind sharing how/where you generally get your fish food such as live earth/super/black worms, and is there any preparation/cleaning required before feeding?

Earthworms I get from a local breeder and off my property (a fully organic area), blackworms come from a breeder in California, and superworms come from a local breeder. Prep for the blackworms and earthworms is a simple rinsing in cold water. No prep is required for the superworms, but I do gut-laid them for a full week before feeding them to anything.

I had tried cooked/cocktail shrimp from the market a couple of times then hesitated after another fish store staff told me that such cocktail shrimp is not good to feed the fish because of cleaning process and nutrient value. True?

Cocktail shrimp are only tails and cooked (lacking most of their nutrients)...I use only whole, frozen, raw shrimps.

 

[Sunni Side Up]

Attention: Here comes a General!

Ahhh.... Thank you, Toirtis!

.............
No prep is required for the superworms, but I do gut-laid them for a full week before feeding them to anything....

What do you mean by "gut-laid" them for a full week?

As an ESL speaker, or perhaps just not familiar with fishy business, I have trouble with terms; sometimes, one new word could just knock me unconscious.....