Getting feeder fish - parasites?

Sawyer

Sawyer

AC Members
Apr 24, 2009
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I wanted to get feeder guppies, ghost shrimp and rosy reds, but how do I know they haven't got parasites? I'll be quarantining but will I be able to tell they haven't got parasites? I know some people give them garlic, does it kill any type of internal parasite?
 
the best thing to do if you want to feed feeders to your fish is to set up a small tank to breed and raise them yourself. this way you can be assured that your food source is not contaminated with parasites or any other nasties.

if buying feeders you would need to quarantine them for some time, i would say minimum 4 weeks. and that won't guarantee your feeders to be free of some parasites, like callamanus (one of the worst ones out there!). fish can be infected with callamanus worms for a long time before they start showing the red thread-like worms hanging out of their anuses.

garlic, from what i have read, doesn't kill parasites. garlic makes the intestines of a fish a not so nice place for parasites to live, so that they don't attach themselves to the intestinal lining. i soak my fish's pellets in garlic juice about once a week.

i personally would breed my own feeders.
 
Oops, I meant feeders as pets. Sorry I didn't make that more clear. I like rosy reds which are always sold as feeders and ghost shrimp seem to be labeled feeders as well. And I just like feeder guppies. The feeder tanks all have healthy looking fish, never see any dead, so I'm hoping they don't have any illnesses but I suppose they could've got parasites from wherever the pet shop gets them from.

I plan on quarantining for at least 4 weeks. Just not sure if I'll be able to tell they have parasites. Oh, I hadn't researched much about the garlic, I assumed it must kill them. So what happens if they already have parasites and you feed them garlic soaked food? Do they detach themselves from the intestinal lining, get pooped out by the fish and then die if they can't find another host?
 
if you are planning on keeping them as pets i would do the 4 week qt, and proactively treat for parasites. i'm not fully versed on what meds would be best to use (i've not had to deal with many parasites, thank jeebus!), but there are a number of members on here that proactively treat their wild caught fish when they come in, and they'd be able to suggest a good med or two. msjinkzd comes to mind, she's always got new fishies coming in! lol.

not sure if the garlic alone would cause parasites to leave the host if the host is heavily infected.
 
I know shrimp don't react well to certain types of meds.. so I'm not sure if I'd be able to treat the fish in the same tank as the shrimp. do shrimp even get parasites? I know inverts don't get a lot of diseases fish do so its safe to not quarantine them for very long. Some people don't quarantine inverts at all.
 
far as i know parasites can be carried in on inverts but they aren't necessarily infected with them. unless i am 100% sure on my source for snails or shrimp they get qt-ed.
 
Very interesting thread as I just recently set up a tank for rosy reds. Ended up getting 2 fathead minnows instead (the wild type version) since that was all I could find. One died, but the other one is doing great. I do want to add a few more so it would be great to know what to treat them with.
 
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