When feeding cichlids, many folks shy away from or don't recommend feeding feeders from the lfs (local fish store) because of transmitting diseases from the feeders to the cichlids. I haven't observed that type of concern on this forum. Is there a difference feeding feeders to natives than tropical cichlids? I know that goldfish at our lfs have viruses and I see many fish in that store with lymphocystis. Therefore I'm afraid to use feeders. I'm fortunate enough to live on a lake and I see a bunch of mosquito fish along the shoreline that I can catch. So when I feed my redfin pikes, wouldn't it be better to feed them fish I catch in the lake? The folks in the cichlid world are scared to death of such a thing, but maybe because the tropical fish haven't been exposed to and have no defense against diseases carried by our native fish. But wouldn't the reverse be true when we feed non-native feeders to native fish? I have a 20 gallon and a 10 gallon tank that I would like to use as quaranteen tanks for feeders prior to feeding them to my fish. I'd like to have one as a 1st stage decontamination and the other as a holding tank for decontaminated feeders. Is this necessary? Am I a hypochondriac with my fish?
Feeders For Natives Vs. Tropicals.....
Started by
Guest_fishrenter_*
, Jul 20 2007 08:18 AM
10 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_edbihary_*
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Posted 20 July 2007 - 04:17 PM
That's going to depend entirely on who you ask. Any feeder fish, no matter the source, has a potential for transmitting germs. Whether you think this is a significant risk is a matter of personal opinion. There are people on this forum who would never use live feeders. Others, like myself, have no problem using live feeders. I prefer using small minnows and suckers obtained from a stream, because they are free, and because my daughter and I like to collect them. When it is inconvenient to collect them (too busy, bad weather, streams iced over, etc.), I will buy guppies and rosey reds from the LFS. I mainly use them for the pickerels, although the sunfish, yellow perch, and cichlids get a treat also when I have plenty. I'm not concerned with where they come from. Wild feeders and store-bought feeders go to my natives and to my cichlids. The store-bought ones are essentially wild somewhere, anyway, since they are typically grown in outdoor ponds in Florida. Wild fish get in those ponds; my green sunfish came from my LFS, shipped in with the feeders as a small juvenile. So the pond-raised, store-bought feeders are exposed to wild fish, and are therefore essentially wild themselves when it comes to potential disease exposure. If they are suitable for my cichlids, then so are locally-caught wild feeders, as far as I'm concerned.Is this necessary? Am I a hypochondriac with my fish?
I have never had a problem attributable to using live feeders, regardless of the source. And I'm not concerned about it. If you are, don't use live feeders, and don't keep fish that will only take live food. Your call.
#3
Guest_fishrenter_*
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Posted 20 July 2007 - 06:06 PM
Gotta have redfin pikerel so I'm gonna have to feed live feeders at first. I plan to try to get them off feeders and on to pellets or flakes as soon as I can. Thanks for the info!
#4
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 21 July 2007 - 07:53 AM
Gotta have redfin pikerel so I'm gonna have to feed live feeders at first. I plan to try to get them off feeders and on to pellets or flakes as soon as I can. Thanks for the info!
One caution on feeders... I have had some bad experiences with goldfish and pickerel. Goldfish have very large and thick skulls for a fish their size. This can become a blockage in a long slender fish like a pickerel. Stick with the guppies and rosy reds (and of course anything native that you catch).
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#5
Guest_bflowers_*
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Posted 23 July 2007 - 02:18 AM
One caution on feeders... I have had some bad experiences with goldfish and pickerel. Goldfish have very large and thick skulls for a fish their size. This can become a blockage in a long slender fish like a pickerel. Stick with the guppies and rosy reds (and of course anything native that you catch).
When I was raising a gar up, I would use minnows from the local bait shop. Never had any problems with them.
Bill F.
#6
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 23 July 2007 - 11:41 AM
Agreed, bait shops are another good source, I forgot to mention...
When I was raising a gar up, I would use minnows from the local bait shop. Never had any problems with them.
Bill F.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#7
Guest_iturnrocks_*
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Posted 25 July 2007 - 09:07 AM
Ive always heard you should avoid fish from bait shops with the blue water. I intend to breed mosquitofish for my gar, just for the simple fact that it is so easy and free to get started.
I used to feed my largemouth with bait shop and LFS fish. He would clear this out in about a day.
He also ate wild caught creek chubs
wild caught crayfish
and when he was younger, even other bass
I used to feed my largemouth with bait shop and LFS fish. He would clear this out in about a day.
He also ate wild caught creek chubs
wild caught crayfish
and when he was younger, even other bass
#8
Guest_arnoldi_*
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Posted 25 July 2007 - 10:03 AM
Can you describe the technique your bass used to eat the crayfish? They always seem to get them tail first.
#9
Guest_iturnrocks_*
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Posted 25 July 2007 - 10:30 AM
Can you describe the technique your bass used to eat the crayfish? They always seem to get them tail first.
Sorry, its been a few years, but I think he may have turned it in his mouth
#10
Guest_fishrenter_*
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Posted 25 July 2007 - 10:31 AM
He/she would actually eat that many feeders a day!? 
#11
Guest_iturnrocks_*
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Posted 25 July 2007 - 12:16 PM
He/she would actually eat that many feeders a day!?
In a day, but not "per day"
I made a trip to the bait shop about once every 10 days, and I didnt have a 2nd holding tank, so if he ate them all in 1 day, he would have to wait 9 days to eat again, which is what usually happened.
Eventually I got him converted over to Reptomin and Cichlid pellets so then I only fed him live fish occasionally.
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