Feeder fish quarantine ?

[Fudg3face]

Just a quick question Should we do quarantine procedure with feeder fish?

I recently bought some feeder stock (comets) from a new retailer in SA, but a week after the first feeding session, I am seeing a change in behavior . My fish seems stressed and irritated. Especially my Aro.

If the feeders need to be quarantined , How long?

 

[kno4te]

It can vary but I'd say 2-3 weeks should be fine.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

First setup either 10 or 20 gallons tanks (1 for new arrival and 1 quarantined), for more effective put an UV in the new arrival tank along with salt and paraguard medicine, this tank will need 90%~100% daily water change then after 1 week you can safely start to feed those feeders to your live stock and continue every steps for another 2 weeks then move those feeders to quarantined tanks and start a new batch of new feeders...Be warn! THIS IS A MAJOR EXTRA WORKS AND RISKs so if you still want to feed live feeders then breed your own feeders or start training your aros with market frozen prawns. Good Luck!

 

[krichardson]

Keeping feeders and doing your best to make sure they are safe for mere arowana seems like an awful lot of effort consideting there are other,better foods that you can give them.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

True Krichardson! But some folks do love and thrive to see their predators prey on live feeders rather than a frozen foods
I once used to feed my predators exclusively with live feeders for years because of that feeling hehehe. I now don't have the time for all the proper cares for those feeders anymore so I switched to frozen foods

 

[krichardson]

True Krichardson! But some folks do love and thrive to see their predators prey on live feeders rather than a frozen foods
I once used to feed my predators exclusively with live feeders for years because of that feeling hehehe. I now don't have the time for all the proper cares for those feeders anymore so I switched to frozen foods

You have a point and as long as the feeders are not intended to be the main part of the aro's diet but rather a treat,or,a show food,if you will,then I guess keeping them shouldn't be too much of a chore.

 

[xraycer]

My personal opinion is that, quarantining for a few weeks is a waste of time. Fish can carry "sickness" and be asymptomatic for months. If you want to feed live fish, and wants the safety odds to be in your favor, then raise the feeders yourself.

 

[duanes]

I agree with Xraycer, fish can carry diseases, and be asymptomatic for a long time.
You could be fine for using feeders a year or more, then all it takes is 1 sick feeder, and your prize fish is dead.
I consider feeding store bought (or wild caught) feeder fish a gamble not worth taking.

 

[ichthyogeek]

I used to have an archerfish, and the one day that I bought some rosy minnows for it...wow. I didn't know their mouths could get so big...

Anyways, yes you should quarantine your feeder fish. However, I would suggest other fish besides goldfish or minnows because of thiaminase. A few goldfish won't hurt, but I'm pretty sure that too much goldfish (and therefore increased levels of thiaminase) can cause problems.

Instead, you may wish to look into breeding your own, as xraycer mentioned. Any free breeding fish would work, including (but not limited to): convict cichlids, opaline gouramis, and most livebearers. If there are any major fish breeding operations (or even minor ones) near you, you might be able to get free fish that are culled from the offspring due to birth defects, etc.

 

[raubiy]

100 % beter to first freeze fish. This mean killing all parasites. Then cut up and feed....