Alright MFK, who has some truth on feeder fish?

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Steveo McNello

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 30, 2010
2,009
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SW Burbs of Chicago
They offer no nutrition, they carry disease, they're expensive, get stuck to the filter intake blah blah blah...

Let's say I buy a feeder fish that has ick and I don't know it... I dump his bag water through a net into a bucket, catching the fish in the net and disposing of the LFS water. I throw him in my tank and immediately my Orino pounces on the feeder. ...What are the chances of the Pbass getting ick? Do feeders only bring disease if you leave them in your tank long enough for the disease to spread? Or when 10 of them die overnight and pollute your water with nitrate? So pretty much my question here is how exactly does feeder disease transmission work if I don't transfer any LFS water and they all get eaten during feeding time? Does the parasite survive the feeding in the fish?

And do they really offer no nutrition? I mean I know they're not as beneficial as pellets, but to say they're no good for your fish just seems kind of silly.

Anybody shine some light or have any general input on feeders?

Thanks again!
 
OK, this should be good :popcorn: BTW if someone were to sneeze on this popcorn and then I ate it would the germs still affect me?
 
aclockworkorange said:
One of the main concerns with feeder fish is internal parasites. There's already a sticky with 150 posts in this General subforum on the subject:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...e-Fish-As-Food-Nutritional-Value-amp-Concerns

I would never recommend buying "feeders" from a LFS under any circumstances. If you really enjoy watching your fish eat other fish, set up a tank and breed your own feeders and only feed them occasionally.
Click to expand...

Yeah no doubt. I haven't fed my fish anything live yet, but I have just been hearing mixed reviews on feeders. Although it has been moreso not to get them. I have no problem watching my fish eat frozen. I enjoy watching them whatever they're doing. And thanks for the link!
 
I feed feeders every once in a while, but the LFS I buy from is EXTREMELY careful during the whole process. Basically they will feed them to their own personal stock and there has never been any problems with them. I have heard some horrific stories so be careful...
 
Pigeonblood said:
I feed feeders every once in a while, but the LFS I buy from is EXTREMELY careful during the whole process. Basically they will feed them to their own personal stock and there has never been any problems with them. I have heard some horrific stories so be careful...
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I'm pretty convinced if I'm going to do feeders it'll be when I set up a convict or guppy breeder tank lol.
 
Not sure if ich is transferred through feeding an infected fish. But if the fish has internal parasites the risk of your fish getting them is high. Goldfish are poor feeders, from what I hear they are mostly water and fat. And they contain an enzyme called Thiaminase which causes Thiamine deficiency. I am not really a feeder fish expert, but I recommend only feeding occasionally or if absolutely necessary.

A somewhat important detail is if your fish is healthy and has a strong immune system it should have some disease resistance. But you shouldn't be careless with feeders cause of this.
 
In my area I've noticed some bait shops have much healthier minnows than pet stores. My buddy has used fathead minnows from the bait shop for years and hasn't had problems. If you want to use feeders I would stay away from goldfish, and set up a tank to quarantine and fatten them up.
 
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