I currently have three freshwater rays and as they are getting larger they are going through a lot of food. Does anyone have any recommendations on feeding larger rays for cheap and where to get the food from. All three of them eat shrimp and tilapia as of now, just seeing if anyone has any information on where to get a lot of food for a good price.
Stingray food ideas
- Thread starter Trevor Steinmeyer
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Water my friend!
Collect and freeze baitfish, flip rocks in creeks for crayfish, hunt and freeze aquatic snails,raise or catch earthworms.
Nothing's cheaper than free!
Collect and freeze baitfish, flip rocks in creeks for crayfish, hunt and freeze aquatic snails,raise or catch earthworms.
Nothing's cheaper than free!
Asian markets. Don't buy your food at the regular grocery store. There is a local chain near me in NJ called "H Mart."
Case in point: I do a lot of offshore fishing. We use large whole squid for swordfish bait. In the bait store, they sell for $12 a piece. In the market I found the same squid for $3 a lb. 75% less than what the bait store charges.
I've seen giant blocks of frozen shrimp in the freezer section for like $10. They have boxes of frozen fish, etc.
You're paying a premium by buying from the big chain stores...if that is in fact what you're doing.
Case in point: I do a lot of offshore fishing. We use large whole squid for swordfish bait. In the bait store, they sell for $12 a piece. In the market I found the same squid for $3 a lb. 75% less than what the bait store charges.
I've seen giant blocks of frozen shrimp in the freezer section for like $10. They have boxes of frozen fish, etc.
You're paying a premium by buying from the big chain stores...if that is in fact what you're doing.
Depends on what your current costs are and what you consider "cheap". I feed mine about a 50/50 mix of pellets and freshwater fish. Getting a high-quality pellet helps me to feel comfortable with the number of nutrients they receive, and even though a good pellet costs around $10 per pound, they seem to eat considerably less compared to raw fish. The other 50% is usually sturgeon, crappie, or bluegill. Usually we go fishing, catch quite a few and freeze the fillets for later use. If catching your own fish is not an option, usually most places have seafood markets where you can buy bulk fish and freeze them yourself. Frozen fish is definitely your best option, but places like walmart and other big name stores probably won't sell at the prices and quantity you need.
Haha I live a bit outside of STL, just the biggest city in the area. Many of the smaller lakes around here have them, kinda scary to be swimming and see a big one go by. Also the Mississippi river has quite a few from what I have been told. They are not very good for eating so people usually don’t try and catch them.
Just be sure to not keep lake or pallid sturgeon,as they are critically endangered, shovelnose sturgeon however are very in demand as pets, go for around a hundred bucks each
Edit I am a complete idiot, I meant carp! Definitely not sturgeon!! Carp are bad eating and seen as a nusiance here, they also get huge. Sorry for the confusion, pretty sure sturgeon fishing is illegal!
Only for the endangered species, you can still keep shovelnose.
Asian carp are delicious tho, if you know how to cook.