Difference between feeders being eating whole and "quick" vs. being ripped apart

[ctoychik]

I agree.
People seem to ignore the fact that cruel things constantly happen in the wild.
Predators don't much care if they are 'humane' on not.

"Humane" is a concept came up with human to describe human behaviour (lol hence "human" root). In the wild when a lion commence eating wild boar alive is not considered as inhumane (it can't be cos lion is not human). Some people find feeding live food to fishes inhumane, some entertaining - this is really a perception and value issue.

Myself, i feed my fishes live food (and insects) with pellets for balanced diet. Live food lasts inside aquarium longer too without fouling up the water (assuming the fish is not a messy eater). Two of my silver aros do not prefer to eat small fish (lazy?)

 

[ctoychik]

I am just saying that pellet and natural food should complement each other. At the end of the day, the pellet food is made of something that was alive before also (it ain't synthesized). The only reason i give pellets to my fish is because it has additives that supposedly make the coloring even better. I don't know if that is true, but it does not hurt to supplement. I know alot of people who do not use pellets and have extremely pretty specimens.

Like i said before, live vs pellet food choice is partly perception of what cruel is and what is not as well as individual sensibilities.

 

[DucatiDragster]

Fish who eat meat must eat meat IMO.

 

[rallysman]

Fish who eat meat must eat meat IMO.

pellets are made out of meat. IMO, the difference is that the pelleted meat usually come from the leftover meat that's dies anyway.

 

[balton777]

I agree it's a value and moral issue. Is it less humane if a fish eats a worm? or an insect? It seems to me that when a fish is swallowed, it would suffocate long before being slowly dissolved by acid. Personally I think it's ugly when fish eat live fish so I avoid it in my tanks. They have to learn to eat dead foods unless it's earthworms or pellets or they don't survive.

 

[Guerillah]

pellets are made out of meat. IMO, the difference is that the pelleted meat usually come from the leftover meat that's dies anyway.

What method did you use to convert your fish? My pbass eat about 35 goldfish in a period of 24 hours, and its getting kind of expensive not to mention I hate the scales going everywhere and making the water a mess. I have tried cut up market shrimp and they arent interested at all, ive even put it on a thin fishing line and dangled it around in the tank from far away and they ignore it. I just got a silver aro the other day and he took shrimp and crickets off me today and loved it, wish I could get my gar and pbass like that...

 

[DucatiDragster]

pellets are made out of meat. IMO, the difference is that the pelleted meat usually come from the leftover meat that's dies anyway.

Imagine if we had to eat pellets, its like having crackers everyday..wouldn't you get sick of it, I sure would..but not with meat.

 

[cichlaguapote]

Fish who eat meat must eat meat IMO.

And that is based on???

Imagine if we had to eat pellets, its like having crackers everyday..wouldn't you get sick of it, I sure would..but not with meat.

If you had to wait for someone to feed you, and weren't sure when your next meal would come then you probably wouldn't be as picky..

Do you think my fish would rather have a deveined/deheaded whole market shrimp full of all meat, a pellet that has garlic added to it to increase appetite or a goldfish that is guts/eyeballs/poop and prickly fins for on the way down the hatch?

My dog loves meat.. do I feed her bunnys though? no..

 

[ctoychik]

What method did you use to convert your fish? My pbass eat about 35 goldfish in a period of 24 hours, and its getting kind of expensive not to mention I hate the scales going everywhere and making the water a mess. I have tried cut up market shrimp and they arent interested at all, ive even put it on a thin fishing line and dangled it around in the tank from far away and they ignore it. I just got a silver aro the other day and he took shrimp and crickets off me today and loved it, wish I could get my gar and pbass like that...

Ouch that must be expensive ... 35 goldfishes (considering your location too). I have a fish nursery for agricultural purposes so there is always something in various sizes (carps, catfishes, characins etc) ... even then it is starting to get quite expensive to feed 2 RTC, 2 Gars, 3 Arapaimas and 3 Silver Aros and 1 Asian plus puny Delhezi with feeders (not a problem when they are 6") ^_^ I managed to convert all of them to eat frozen crickets (arapaima is not partial to crickets but grudgingly eats). RTCs and Gars eat commercial pellets for catfish farm (phew ... that is much cheaper than Hikari). The rest eat Hikari pellets (quite expensive compared to feeder fish in my country), but i thought them to eat Hikari in case of emergency (i.e. no fish in the nursery or frogs in the market). Two of the silver aros are not partial to food (pellets and crikets). All of them eat shelled prawns.

On your question, Gars can be converted to eat pellets - i am feeding my two gars with farm grade catfish pellets. They love it.

 

[ctoychik]

I agree it's a value and moral issue. Is it less humane if a fish eats a worm? or an insect? It seems to me that when a fish is swallowed, it would suffocate long before being slowly dissolved by acid. Personally I think it's ugly when fish eat live fish so I avoid it in my tanks. They have to learn to eat dead foods unless it's earthworms or pellets or they don't survive.

Your point is valid if the fish is swollen (gulped) whole. Sometimes, bigger fish just hold small ones in their mouths (for quite sometime) ...sometimes chewing sometimes not. From my observation Oscars "chew" on large feeders. It is awful when it starts from the tail ... the feeder is alive for quite sometime ... Arapaimas sometimes (not often) hold small fishes in their months for a while before swallowing them....usually out of glutony and competition for food (gather first eat later) Silver and Asian Aros gulp (snakelike).