Don't feed goldfish!
- Thread starter *Lindsey*
- Start date
Besides the chances of ich, I have heard that feeders can cause Hole in Head in Oscars. My albino is about 4 years now, he has never had feeders. Heck he won't even chase a Molly LOL.
keep the temp of the tank at 82 degrees F. Ich can live in that temp, but cannot reproduce, and the average life span of an organism is about 3 days, so in reality, keeping the tank at 82 degrees should be an all out preventative.
toldarizba;4068611; said:
that doesn't sound quite right; as I understand it, higher temps accellerate the life-cycle of ich, and the goal is to get them to the free-swimming stage, at which point treatment can take effect
i.e., the higher temps get them to the treatable stage that much faster . . . simply raising the temps, in the absence of any actual treatment method - - salt, meds, etc. - - will not cure the ich, it will only spread it faster
with so many ways that ich can develop or explode, how can anyone definitely say it was feeders that brought it on? its also funny to hear all these ol wives tales about feeders.
There is nothing wrong with using feeder goldfish given 2 things...1. you buy them from a reputable dealer. 2. That you are only using them as a treat every now and then...not as a staple diet. Pelleted diets (hikari cichlid gold is an excellent choice)are far more complete in terms of nutrition and are not as high in fat. A staple diet of feeders alone will lead to a shortened life. As for a reputable dealer...the feeder tanks should be clean and the water should be clear. If the tanks are dark and the water is cloudy or stained...avoid buying them. Believe it or not Petsmart's tanks are usually very clean and typically disease and parasite free (no doubt due to the massive filtration unit they have in their backrooms-massive fluidized bed filters, protein skimmers and a dozen uv lights). I myself have 2 oscars, but I have never fed them feeders, but I don't judge people who do, unless that is the only thing they are feeding...many novice aquarists just don't know (and knowing is half the battle).
How can you say that? Where is your proof the feeders did not? You seem to be misunderstanding fully how exactly these protozoan parasites operate. May I ask where you are citing all your references regarding this?cichla81;4072229; said:
As far as ich is concerned, only unquarantined fish can carry ich especially in their gill tissues. It is also possible for ich to transfer via hard decorations when cysts (one of ich's life cycle stages) remain latched on them until they rupture releasing thousands of newborn parasites looking for hosts to feed on.
regardless of the conditions they are kept in, goldfish and all species of carp contain excessive levels of thiaminase which breaks down vit. b1 and can lead to stunting and illness.KCLAMBERT;4072347; said:
