Feeder Fish - Can they live outside without an air stone?

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daveman12345

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 17, 2008
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Hi,

I plan to spend $1 a week on feeders and feed them to my fish throughout the week. Can I leave them outside without an air stone? I've seen this several times with bigger feeder goldfish but I'm not sure if there was an oxygen source somewhere.

P.S. I'm in California where the weather is sometimes cold, some times hot, but hardly ever in the extremes
 
The real question is: why are you feeding feeders?


Edit: not saying it's wrong or anything, but they're not very nutritious. A high quality pellet is going to be better for your fish... Unless you happen to have some species that absolutely refuses prepare food. Or if you just enjoy watching fish eat other fish... Just throwing the information out there for you.
 
aclockworkorange;4886172; said:
The real question is: why are you feeding feeders?


Edit: not saying it's wrong or anything, but they're not very nutritious. A high quality pellet is going to be better for your fish... Unless you happen to have some species that absolutely refuses prepare food. Or if you just enjoy watching fish eat other fish... Just throwing the information out there for you.
Click to expand...

agreed
 
I have small Peacock Bass and they wont get on pellets yet. I'm allergic to bloodworms so I can't feed them that.

Now that I answered your Q, please answer mines =)
 
Yea, I used to feed goldfishes feeders to fishes that only feed on live fishes. I had redtail barracudas and spotted pike characins. I had my small feeder goldfishes about 20 in a 5 gallon bucket and they lived without any air or anything. But if some of the goldfishes died in the bucket, I had to take them out asap. The ammonia from the dead fishes would have killed them.
 
Yes but I don't recommend it. You should still have a filter and proper water for them. If they live in poor quality then they are poor quality. Not a good food source, dirty, and carry disease. Just stick to a good brand of food it's much easier. They don't require a heater usually. Water can be neglected too, they are hardy but not a good choice of food even in good conditions.... Good luck
 
What I see, the majority of feeder gold fishes at the LFS live in cramped conditions and it is crowded in a small tank. They already come like that.
 
Daily feeding of feeder fish brings nothing but trouble in the future....

However, if you keep air stones for your main fish, you should keep at least the minimum amount for your feeders...

they to are fish.
 
If you spend money on one thing for the feeders.. buy a sponge filter.. they run off essentially the same set-up as an airstone. But help maintain better water quality. other then keeping them in a shaded area.. I don't see why keeping them outside would be an issue. other then neiborhood cats ect may also find themselves "feeders" ...

drop a few bucks to pick up a sponge filter, put it in a shaded place, feed some HQ food, and do water changes on the bucket daily and you shoudln't have issues. unless a wandering critter decides they are easy pickings. as said above.. the better the quality they live in the better they are for your fish.

PS - you may want to try nightcrawlers as they are less likely to harbor diseases/parasites that are transmitable to your bass, and are more nutritious then most feeder fish. and lets face it.. how many bass won't take a nightcrawler dangled infront of them? lol
 
my yellow tails only eat live right now as they are bw 4 and 5 inches. I just keep a 33gallon full of rosies. I treat them with a mild parasite clear and monitor them for 10 days or so. Any funny biz from a individual fish and its gonzo. i agrre with above poster; healthy conditions for your feeders make healthy feeders, which is healyhy for your fish!
 
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