Feeder fish

[Thomas V.]

Hi, i recently started up a coldwater tank.

It now homes 3 perches (Perca fluviatilis) of about 10-12 cm (wildcatch), i have them for a month now and they seem to like their new home (the tank contains alot of rocks and plants, so alot of hiding space).


My problem is feeding them tho, currently i feed them rainworms, and frozen food i also give to my cichlids.

Also i recently started breeding guppy's to feed my perch, i've seen them eat those and it was quite clear that they have a big appetite.


Does anyone have an idea where i could get/catch/buy good feederfish? i think the max size they can handle is the size of an adult guppy.

 

[koop171]

You might want to start looking in to worm colonies instead of fish. Feeders that you breed yourself are great but takes up a lot more room then a worm colony. I think HarleyK has a thread on making a colony of redworms If I remember right.

 

[Thomas V.]

You might want to start looking in to worm colonies instead of fish. Feeders that you breed yourself are great but takes up a lot more room then a worm colony. I think HarleyK has a thread on making a colony of redworms If I remember right.

I have 2 "compost heaps" i think thats the right word for it there i can find lots of worms.

I'd just like to keep alot of variation on their menu took keep them healty!

 

[koop171]

If that's the case most any store bought feeder will work once they are QTed. and breed you'll be able to watch the health of them and treat them accordingly.

the big thing with store bought feeders is that they are not kept in good conditions. but once you take a batch home and QT them and make sure they are in good health they are good to feed. Now there is debate on goldfish but that doesn't matter right now b/c you said your fish are not big enough for them.

so jsut get a batch from the store and setup a few tanks one for QT if you need to bring more home from the store... One for breeding.... One for fry growout and one for the feeders that are ready to be ate. Seems like alot but most of your tanks can be filtered simply be sponge filters so you'll only need one air pump that's large enough to run multiple items and some smallish HOB filters. don't add decor or substrate b/c it will only make the tank that much harder to maintain. Keep them simple and it will work great.

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I have 2 "compost heaps" i think thats the right word for it there i can find lots of worms.

Sure enough. But I doubt that you can harvest 365 days/year from a backyard compost considering Belgian Winters ... a worm farm (or if you prefer that term: compost) yields worms reliably, every day.

HarleyK