Feeders

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smokeythebair

smokeythebair

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Nov 17, 2010
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I know feeders aren't the best and can cause disease and stuff but did anyone here have problems from them? I get about 50 rosies a wk for a treat and feed other stuff during the wk pellets and meal worms. You think i will have problems? and what are common diseases from feeders. ty
 
ya i think i will be ok just wondering because i hear stories. I can see if they stay in your tank for awhile but a day or 2 i don't see as a problem but idk.
 
I got a terrible bout of super-ick that took out my 2 vieja cichlids. An 11 inch zonatus and a 8 inch Veija Argentae. Really nice cichlids only survivor was a big rhino pleco. Won't catch me using feeders again!!! Feeders any kind blow imo! NLS all the way.
 
yeah ick is gonna be the most common, with other parasites internal and external being the other biggest risk.

also they aren't very nutritious so unless you breed your own it really isn't worth the time
 
smokeythebair;4884434;4884434 said:
ya i think i will be ok just wondering because i hear stories. I can see if they stay in your tank for awhile but a day or 2 i don't see as a problem but idk.
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It's not always the amount of time that the feeders survive in your tank. It doesn't take long at all for any introduced fish to expose your tank to diseases. Even if all of your fish ate the feeders in five minutes, any parasites within the feeders would end up infecting your fish. You could quarantine your feeders or raise minnows or other small fish in healthy tanks and on a diet of nutritious foods. There are plenty of threads on this site that can tell you of the many risks posed by using feeders so I won't get into that. There are also many people that will tell you that feeders are okay. You will have to use your best judgment on this. Just make sure that it doesn't take the death of your prized fish to get your attention.
 
I used to quarantine my feeders b4 giving it to my fishes. Then I got myself a convict tank to breed the feeders myself.
 
I QT feeders.. and simply don't buy a bad looking batch from the LFS. I also worm my fish every 4-6 monthes to help discourage internal parasites. velvet seems to be the only issue I've had and I think it was in large part the intro of so many feeders into the tank caused the cycle to adjust and my water quality to suffer.

I have heard horror stories about live feeders though, and I def avoid goldfish/rosy's for cichlids. with that being said my Gar (piscivores by nature) are the only fish I keep that get feeders on any regular basis other then nightcrawlers for my spiney eels. which are a very safe alternative to feeder fish.
 
The most common parasites that feeders carry is ich, costia, and gill flukes. Almost always they have gill flukes, and those are a pain in the you know what to get rid of.. AND it's not visible- you have to use a scope to actually see that the fish has them.

Feeders can cause Thiamine Deficiency Syndrome.
 
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