Mice....wonder food for meat eating fish?

[sbuse]

It's alright to feed food items like mice to SOME species of fish, but many don't have the ability to digest and break down mammalian proteins because that particular food makes up a very small percentage of it's diet.

thats why i mentioned not as a staple, but an added meal to very the diet...

 

[Egon]

Yeah, I think a varied diet is key. I don't drink the same kind of beer EVERY day, I switch it up

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Well there are better live food items than mice that you can feed your aros. A large percentage of their wild diet is made up of insects that have fallen into the water. With all the different feeder insects out there (crickets, roaches, wax worms, superworms, mealworms, phoenix worms, locusts, silk worms, etc...) you can definitely create a great varied diet for them.

 

[Wet Whiskers]

Do you have the original article? I'd be interested in reading it. I think feeding a mouse every now and again is just fine. And frankly, I think being eating quickly by an arowana beats the hell out of being frozen to death like the pink mice. However, I've seen snakes come in dying due to a mouse bite or scratch. Not sure I'd risk a beloved fish for that. In any case, I'm sure in the wild the predators grab some fury or winged little creatures every once in a while. Not something I'd do on a regular basis, but once or twice a month feeding something small would probably be quite healthy. I love to hear a good case study from the wild to help settle this nutritional debate.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

^ Just FYI, the frozen mice you buy in pet stores are not frozen to death but gassed with CO2. I guess it's quick and painless.

 

[Wet Whiskers]

^ Just FYI, the frozen mice you buy in pet stores are not frozen to death but gassed with CO2. I guess it's quick and painless.

Thats nice to know that's how its usually done then. The one near me would take the babies and throw them in the freezer. It really made me sick.

 

[arodini]

Yeah, I think a varied diet is key. I don't drink the same kind of beer EVERY day, I switch it up

Interesting analogy here Different beers contain different nutrition How about this, for a varied diet, I drink different kinds of sodas, different kinds of milks, etc.

Sorry for an off-topic, but couldn't resist...

 

[arodini]

Thats nice to know that's how its usually done then. The one near me would take the babies and throw them in the freezer. It really made me sick.

wtf??? I killed rats when I was young, not not like this...

 

[Lissaspence]

Well there are better live food items than mice that you can feed your aros. A large percentage of their wild diet is made up of insects that have fallen into the water. With all the different feeder insects out there (crickets, roaches, wax worms, superworms, mealworms, phoenix worms, locusts, silk worms, etc...) you can definitely create a great varied diet for them.

How do you feed the insects. Do those go in live or dead? I've always been very intrested in feeding the insects but wasn't sure how to go about it.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

How do you feed the insects. Do those go in live or dead? I've always been very intrested in feeding the insects but wasn't sure how to go about it.

Nah, you don't have to kill them. I've always fed live insects. Just drop them on the surface. The movement really gets their attention. I think they are by far all my fishes most favorite food items. I have a few picky fish that will touch nothing except pelleted food. But as soon as I throw a few crickets or whatever in the tank they go nuts and gobble them all up.