PBASS.. live feeding? good or bad?
- Thread starter bite_nite
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When i feed feeders to my pbass its as a treat..all my pbass eat massivore pellets and food sticks..but when i feed gf to my pbass i stuff the gf mouth with food sticks..just something i do..but other yhen gf i feed them frzn silversides..they tare them up..
I agree that a varied diet is best. However, let not forget that cichla are primarily piscivores, which means fish eater. Believe it or not, a cichla can get practically all the nutrition it needs from just eating fish. Common sense would dictate that cichla in the wild eat any fish they can catch, healthy, sick, or otherwise. Digestive acids in the gut rapidly break down flesh, gut, and bone. We all know a feeder is consumed by cichla as soon as it hits the water. So, unless a diseased feeder is allowed to swim in the cichla tank for an extended period of time, the transmission of disease from a feeder to cichla would have to be very, very small. I've heard the "sick feeder" theory for years, but I've never seen proof of it. I did read on a forum about a guy once who swore feeders gave his fish ick, but he kept his tank of juvies at 75 degrees. That only proves that he kept them at such a cool temp., that the feeders most likely had nothing to do with it. Having said all this, fish species fed to cichla should be varied, and goldfish, rosies, or other members of the carp family make poor feeders for a variety of reasons. Dry foods such as Hikari Massivore make an excellent substitute. From my experience, small fish fed a variety of live foods grow faster and stronger than fish raised on prepared foods. When the fish gets some size on it, then prepared make an excellent substitute.
You are correct about carp not being the best but when absolutly stuffed with good food not to mention being fed quality food for weeks prior they do the vessel job ,very tuff to sustain other varieties on a constant basis...HillBilly .....hillbilly;4543506; said:
HULON;4543546; said:
Very true. I also feed gut loaded goldfish, but not all the time. I am fortunate enough to have a local LFS that will order me whole boxes of feeders (mostly live bearers and Africans). I try to keep a 55 gal. tank full of them, but it takes a weekly order to do so. 1000 or so feeders do not last long.
I keep it to 4 days a week size b feeders so i can keep treat and and fatten up my guys ..The problem with the live bearers is once your P's get over a foot it would just take to many and it sounds like you are already dealing with that situation tho...hillbilly;4543599; said:
Yeah, I'm at the stage now where my fish need to learn to eat Massivore as a primary food source. That is, as soon as I get around to ordering a few pounds. I've been putting off ordering it for a while now. I guess I'm not all that thrilled about training them to eat it. Hopefully they will love it right away. 
I bet they will ..In my limited experiance with the p's they seem to accept things easier when biggerhillbilly;4543680; said:Yeah, I'm at the stage now where my fish need to learn to eat Massivore as a primary food source. That is, as soon as I get around to ordering a few pounds. I've been putting off ordering it for a while now. I guess I'm not all that thrilled about training them to eat it. Hopefully they will love it right away.
Especially food....if you can afford it stay away from feeders and live feed, feed pellets only as i do with all my bass from babies up to adult hood.. that way you will never have to depend on live supply or ever introduce unwated visitors, as you can see all my bass are happy, bulky , beautiful well fed and colorful..
