So I currently have 2 Pickerel both 6in. Ive had them for about a month and they are now regularly feeding. these fish are ambush predators. at first they were skittish when feeding. hanging back and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Now they will chase down their food. Ive been feeding them Minnows. I couldn't begin to think about feeding other options until they started going after their food. Now that they are I wanted some feedback. These fish are hunters and im not sure how they would do on dead meat. So if you have experience with doing this id love to hear from you. Also the minnows i get from my local bait shop are fairly healthy. I wanted to know If you guys know of a good place to order healthy live feeders. Small fish,tadpoles,leaches etc... Any other info or suggestions would be great.
-THANKS MFK
Leeches could be a good choice, crayfish possibly especially when molting, also live crickets, locusts, grasshoppers, waxworms, mealworms, superworms, butterworms, hornworms, Dubia roaches, ghost shrimp or even live shrimp from the baitshop - just test one out to see if it lives long enough in fresh water or gets eaten at all before buying a bunch. Shelled clams, oysters, mussels, fresh cut tilapia fillets sliced into strips and other fish fillets can be offered on the end of Hemostats and wiggled to induce a strike (like fishing
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Whole fish like Sardines, Anchovies, Silversides, etc might be the easiest way to convert them from live to frozen, again by wiggling it and mimicking a wounded baitfish w/ your movements and Hemostats. Earthworms are also a possibility. You could also just freeze some of the minnows they already acquired a taste for and do the same.
In the end, you have to consider, they ARE naturally piscivores and built for it 100%......those rows of teeth were meant to ambush a slippery fish and hold it sideways in their mouths until it can be swallowed. How to get a fish that feeds exclusively on other fish to eat something else is indeed the question.
