Swordtail Feeders

[NickinVA]

So, in our smaller, community tank, we have some marigold swordtails, one of whom is pregnant. This being a 55 gallon tank, we are eventually going to run out of space in that thing. One solution to getting rid of some of the swordtails would be to toss them in the big tank with our oscars and let nature decide their fate.

My question is, what are the odds of this having a negative effect on our oscars? I don't really expect them to get a lot of nutritional value from these guys. I just expect them to have a bit of fun hunting them down.

I think its pretty safe to say that if they're coming out of my community tank which shows no sign of disease, there won't be any disease issues.

Anyone have any input on this?

 

[fishkeeper25]

yup thats fine i did that with mollies no problems

 

[hauntingurcoma]

you could bulk up the swords on live foods first extra nutrition for oscar

 

[steelayer]

fish dont eat pellets in the wild.

 

[Jason_S]

nothing wrong with it...just don't feed them to him too often or he might stop taking pellets. keep it to a treat once a week or so and everything should be fine. I've got some guppies/platys/swordtails in my 55 for the same purpose

 

[NickinVA]

fish dont eat pellets in the wild.

Oh, so you mean I can stop going down to the lake every day to toss pellets in for those fish? Thanks, that will save me some cash!

Seriously though, I was asking because there are plenty of sources out there that recommend not using certain fish as feeders as they may not be healthy for the fish that's eating them. I was looking for people who have actually done this to tell me if they've had any problems.

nothing wrong with it...just don't feed them to him too often or he might stop taking pellets. keep it to a treat once a week or so and everything should be fine. I've got some guppies/platys/swordtails in my 55 for the same purpose

Thanks, that's one reason I was asking, I don't want these guys to turn into picky eaters.

In other news, the mom of these swordtails was having a great time eating the little guys in the breeder so I took her out and then spent the better part of the morning fishing the fry out of the tank before the tetras wouldn't eat them. There's just something that feels a little wrong about spending that much time saving these guys so I can fatten them up and feed them to bigger fish.