The Best Feeder?

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Brewster320

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2010
172
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31
Mass, USA
I've decided that my Common Snapping turtle is getting an upgrade to a stock tank soon. With this I've decided to start breeding feeders for him, not as a main source of food but more out of interest. The trouble I have is in deciding what to breed.

I know the most common fish to breed are the live bearers and Convicts. I feel like breeding convicts would be to much work for what it's worth from what I hear and I'm probably going to throw platies in his stock tank and it's going to take him long enough to catch them that they'll probably have bred by then.

Shrimp are another option I've thought about but the only kind I can think about are the cherry reds and they are already on the small side for him. I don't know if there are any other species of shrimp that get much larger that are easy to breed.

Snail are something else I've thought about. I don't know if it would be worth it thought because last time I threw snails in with him, it was three apple snails and it took him three weeks to eat them all.

Another thought are crayfish. Crayfish are probably his favorite food other than mice(which I'm not doing, I've already done that for my snakes, so not worth it) so he'd love that. The marmorkrebs seem like they would be the easiest. However Procambarus and cherax get large enough where they can be used for human consumption and I could use any of these crays as fishing bait as well. Plus procambarus come in a bunch of interesting color phases would would add some interst to a project. I here breeding crayfish can be a pain though because they eat each other.

So I'm some what at odds about what's worth doing or not. I'm also throwing the idea of doing an aquaponics system and whatever I choose to breed best are I would be doing in the system. Any thought on this would be great! Thanks in advance.
 
Mozambique tilapia will be your best bet in terms of weight to time ratio. The fish will put on weight even faster if u could seperate the sexes until you want to breed.
 
Throw some guppies in a tank and add water. Livebearers and are pretty bullet proof.
 
Shrimp would definitely be too small a payoff for a decent sized snapper. Just about anything you raise fish wise will take some effort considering the size you'd want for a decent turtle snack.

I'd halfheartedly say take up a couple free range hens and a rooster. :grinno: At least that way if your snapper decides he doesn't like poultry (lol, like that'd happen) you've got some fryers and fresh eggs. Worst case, most people raising them aren't against giving away excess males.

Just thinking longer term here. I'm used to snappers large enough to fill a soup pot taking half a bluegill at a time. :headbang2

You could always set up a 55+ to hold bluegill you catch locally. No need for heat, fresh local food on hand. I'd almost go that route with turtles / large toothy fish. Certainly quicker than raising 6" feeders.

Careful on raising crawfish for potential bait without checking the local regs. I've been yelled at once or twice for having them on a hook. lol
 
My father actually has a chicken coop at his house but I doubt he'd let me use some of them as feeders LOL. If I was going to use crayfish as bait I was going to premillennialism them first. I'd hate to introduce crayfish somewhere where they don't belong.

But ya, long term I'd probably have to do something larger for him. Right now I'm setting up a planted ten gallon for shrimp and guppies. Now going to last long as feeders but atleast it'll look nice lol. I guess I'll figure out what the best plan of action is once he starts getting larger.
 
marmokrebs. nuff said. one of those plastic drawer towers and put 1 in each drawer. add some pvc and they will breed like crazy and they grow super fast.
 
My father actually has a chicken coop at his house but I doubt he'd let me use some of them as feeders LOL. If I was going to use crayfish as bait I was going to premillennialism them first. I'd hate to introduce crayfish somewhere where they don't belong.

Depends on if he's got a few broody hens, and what he normally does with the extra roosters. If he's just in it for the egg supply, odds are he might be game if you lend a hand once in a while. ^_^

Normally when I'd get yelled at for the crayfish, I'd spent a half hour with a snorkel and mask gathering them at the lake's edges before going out. Always funny trying to explain you'd actually gone swimming for them when the water's ~60F...
 
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