Validity Of Non-Live/Preparred Foods
- Thread starter Scatocephalus
- Start date
Tainted Glory;2990820; said:
Oh im not saying that it would be a good practice to feed your prized cichla diseased or sickly fish on purpose. All I was getting at was the fact that in most cases, predatory fish will go for the path of least resistance. A wounded or otherwise sick fish will be picked off by predators long before a healthy one would. Thats nature. So given that, these fish are fairly tolerant of food related illness or disease. On the other hand, we run our tanks at 87 degrees for the purpose of preventing things like ick. So if your tank is properly heated and you arent consciously feeding your fish sickly feeders, the occasional sick feeder that gets through shouldnt be too much of an issue. I guess I shouldnt have said they are a non factor, more like an unlikely factor. Its more of a worry in very young Cichla to me.
Ive kept predator fish off and on for many years, and in most cases all they ever got fed was bait shop shiners, gold fish, or wild caught stuff. Never had any issues. Granted Cichla are on a whole different level than most of the things I have kept, and I will firmly agree that it is not worth the risk to knowingly feed them questionable feeders.
If you wanna see how much these fish appreciate live food, feed them live every other day for about 2 weeks. They will learn the pattern. Watch how much more vigorous they are when you walk up to the tank with a dip net vs. the normal routine! I can walk by my tank 100 times with no reaction, but I walk by my tank with the dip net in my hand and they go nuts. Smart fishies.
Well said, Venom. Though I'll admit, I rarely feed live, but every time I pass the front of my tank I'm greeted by 7 stunning cichla lined up in military fashion nipping at the glass, begging for a meal. I suppose its just the nature of well kept beasts 
i think with some fish maybe a feeder treat isnt so bad. although i personally would only feed mine feeders if i bred them myself and knew what was happening with the feeders. i know they would be well looked after and fed and clean of disease (i no theres not always a garuantee they dont have disease in ur own tank but still)
mine get live river shrimp (now i sound like a hypocrite lol) from my lfs which as long as iv been there have always had happy healthy fish which arnt over stocked and fed proper foods. thats the nearest they get to 'fish' feeders.
mine get live river shrimp (now i sound like a hypocrite lol) from my lfs which as long as iv been there have always had happy healthy fish which arnt over stocked and fed proper foods. thats the nearest they get to 'fish' feeders.
I'm glad to see that this has turned into an awesome discussion about the merits of various foods and not a flame war. Thank you very much all for participating!
It would seem that the consensus is that live feeders do bring out the best growth rate and vivacious personality but is certainly not a necessity for spectacular specimens.
With that said, I absolutely advocate that the feeders be treated and "gut loaded". As has been mentioned, your fish are not just eating the fish but also what that fish ate. A goldfish that has a belly full of high quality fish food is infinitely more nutritious than an emaciated goldfish. Many people complaign that they don't have the extra tank space to accomodate the feeders but I look at it as simply what needs to be done to keep these magnificent beasts. Having a tank with feeders that are healthy and gut loaded is no different than having a heater, pump, lights, stand, etc. It should simply be part of the equipment required to keep predatory fish.
I would also strongly agree that weaning small Cichla off of all feeders before they exceed, at a minimum, of 6" is just asking for trouble. I personally would let them get larger as Joey does before even trying.
Lastly, I truely believe that live feeders help enrich a Cichla's life. They keep them active and make them work for their food as opposed to just floating to the top and sucking down a handful of pellets. When I drop feeders into my tank I usually add 100-150 at a time. Yes, the PBass usually plow through half of them very quickly but the remaining feeders are hunted over the course of a couple of days. Have any of you ever watched your Peas hunt? It is amazing! As the feeders hide and dart around under the driftwood the Peas watch very intently slowly stalking them until an opportunity presents itself and then Wham! I have seen some very interesting behaviour by feeding in this manner.
One of my best memories regarding my Cichla is when I threw a bunch of small, live crawdads into the tank that I had caught out of a local resevoir. Watching the Cichla try and decide what to do with these little bugs running around their tank was amazing. At first they approached with interest and curiosity but great caution. They would suck them in and spit them right back out. I saw crawdads latch onto the lips of the Peas and the Peas freak out trying to dislodge them. It took the Peas a few minutes to figure out the best direction to grab them and avoid getting nailed by the claws but they were soon very efficient at dispatching any crawdad that dared show it's face. Watching the Peas hunt the crawdads was incredible. It is these types of activities that I feel these fish need to keep them interested and active.
Again, thanks all for participating. Let's keep hearing about your experinces and what you feed. In the end it benefits everyone here.
It would seem that the consensus is that live feeders do bring out the best growth rate and vivacious personality but is certainly not a necessity for spectacular specimens.
With that said, I absolutely advocate that the feeders be treated and "gut loaded". As has been mentioned, your fish are not just eating the fish but also what that fish ate. A goldfish that has a belly full of high quality fish food is infinitely more nutritious than an emaciated goldfish. Many people complaign that they don't have the extra tank space to accomodate the feeders but I look at it as simply what needs to be done to keep these magnificent beasts. Having a tank with feeders that are healthy and gut loaded is no different than having a heater, pump, lights, stand, etc. It should simply be part of the equipment required to keep predatory fish.
I would also strongly agree that weaning small Cichla off of all feeders before they exceed, at a minimum, of 6" is just asking for trouble. I personally would let them get larger as Joey does before even trying.
Lastly, I truely believe that live feeders help enrich a Cichla's life. They keep them active and make them work for their food as opposed to just floating to the top and sucking down a handful of pellets. When I drop feeders into my tank I usually add 100-150 at a time. Yes, the PBass usually plow through half of them very quickly but the remaining feeders are hunted over the course of a couple of days. Have any of you ever watched your Peas hunt? It is amazing! As the feeders hide and dart around under the driftwood the Peas watch very intently slowly stalking them until an opportunity presents itself and then Wham! I have seen some very interesting behaviour by feeding in this manner.
One of my best memories regarding my Cichla is when I threw a bunch of small, live crawdads into the tank that I had caught out of a local resevoir. Watching the Cichla try and decide what to do with these little bugs running around their tank was amazing. At first they approached with interest and curiosity but great caution. They would suck them in and spit them right back out. I saw crawdads latch onto the lips of the Peas and the Peas freak out trying to dislodge them. It took the Peas a few minutes to figure out the best direction to grab them and avoid getting nailed by the claws but they were soon very efficient at dispatching any crawdad that dared show it's face. Watching the Peas hunt the crawdads was incredible. It is these types of activities that I feel these fish need to keep them interested and active.
Again, thanks all for participating. Let's keep hearing about your experinces and what you feed. In the end it benefits everyone here.
I just bought marbled cray for that very reason Scat!! Hoping to create a steady supply of healthy crayfish for my cichla on top of their current diet.
I think variety is the key.
I think variety is the key.
Great input everyone, venom your last couple of posts took the words right out of my mouth. When 1-4" I feed guppies and live blackworms and throw in fd krill,and frozen beefheart, brine shimp, and shrimp occasionally just to see if they will accept it. More competition seems to make them accept other foods quicker. Once they are accepting other foods I pretty much do a 50/50 of prepared and live foods. I also treat my feeders and like venom said if you are keeping up on your water quality, then healthy cichla above about 8" should not really be effected by a few sick feeders, in my experiences.
good post scat.
i personally feel that if a young cichla,below 6",will take non live without hesitation then go ahead and feed non live.
starving i would never do of course.
ive been feeding a staple diet of shrimp to all young cichla so far because they all took it without any problems.
i feel this gets very young cichla to get used to you more easily.
of course feeders have its benefits,they can eat when they want as they wish,but this means very young cichla dont always know youre the provider of food and keeps them very skittish.
i personally feel that if a young cichla,below 6",will take non live without hesitation then go ahead and feed non live.
starving i would never do of course.
ive been feeding a staple diet of shrimp to all young cichla so far because they all took it without any problems.
i feel this gets very young cichla to get used to you more easily.
of course feeders have its benefits,they can eat when they want as they wish,but this means very young cichla dont always know youre the provider of food and keeps them very skittish.
