Whats up with blood thirsty aquarists?

[chefjamesscott]

I do find this part of the article interesting though, considering that I do not feed my fish a straight diet but a very varied one. And feeder fish are not the constant of my fishes diet they run about 12%.

How can I avoid the thiamine deficiency syndrome?

Prevention is the best way to “treat” the thiamine deficiency syndrome. Things to avoid include:
1. Restrict feeding thiaminase containing fish to no more than 20% of all meals.
2. Avoid feeding exclusively frozen bivalves or shrimps, because these potentially have very high thiaminase content.
3. Avoid fish that was frozen for long periods (several months).

Things to do:
1. Keep the diet generally as varied as possible! Remember, nutritional shortcomings in one type of food will be cancelled out by the other types of food, so the more types of food, the smaller the chance of nutrient imbalances.
2. Soak food in a vitamin product intended for pet fish prior to feeding at least once a week, more often when feeding lots of shrimps and bivalves!
3. Get small packages of food, and use them up quickl

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

i always tell everyone to feed a variety and that can include feeders. my question for you though is this pacu you bring up for example, how do we know it reached it's full potentials? may it have grown faster or reached it's full potentials sooner had it been fed a better diet?

Gutloading, i understand the concept but we cannot regenerate the same diet a fish would have in the wild. no way gut loading goldfish with flakes is the equivalent of all the phytoplankton, zooplankton and all the other micro nutrients that would be in the stomach content of prey. not unless you're magically pulling out "wild" feeders that have grown up outside of tanks

Either way, feeders are fine, there's just so many options out there that are better then rosey reds or gold fish. i feed mine convicts for example. it's probably 10-15 percent of their diet to match your 12 percent

 

[chefjamesscott]

since you make mention of plankton that is why I use what is meant as a sw food for fw (there are 3 other kinds of ocean nutrition foods that I use as well I just had no desire to type out a list that long four times )

I love cichlids for the proclivity!!!!!! Cheap feeders

And I still love watching the natural hunt reaction that comes out when fish sense that the other fish in the tank is meant to be eaten.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

cheers to all educated fish keepers

 

[baby bass]

i think aggressive fish that tear up other fish are sick it is getting a little tiring though

 

[dlobom]

Eye on the TV Cause tragedy thrills me
Whatever flavor It happens to be
Like:
"Killed by the husband"
"Drowned by the ocean"
"Shot by his own son"
"She used a poison in his tea And kissed him goodbye"
That's my kind of story.
It's no fun 'til someone dies

Don't look at me like I am a monster
Frown out your one face But with the other
Stare like a junkie Into the TV
Stare like a zombie While the mother holds her child,
Watches him die Hands to the sky crying,
"Why, oh why!"

Cause I need to watch things die From a distance
Vicariously, I Live while the whole world dies
You all need it too - don't lie.

To continue quoting TOOL:


And the angel of the lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of slumber. And took me on high, and higher still until we moved to the spaces betwixt the air itself. And he brought me into a vast farmlands of our own midwest. And as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil. One thousand, nay a million voices full of fear. And terror possesed me then. And I begged, "Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?" And the angel said unto me, "These are the cries of the carrots, the cries of the carrots! You see, Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day and to them it is the holocaust." And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers and roared, "Hear me now, I have seen the light! They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!" Can I get an amen? Can I get a hallelujah? Thank you Jesus.
Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on........

This is necessary.

 

[chefjamesscott]

Ok ballin I thought rather than spend the time looking for the youtube video, I would show you a pic of a local tank in regina.

You tell me if these fish were stunted by their diet. My 7 year old is in for size reference

 

[MyGiants]

All of my local LFS (LFSes, LFS's? whatever) seem to be catering their business toward people wanting the biggest baddest fish they can find. Multiple times ive heard the line "thats the meanest one we got" seal the deal on a purchase. Dont get me wrong, im not going all PETA on you guys and i love the fact that my jag or bullhead could one day eat my girlfriends chihuahua but i wouldnt actually do it. I dont really know what im ranting about, it just seems like too many people around here are in the hobby for the wrong reason. Somehow i blame michael vick for this one lol.

That's why this site is called Monster Fish Keepers.com and not Bread and Butter Fish.com

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

i get your point but the question still lies, did they reach their full potentials? still debateable as alot of fish continue growing. If they have, would they have reached that potential faster with a better diet?

i dont' know the answer. You and i agree on one thing though, your fish deserve a varied diet and that's all that matters.

 

[geronimo69]

I understand the concept of "feeder" fish. Especially for those of us keeping predatory fish that refuse to eat non-live food, ya know, large characins and what not. The issue lies where people repeatedly buy fish to replace the fish that didnt survive the beatings of their monster oscar or mayan (btw the term monster doesnt mean it has to eat other fish). IF youre using feeders as a healthy part of your fishes diet, not a big deal, but if youre buying fish just to watch them "get torn apart" for entertainment then I cant condone that. And that is what i was refering to with this post.QUOTE]


My Fahaka eats pellets... But I also throw in live nightcrawlers, convict fry, snails and my favorite, marmokrebs (marbled crayfish). I love watching the cray try to fight off the Fahaka with his claws, only to get torn in half by my Fahaka's beak.

I keep him, by himself, in a tank that is 6x2x2 (180 gal???).