Danios as food

[504 Fish Keeper]

Can I feed danios to JDs?

 

[DerpyCichlid]

I don't see why not. I've seen many of my friends use danios as feeder but I personally recommend guppies.

 

[kno4te]

No reason you can't feed live food. Make sure you qt and needed treat the fish prior to feeding.

 

[Allan01230]

I guess but why would you just get a good pellet like NLS and never have to worry about pathogeons

 

[Achilles1763]

Because predators need to hunt! The mental stimulation out weights the food issues

 

[ehh]

Because predators need to hunt! The mental stimulation out weights the food issues

I don't believe that jack Dempseys actively hunt. I think they're more opportunistic.

 

[krichardson]

.....and I doubt if a captive Dempsey fed a lifetime's worth of good quality pellets will be any less enriched than one that live fish was offered to.

 

[Achilles1763]

From a totally nutritional perspective yes there is no 'need', but even captive bred fish will have an in bred need to predate.. My captive bred fahaka hunts and burys herself in the sand. No one 'taught' her to do that, she has an inate desire to. Dempseys are still predators and will have the desire to hunt.
If you were in a house with 3 square meals a day but nothing to do you would go nuts If someone gave you an Xbox! Lol
It's about mental enrichment as much as nutritional.

 

[krichardson]

But fish don't go "nuts" do they?Piscivores are not taught to hunt of course because they are already genetically hardwired to do so.

 

[Cu455]

I don't have any proof or can point to any study. I like feeding live foods because I don't think pellets can replicate the nutritional value of whole body live foods. Some people like to feed live food for the bacteria, kind of like a probiotic. Which makes sense. I feed clams, mussels, crabs, worms and fish. Algae and plants for herbivores. I will feed live once or twice a week.