What's up with all these feeding mice threads?

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My first fish were piranhas and the lfs told me to feed them frozen pinkies while they are small, and then frozen rat pups when they were a bit bigger. I did this for a few months until I found a piranha forum and started to learn. My reds never had a red belly, it was always dark, and I put this down to their nutrition. When I started feeding them smelt,sprats and whitebait the improvement was immense.

I would never feed a live mouse to my fish, I cant get over the fact its as cruel as cruel can get, and I avoid any videos which feed live mammals.

That being said, whats the difference between feeding a live mouse and feeding live worms/feeder fish? No difference really, and I feed live worms all the time. Thats makes me a hypocrite.
 
I guess I hadn't realized that people were actually feeding their fish live mice. I always assumed that we were talking about frozen/thawed mice that are sold as food. If you're tossing a live mouse in a fish tank and watching to drown before being torn apart, you're sick. But I also don't buy into the mammalian protein debate. There's plenty if fish species in this word that lie in wait for juvenile monkeys to make a mistake, or for a bird to land in the right spot, or for a rat to swim across a flooded stretch of marsh. It happens all the time. I've never fed my fish feeder mice before. Probably for the same reason why I never fed my cat a baby bird.


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Libpete said:
My first fish were piranhas and the lfs told me to feed them frozen pinkies while they are small, and then frozen rat pups when they were a bit bigger. I did this for a few months until I found a piranha forum and started to learn. My reds never had a red belly, it was always dark, and I put this down to their nutrition. When I started feeding them smelt,sprats and whitebait the improvement was immense.

I would never feed a live mouse to my fish, I cant get over the fact its as cruel as cruel can get, and I avoid any videos which feed live mammals.

That being said, whats the difference between feeding a live mouse and feeding live worms/feeder fish? No difference really, and I feed live worms all the time. Thats makes me a hypocrite.
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The difference in worms and mice are that fish eat more worms in nature then mice. That's why worms have always been bait for fishing it's just natural same as a snake eating rodents it's their notch in the circle of life


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I actually have a lure called a mousie. Looks just like a little mouse and I have caught tons of fish on it. Most fish food was once alive. Difference is it is processed. To feed live it is the owners responsibility to know the status of that live food. If you purchase and don't quarantine then you run the risk for your fish getting sick. The LPS actually told me all of there fish are sick. So you need to bring them up to par before adding them.


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Yeah ive seen those mice lures, they work very well apparently.

Well said, doomiedee.

Its true some fish eat mammals in the wild. i.e the piranhas often devour young birds that fall into the water. Ive seen that on a tv show a few times. Its just not my thing to do it myself. Another reason not too is that mice can do some serious damage to your fish should they get a bite on.

edit: Are birds mammals? :)
 
Libpete said:
Yeah ive seen those mice lures, they work very well apparently.

Well said, doomiedee.

Its true some fish eat mammals in the wild. i.e the piranhas often devour young birds that fall into the water. Ive seen that on a tv show a few times. Its just not my thing to do it myself. Another reason not too is that mice can do some serious damage to your fish should they get a bite on.

edit: Are birds mammals? :)
Click to expand...

No. Lol


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i feed my rhom a mouse once ... it was kinda neat .. i didn't "get off" on it but it was neat to see him go predator on something
as far as cruelty goes .. if once person is going to make a comment about it being sick ... they better be a vegetarian because vegetarians are the only ones that have rights to talk about animal cruelty

i have worked on chicken farms and a angus farm ....trust me ... if you eat beef or chicken ... you have no right to talk because what animals go though in farms and slaughter houses is way sicker then 10sec of a mouse swimming top water
 
This is what comes out of the "River Monsters" generation of fishkeepers. They're the same people who buy Snakes and Turtles and baby Crocodilians to use as a garbage disposal for small animals.

As fishkeepers, and therefore animal keepers, I believe we have a responsibility to act fairly towards all living animals, pets or otherwise. People who work with animals, privately or professionally, bridge the gap between the world of people and the world of animals, and therefore, should act responsibly. I'm not condemning all live feeding, or hunting/fishing for that matter. Live feeding is necessary or simply highly beneficial at times. But it shouldnt be done simply to put on a show. It's abuse of animals, and abuse of the privlidge of keeping animals.
 
Its all your opinion on what cruelty is. I often feed my fish when I have guests over, it gets them moving about and allows all of them to be seen. Being a fisherman, I thought nothing of dropping a worm in the tank but I made my guest cry at my cruelty. Even still, I somehow see it as somewhat cruel to watch a worm get ripped apart by my smaller fish. I still see it as a natural prey item and fact of life, even if I am the one controlling it. I keep fish because I love fish and their natural behavior. I try to make my tanks as natural as possible even if they are still in a "small glass box." A predator hunting their prey is part of their natural behavior and I enjoy occassional live feeders. But I enjoy watching my predator hunt, not the sick demise of the prey. While it is one and the same, there is a thin line difference. I know, contradiction.

On the topic of mice as feeders. Feeder fish and the like are in their element, the water. Feeder mice however, a struggling to get away AND get out. Its like a person having a fear of drowning while knowing the shark is after you too. It does seem a little extra cruel.
While it might not be a staple or a healthy "treat", mammals do fall in the water and fish are opportunistic. An occassional mouse is not a terrible item to feed to a fish. When my snakes refused their thawed meals, I would sometimes offer it to my large catfish. While I know it wasnt the healthiest thing, the large meaty meal did create a large growth spurt that did not happen with a healthy pellet staple. the difference between normal feedings and only eating a mouse was a growth difference of over a 1/4". That pattern was repeated any time a mouse was eaten. On the other hand, what wasnt digested(fur, bones etc) was incredibly messy and terribly rough on filtration. From a dietary standpoint, a rare offering of such a meal can be good for growth. Like how a Big mac is great for growing out your thighs ;)
 
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