Lets consider how feeder fish are raised, and their value.
Where I lived, feeder guppies and feeder goldfish went for @10 for $1 at a LFS, and if that's they sold them for, how much did the LFS pay?.
Do you imagine the profit made selling to a LFS would cause the feeder fish provider/breeder to use good quality food, and provide optimum conditions?
And from what that guppy is fed, is it providing high nutrient value (or not) to your fish?
And then consider other conditions it is raised in.
To me dumping some fish raised in (probably) the cheapest, crammed conditions possible to make some sort of profit, is fthat feeder given to your prized fish, a good idea.
And how long to you think a proper QT would be for you to give such feeder fish?
Many diseases do not become apparent in a week, some a month, some even 3 months.
When I QT a new fish, it usually is for a miminium of 3 months, because it often takes that long to notice a number of diseases.
Do you have the time, or space to keep enough feeder QT tanks.
So if you are doing it right, keeping feeders in a proper conditions, and gut loading them with a high nutrient diet, so your fish are getting those nutrients would seem good practice.
Then how many QT feeder tanks would an conscientious aquarist need, 10, maybe 20 to QT tanks.
As said in posts above, with all the proper nutrient pellets available today, is it worth the disease risk to feed feeders?
And "are" other fish really the natural and preferred diet of your fish?
I know many (especially noob) fish keepers feed any cichlid (oscars included) other fish.
But is that what they have really evolved to feed on?
Many cichlids are in reality omnivores, that barely ever are able to prey on other fish, and there are few that are mainly piscavores.
there was a post the other day about a Vieja that the 1st owner fed almost exclusively feeders to.
But the reality is, In nature Vieja diet is mainly algae, fallen fruit, seeds, detritus and insects.
Where I lived, feeder guppies and feeder goldfish went for @10 for $1 at a LFS, and if that's they sold them for, how much did the LFS pay?.
Do you imagine the profit made selling to a LFS would cause the feeder fish provider/breeder to use good quality food, and provide optimum conditions?
And from what that guppy is fed, is it providing high nutrient value (or not) to your fish?
And then consider other conditions it is raised in.
To me dumping some fish raised in (probably) the cheapest, crammed conditions possible to make some sort of profit, is fthat feeder given to your prized fish, a good idea.
And how long to you think a proper QT would be for you to give such feeder fish?
Many diseases do not become apparent in a week, some a month, some even 3 months.
When I QT a new fish, it usually is for a miminium of 3 months, because it often takes that long to notice a number of diseases.
Do you have the time, or space to keep enough feeder QT tanks.
So if you are doing it right, keeping feeders in a proper conditions, and gut loading them with a high nutrient diet, so your fish are getting those nutrients would seem good practice.
Then how many QT feeder tanks would an conscientious aquarist need, 10, maybe 20 to QT tanks.
As said in posts above, with all the proper nutrient pellets available today, is it worth the disease risk to feed feeders?
And "are" other fish really the natural and preferred diet of your fish?
I know many (especially noob) fish keepers feed any cichlid (oscars included) other fish.
But is that what they have really evolved to feed on?
Many cichlids are in reality omnivores, that barely ever are able to prey on other fish, and there are few that are mainly piscavores.
there was a post the other day about a Vieja that the 1st owner fed almost exclusively feeders to.
But the reality is, In nature Vieja diet is mainly algae, fallen fruit, seeds, detritus and insects.
Last edited:
