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Live feeders!

52K views 124 replies 77 participants last post by  pain187 
#1 ·
Well i've been collecting Ps since 1989 and in my humble opinion most problems with Ps begin with live feeders.
I losted some of my fish because of "uncertain" causes the first 5 years. Today i believe they died because of "unapparental" (internal) diseases/parasites (i always kept water pristine) they got from live feeders... and i've never losted a P again since i feed "dead"...
Personally i feed my Ps white meat fish fillets (different kinds) as staple and shrimp (shell on), squid and octopus as a complement for a varied diet... my Ps grow healthy and never had a problem again...
!
I know live feeders are more entertaining than dead food but you should keep in mind even quarantined feeders can contain internal (unapparental) parasites/diseases harmful/fatal to your Ps... Personally i won't use feeders with my Ps anymore. Their health come first... just my opinion...
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#2 ·
This is of course the correct and wise practise.

It is sad that people buy Piranhas to entertain themselves by deliberately killing other fishes. And mostly fishes that some other hobbyists take good care of. No good.

Safeguard measures is totally another issue. Using live feeders one risks the health of his Piranhas too, like Hannibal said.

Harry
 
#3 ·
This is of course the correct and wise practise.

It is sad that people buy Piranhas to entertain themselves by deliberately killing other fishes. And mostly fishes that some other hobbyists take good care of. No good.

Safeguard measures is totally another issue. Using live feeders one risks the health of his Piranhas too, like Hannibal said.

Harry
Sad, but very true.

Back in 2003 on my first time around with piranha (reds and spilos separate tanks of course) I feed live feeders, and as Mr. Hannibal said several died from uncertain reasons. This time I decided prior to receiving them that they would be fed only prepared foods in lieu of anything live.
 
#4 ·
like lots of people said...stay away from feeder. but i'm some what disagree with it..yes i agree NOT to feed your piranha often, alots, or ever day daily food...

I believe piranha should have feeder once a while....maybe once a month or once in every 2 month for treat. IMO>>
 
#5 ·
Since joining this site I haven't fed my piranha feeders in quite some time... Their diet now consists primarily of shrimp, pellets, beef heart, and bloodworms. Every now and then I put some tetras or barbs in the tank and they all eventually get eaten, but no goldfish or minnows. I do feel it's kinda cruel to feed them live fish, even though it's a natural occurence in the wild. I do enjoy watching them attack a raw shrimp though. :)
 
#10 ·
not the internal paracites.

i feed my sanch feeders sometimes. NOT to amuse myself ( he takes them during the night anywhays ), but i feel it increases his life quality. Im well aware of the danger in doing this, but my lfs has, as long as ive shoped there, never had infested fish. if they do notice something they quaranteen the tanks. I will say im beginning to move away from live feedings, cause of the reasons stated by Hanniball, one day you might end up with a dead p.
 
#20 ·
thanks.. because i was feeding them pellets and shrimps lately and i noticed that there are less movements and some of my reds skip meals... but last week or so when i fed them black mollies, they were like chasing them, and devouring them in an instant... it seems to me they like feeder fish more than those foods i know that are beneficial to them...

Also, is it okay for them to be fed with crickets and other insects??
 
#22 ·
thanks.. because i was feeding them pellets and shrimps lately and i noticed that there are less movements and some of my reds skip meals... but last week or so when i fed them black mollies, they were like chasing them, and devouring them in an instant... it seems to me they like feeder fish more than those foods i know that are beneficial to them...

Also, is it okay for them to be fed with crickets and other insects??
No problem with feeding insects as far they are "clean"... i mean, they are not taked from places where people use pesticides or other toxic substances... i recommend you get them from your local pet store... better safe than sorry
!
 
#21 ·
sure crickets are ok...just make sure your P's eat them fast enough because they will get out by climbing the filter tubing or whatever wires you have comming from your tank...

...They just need to get used to the fact that they cant have live food on the reg anymore. If they are used to always eating live food and your trying to change them to other things and they wont accept it right away, lower your temp to 78 so they dont start attacking each other because they're hungry. After a few days or so they should be accepting different stuff... Stick to WHITE fish meat (tilapia, flounder, etc.) Also whole shimp(raw shell on) Clams, Squid, Octopus.
 
#27 ·
I've learned quite a bit (I do more reading than posting). My experience with live food is to avoid the "DNA challenged" feeders. Stock can sometimes be thinned - genetically speaking, which makes the animals more susceptible to disease and the like. Therefore, when feeding live animals (fish or whatever), it may pay to be more selective... and pay more for the meal. Avoid the 10 or more for a dollar type of feeders. By example, I've fed everything from bullfrog tadpoles to pinky mice (don't recommend that one) to earthworms (nightcrawlers) and ghost shrimp. They do have a regular diet of "dead" foods, but they are always anxious for that live feeding. As soon as it hits the water (whatever), it has a matter of seconds!!!

We're all hobbiest to a degree, but the key is to remember what their diet would consist of in real life. Bugs are a big part of a fish's (almost all freshwater species) diet. Live earthworms provide great protien and of course, being fish and all, they LOVE em.

Trial and error, I'd say, but just don't try the "risky" live species. In fact, I'd go so far as to say as long as you're avoiding fatty flesh, it's less risky for your P to get a "fish killing" parasite from a non-fish species.
 
#28 ·
Well i've been collecting Ps since 1989 and in my humble opinion most problems with Ps begin with live feeders.
I losted some of my fish because of "uncertain" causes the first 5 years. Today i believe they died because of "unapparental" (internal) diseases/parasites (i always kept water pristine) they got from live feeders... and i've never losted a P again since i feed "dead"...
Personally i feed my Ps white meat fish fillets (different kinds) as staple and shrimp (shell on), squid and octopus as a complement for a varied diet... my Ps grow healthy and never had a problem again...
!
I know live feeders are more entertaining than dead food but you should keep in mind even quarantined feeders can contain internal (unapparental) parasites/diseases harmful/fatal to your Ps... Personally i won't use feeders with my Ps anymore. Their health come first... just my opinion...:nod: !
that is a great point...when i intialy started the hobby i did it for the amazement <sp? of seeing the feeding but when that wore off i started feeding dead...i still occasionally throw a live feeder in but i primarily stick to dead
 
#30 ·
Sorry about your loss, but that may not have been directly related to the cricket - UNLESS you got him from your yard or any land that has pesticides in the soil. STORE bought is best way - unless you KNOW that there are not pesticides and fertilizers in the soil.
 
#34 ·
It seems that if you breed your own feeders (convict cichlids for example) they will be a product of your own aquarium husbandry. And if they do in fact have disease, then it would say something about the quality of your aquarium husbandry and it seems that your piranhas will sooner or later get something anyway with maintenance like that. If you practice good maintenance then your feeders shoud reflect that and wouldn't give your ps anything anyway.
 
#36 ·
I think you mis understood the point of the thread, the thread wasnt to encourage goldfish it was to tell you why you should shy away from them. If you must feed live breed convicts or mollies. Goldfish are not healthy for P's and of course you want them to be vibrant and happy
 
#38 ·
i'm new to owning p's and i was wondering......... wen i bought my Serrasalmus Sanchezi the workers at the pet store insisted i feed it live feeder fish..... now that i see this i am a bit uneasy because i have already fed it a couple....... is there anything i can do to help prevent any disease and keep it healthy from now on besides changing its diet...... also, legally, do you think there is anything i could do to the people at the store because i was looking forward to having a healthy fish
 
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