The great feeder debate!!!!

[pete]

It has been brought to my attention that some of you find the idea of feeding large predatory fish on so called "feeder fish" cruel and unnessacary :what:

I for one totally agree with feeding live fish to predators if this is done as humanely as is possible and the feeders themselves are keep in water conditions as good as you would keep your most prized fish.........even if the tank is nicknamed "The Green Mile" lmao :laugh:

If you are planning to keep large predatory fish it is another thing to think of along side tank size, filtration needs etc...........could you really bring yourself to feed live fish if nessacary? :what:

I do NOT however agree with people who keep their feeders in poor conditions and feed them in such a way as to cause suffering........ie using a knife to cut goldfish to make them bleed and disable them for the purpose of feeding Piranha etc as this is causing unnessacary suffering to the feeders and is in my opinion just a way of someone getting a cheap thrill out of causing pain and suffering to a defenceless animal

I do feed live fish and i do it quickly and as naturaly as is possible......i also keep any feeders in a 3 foot tank with lots of cover and very clean water conditions to make their short stay as pleasant as possible

There is also the question of passing on disease by feeding feeder fish :what: ............well to put it bluntly if you keep your feeders in tip top condition (see filtration etc) there will be no cause for concern in this area as the fish you are feeding should be as healthy as your other fish

And last but not least .............i only feed those fish that will not eat prepared foods etc on feeders and do NOT feed them for fun............i hope this enlightens some of you to the reasons for sometimes having no choice but to feed live fish

 

[wotfish?]

i must admit i have a pair of convicts that breed regulary, and i feed the fry to my other fish as a treat or to help condition for breeding.

sue

 

[pete]

Yes i do this too Sue as well as a treat it is a very good way of kulling the sometimes deformed or imperfect fry that result from a spawning.......instead of just letting them die in a bin or on the floor of the fish hut as i am aware that some breeders do

 

[adeyc]

Well said that man. I agree totaly. I may joke about, but am very concientious when it comes to using/keeping feeder fish. They should be kept healthy. You wouldn't want to eat a sick cow or a dodgy sprout would you, same goes for fish(they may swim about in their own poo but generaly don't eat it) For a lot of people the idea of keeping fish is to have as close to a natural a set up as they can for their fish,and that quite often means they need to provide the specific food chain for the fish they keep. How many Amazonian tribesmen do you see walking about the jungle and rivers with a tub of flake to feed the fish. If everything's done with thought and care there should be no problem.
To quote someone we all know

That's natures baby. lol

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Yes I feed, feeders. But only in a nice way

When on another board I read a topic where a pub in ENGLAND was taking bets on how long a guppy would last in an Oscar tank. It was sick man, Sick

Anyway I think they got done in

 

[William]

No, No, No and No!! You guys are sick and twisted :laugh:

 

[William]

Ok the last post was a bit of a joke, however I am in person against feeders as an idea.

Obviously deformed/ sick fish can be disposed of in this way.  However do they have to be alive when they are fed to the fish?  I know many people (as davy said sick) who put goldfish or other feeders in tanks of puffers and watch them slowly chomp their fins down and eat them... events like this have changed my opinion for the worse.  I don't like the idea of the fish being just chucked in without a chance into the container.  I become very attached to my fish which I keep and could never do this.

Some of you may find it interesting, that I myself am a fisherman and a keen sportsman.  You may think that I am contradicting myself in my beliefs however I strongly feel they are two seperate issues.  In fishing you catch a fish and release or you catch it and kill it for eating, the death is instant with a sharp knock to the head which is hardly what the w@%*#rs out there are doing with their puffers.  More and more I release the fish I catch - you can only eat soo many      

Let the cries of hypocrisy begin!

 

[pete]

I can understand the "puffer" side of things........and to be honest there is no reason not to feed these fish frozen fish in the first place as they will usually readily accept them......and yes the way these particular feed can be somewhat distressing to watch

However most feeders are consumed in one foul swoop that is essentially a case of "lights out" :0 ......ie Snakeheads etc........and in most cases the predators either move or ambush the prey so quickly that it is unlikely that the feeders actually realise what has happened as it is so darned fast

As for the fishing bit..........i too am an angler (salt water)

 

[wotfish?]

cool, anglers as well :laugh: , ive been going coarse fishing since i was 7, now i just go carp fishing, and always put them back.

sue

 

[adeyc]

I've not been fishing in years. that could be an idea for another weekend. The police took my car and nets last time though :laugh: (that was a joke people)

 

[wotfish?]

why am i not surprised

sue




:love: ya really

 

[William]

Who would have thought they made such a good combination Got fish on the brain we have...

 

[Great Lakes]

I'll start my feeder horror story by explainig how I used to feed my piranah. Had six of the little devils. They were coming along real nice. I would feed them every few days. They really are a shy misunderstood fish. The most amazing thing about their appetite is that they seem capable of eating more than their own weight in food! I'll get to the point.
I was leaving for the weekend, and had not fed them in a couple days. So I ran down to the lfs and purchased a dozen feeders to put in with them before I left. Imagine my horror coming home two days later to find eighteen dead fish in my tank!! The feeders must have been diseased or something. So I will never use feeders again unless I can house them myself.
I did have a tank for feeders, I had just run out, and got in a hurry, and broke the cardinal rule of patience.