Why do people save feeder fish?

[NinjaSmurf]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat with none-eaten feeders, but I see people who go int othe fish store, see a feeder fish and say 'I can't believe they're going to use it to feed some big mean fish! Oh my god I have to save it!' (sarcasm used to get the point across ) and then proceed to buy a goldfish and stick it in a bowl or a little five gallon, and think they are saving it. I mean, don't look in the tank!!! Turn away from the feeder fish tank and look at the other ones! You can't save them all! Don't try!

Rant done, but still like the stories.... Continue!

 

[Sanj]

Tbh, peeps arent really making a difference, they arent saving much just fuelling the trade in feeders even more by buying them.

We dont really have fish for sale in the UK specifically as 'Feeders'. Not that I would want any, but hey im a Hindu and have more concern for other life forms than some

 

[3fsh]

I didn't "save" any feeder fish, per say, but I did purchase some for an aquarium because of the following reasons:

a. My sister wanted guppies in her 10g that I was setting up for her.
b. Feeder guppies are sooooo much cheaper and hardier than fancy guppies.
c. They are smaller, so you can stock a tank more heavily than you would be able to with fancies.
d. They have more personality (no offense to all you fancy-guppy-people ).

There are about 12 of them in the tank now. It is a heavily planted tank with a CO2 diffuser and 50w of light and is massively overfiltered with a bio-wheel/activated carbon filter meant for a 20g. Two of the "guppies", I just found out, are actually mosquito fish! (1m, 1fm) I have an okay ratio of 2 male guppies to 5 female guppies. I have also discovered several small fry roaming around the tank! I did not simply "save" them and they are the happiest, shiniest, perkiest, fish you have ever seen!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Cos I live in the UK, we don't get live feeder fish . And as far as I've seen, betta's aren't kept in as crappy conditions over here (I have yet to see one betta in a cup )

 

[jflowers]

Living in the UK, we dont see feeder fish as feeding live vertebrates to pets is illegal. Not saying it is wrong, just a fact.

Jon

 

[fishman 1]

Well feeder fish, now there is a subject!

I do not have a problem with people using feeder fish but.....
It appears some people use them when really it is not necessary!
If you have a preditory fish that will not take dried foods or substitute food such as prawn, crabstick, whitebait, worms etc then I can understand it.
Otherwise it is just a way for a fool to get his kicks.

Using feeder fish is one way of passing internal parasites to you belovid healthy fish. So for them few moments of pleasure seeing a feeder eaten by a fish that has no real need for live fish seems like madness.
A friend of mine has to feed live neons to his prehistoric monster fish as it will not eat anything else.
I feed all my culled offspring and the occasional large cichlid to my preditory goby.

As for saving feeder fish i think this is a stupid idea. So the guy in the shop sells you the fish out the tank. As soon as you have left the shop there will be another fish in its place.

The people buying all the feeders could do with a big preditor fish to keep the numbers down in their eventually over stocked tank!
I suppose all these people breeding convicts could supply them to the shops as feeders.

 

[SirMinion]

If you have a preditory fish that will not take dried foods or substitute food such as prawn, crabstick, whitebait, worms etc then I can understand it.

We're very happy that after several months of neon feeders, we finally managed to get our ChacaChaca to take frozen prawn off the end of a snake feeder stick. No more live foods for Mr Chaca!

 

[jflowers]

Well feeder fish, now there is a subject!

I do not have a problem with people using feeder fish but.....
It appears some people use them when really it is not necessary!
If you have a preditory fish that will not take dried foods or substitute food such as prawn, crabstick, whitebait, worms etc then I can understand it.
Otherwise it is just a way for a fool to get his kicks.

Using feeder fish is one way of passing internal parasites to you belovid healthy fish. So for them few moments of pleasure seeing a feeder eaten by a fish that has no real need for live fish seems like madness.
A friend of mine has to feed live neons to his prehistoric monster fish as it will not eat anything else.
I feed all my culled offspring and the occasional large cichlid to my preditory goby.

As for saving feeder fish i think this is a stupid idea. So the guy in the shop sells you the fish out the tank. As soon as you have left the shop there will be another fish in its place.

The people buying all the feeders could do with a big preditor fish to keep the numbers down in their eventually over stocked tank!
I suppose all these people breeding convicts could supply them to the shops as feeders.

I think that buying feeders, promotes it. A good trade in feeders means there are more made available, simple economics. So if you don't agree with feeder fish, don't save them and there will be less.

And I agree with fishman 1, some people do buy them for the fun of it, look at the guy who did not have a home for his oscar, so chucked him in his pirahna tank. Then again, some fish just wont take anything but.

Jon

 

[fishman 1]

A chaca chaca I used to have used to be the same. Live fish only. It occasionally ate small live worms but this was major trouble to get it to eat them.

If it means the odd feeder fish or scraps from culling a brood being used for difficult varieties fair enough I see no problem.

If it's just for a fool getting a kick then I think it's a bad thing.

 

[snowyangel]

Well i haven't saved any feeder fish(my b/f bought the feeder guppies b/c the thinks they have cool patterns and are cheap) but what i have rescued is 2 beautiful and intelligent feeder rats. When you save something thats there only to be eaten, u start to see they're not just a piece of flesh, but that its an individual, and has a unique personailty like every other living creature. Sure another rat may be in their place soon after, but it's not gonna be one of my 2 girls. I'm still very glad i rescued them from a snake. Snakes could be fed something smaller and less intelligent(or something that already been humanly put down) instead of live, healthy rats. Rats always get screwed over in business, labratories, and how they're portrayed in movies so i wanted to give 2 feeders a chance in a million. I wouldn't trade them for any pure bred animals in the world.

Sorry to get alittle off topic, but its still related to feeders in general.

 

[sylvia]

Go Snowy-Angel! lol I don't know - I'm very devided on this subject - on the one hand you are adding to demand, encouraging supply, on the other hand you can look at what you rescue as an individual and you are glad you saved it cause it isn't just ANY fish, it's YOUR fish and now it's got a name, is special, is different...

No, I haven't rescued any feeder fish or bettas because, like mentioned by others, living in the UK means I don't see this sort of thing. I have done though (when I lived in NY) so I know how depressing it can be to see the animals suffering and how much you can feel you want to save them.

On the other hand, I have seen fish in bad states in many of my LFSs. Recently I saw a 6" tinfoil barb with a realy serious case of fungus - if I had a tank, I would take him just to get him back in good condition. Unfortunately, the only thing I have spare at the moment is a 10 gallon quarantine and that wouldn't suffice. There's also an opaline with bad fins though... the gourami would be ok in the 10 gallon... hmm...

The way I see it with these is that I am not 'fueling an industry' like the production of feeders as these fish will be placed in homes eventualy anyway (or die) so if someone's going to buy them, it might as well be someone who can care for them. The LFS is going to get their next shipment of fish whether the sick tinfoil and shredded gourami are sold or not.

 

[sylvia]

Oh my! They are adorable! I love the hooded especialy - my favourite pattern I love rats... I had some a while back. Oh so cute!

 

[Fishy411]

I have some that I didnt save on purpose ... sounds stupid, but:

I had a friend who lives out of town. She set up a turtle tank and got 2 feeder goldies and a fancy tailed calico to "clean up" after her turtle. They got big and I freaked out when I saw them living in the little puddle so she said .... well you take them then. So I didnt finish the pond in time so they are sitting in an overfiltered 10 gal tank until it gets warm. Then they will be the sole inhabitants of a 300+ gal pond. well I may add one more fancy tail.

when u say HAD do u mean u arent friends anymore

 

[GuppyDude]

not all fish can live on flakes and dried foods, many like piranah must eat feeder fish to survive. sure they can eat ground beef and pretty much any other kind of meat but thats not cost effective. If u have the space and you c some feeder fish u think would do good in ur tank, by all means go for it, but buying out the lfs stock only increases the demand and more will be shipped in. its no differant than feeding your fish black worms or any other kind of live food really, i guess fish to us seem more.....alive i dunno what makes us feal bad about it ( i was just useing piranah as an example, there are many types of fish that must live on a live diet )

 

[Fishy411]

When I was 8, I would ride my bike to the pet store every weekend and buy rosy reds with my allowence to "save them" I had a 30 long and a 10 just full of rosy reds. It actually looked pretty neat and probably the cheapest tank I've ever stocked

One time I went there and they had feeder zebra danios, just itty bitty juvies and I was so upset I spent all my allowence on them )

now somehow that doesnt surprise me considering u were the master of the wal-mart betta rescue right?