I have game fish that I keep (yes legally you Nazi Geeks!) and I am wondering if there are various risks that even putting feeders in quarantine for a month will not solve. Anyone currently quarantining feeders? and if so how long do you keep them in quarantine for before feeding them to your main fish?
Answers:
Good question. I keep feeders in a 15g tank for up to about 30 days. I have a high mortality rate with them as the majority of them could either be diseased or just not fairing well from the change in water parameters (mostly pH). I try to acclimate them over a period of about an hour before putting them in, but I always wind up with about a 10-15% loss.
The main things I look for is Ich and Septicemia (as these 2 symptoms are not only the easiest to catch, but also appear to be the most common with most feeders in my area).
I think 30 days is more than sufficient to observe this. Good luck!
I would check with your local fish and game office.. OR even the manager of the PetSmart might know the answer to that
I think the main concern would be that the feeders will overtake your game population. I would definitely quarantine the species to limit diseases. Try and talk to a fishery biologist about this.
"Feeder* fish are unnecessary and can be unhealthy for the fish you are feeding it to! Feeder fish are kept in horrible conditions and are hosts to about every parasite and disease you can imagine. You don't want to be bringing this home to your fish! Of course you are already quarantining which is smart, but isn't a guarantee. I don't want to say a certain "time" that would be safe to have them quarantined because there is no magic amount of time that will make a quarantined ill fish healthy. Some ill fish do not even show symptoms - they are just carriers. So although your feeder fish may look healthy enough to eat, his disease my be caught by your fish who would show symptoms and become ill from it.
Freeze dried Krill or frozen foods might be a better alternative. There are plenty of alternatives to feeding live fish to your fish. Not only is it kind of sad (as I am a goldfish lover hehe) but it isn't that healthy, provides no variety for your fish, and it isn't necessary. I'd check out badman's tropical fish forums at the link below. These people are experts and can probably tell you exactly what to do or to get. Good luck!
Any feeder fish raised in an outdoor pond is a risk to fish living in an aquarium that eat them. Goldfish are the worst.
I have never heard of anyone quarantining feeder fish. I suppose it could be done, tho. The length of time a fish is quarantined for new tropicals before introducing them to the tank where they will live is 3-4 weeks. Keep them at high temp (80) so it will speed up everyone's metabolism and any problems will present earlier than at cooler temps.
Personally, I would try to convert them to pelleted or flaked food. Either would be much safer for them. Unless you are planning to fish them with live bait, that would be one solution.
I converted 5 oscars from live feeder goldfish to dry dog food pellets when I found out about all the diseases that can be brought into aquariums with feeder fish.
If you have a large tank that isn't housing your game fish (fresh water?) you can breed mollies or platies as these have been taken better care than the feeder fish. they should only cost $2.00 each and are very easy to breed. also for a freshwater tank you can buy a few ghost shrimp that the fish would love they are normally $.33 each. Try crickets too. or live blood worms.
Most fish will learn to eat frozen or freeze dried stuff, but if you have something like a bass they may not ever learn to eat non living food.
You know how Native Indians used to die of things like chicken pox that new settlers used to bring with them? Same thing happens to wild fish. Domestic fish and wild fish do not mix without one or the other at risk of dying from disease. Using a UV sterilizer will help to destroy many pathogens in the water (and algae). You are better off trying to convince them to eat other things (like earthworms that can be bought in bulk and stored somewhere cool).
A
do a salt dip be4 you feed them to your fish but i used worms
I have a salt water tank with 5 fish in it. Two of them are meat eaters (Triggers) that would love to have feeder fish. I personally do not deal with feeder fish as I give mine frozen and freeze dried krill, frozen brine shrimp, frozen and freeze dried plankton, frozen Marine variety packs too. The fish I have are already agressive and we decided not to go the feeder fish way because the aggressive fish will become more agressive and the less agressive ones might become threatened. Keep in mind that the shrimp is given as a treat, not as a meal. I also give them flake and pellets. My triggers and my dogfaced puffer loves the freeze dried foods as they have teeth and love chewing on the hard shells.
Good Luck!
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