feeder fish?

[fishieness]

hello everyone. The other day i got the idea, whenever i go down to the shore, there are always tons of shiners and mummiechubs down there that i always catch. You can even buy mummiechubs at most fishing stors that sell live minnows. And i was wondering, would i be able to get them to feed to my fish? I do live up here in the north, so they would be different form what my fish would normaly eat. But for a treat at least? But then the problem comes of probably having to QT them and they may be diseased. So im not sure. Whats your opinion on the subject? A good idea in reality? Or just a good idea on paper?.... kinda like communism...

 

[moto757]

just a good idea on paper you answered your ques. alrady about the health issue stick with foods you can soak in vitamins or already come with them in them

 

[lion_crazz]

I wouldn't recommend using live fish either.

 

[guineawhop]

if you have to feed live fish this would probably be the best way to go because they are saltwater fish or at least that's what i was guessing. if these fish are freshwater then don't even try them.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally posted by guineawhop
if you have to feed live fish this would probably be the best way to go because they are saltwater fish or at least that's what i was guessing. if these fish are freshwater then don't even try them.
Yeah, I was just guessing too. If they are saltwater fish, I would give them a freshwater dip to get rid of disease, but if they are freshwater feeders, it is out of the question. Freshwater feeders will cause fatty liver disease in a saltwater fish.

 

[fishieness]

yes, i know about the problems of ffreshwater feeders, taht is why i suggested. Notice how i said i catch shiners and such when i go to the shore. as in the beach. I also mentioned shiners and mummichubs, which are saltwater fish

 

[ophiura]

People were only trying to help you....shiners and mummichogs may not be familiar names to everyone, or mean the same things to everyone. And not every word of every sentence (eg shore) may be picked up in a post.

 

[guineawhop]

exactly, the shore could be talking about a lake, i don't live near the ocean and that's what we call the beaches here. shiners are also what most bait fish shops call the freshwater minnows.

 

[fishieness]

sorry! when i reread that it did sound a little rude. but trust me, when i was typing it i wasnt feeling that way. im sorry it came off as rude, i had no intentions of being so. It hard to transmit emotions over these types of things, so they are often confused, i have confused how people meant to say things many times, and i have seen entire threads be didicated to an all out attack on one person because they were thought to be rude.
and your right about the shore aspect, i didnt think of that. Thats jsut what we call the beach in my family, and a lake is called a lake (living in CT, there arent realy any lakes around big enough to call a shore). And your also right about the shiners. Today when i was fishing i was actualy thinking about that how the name will probably get confused.
so i appoligize to all if i sounded rude, but i had no intention of doing so and am truely apreciative of your help. I am still new at this hobby and would have gotten nowhere without all of you. By the way, tahts not flattery, its the truth
so sorry for the confusiong once again! and thanks for your replys
javascript:smilie(':joy:')

 

[lion_crazz]

If they are indeed saltwater feeder fish, that is a very debatable subject. I was at Atlantis in the Bahamas and their lionfish's diet consisted of 90% live silversides (while feeding the other 10% of their diet the frozen food that they gave the hippo tangs in the tank with them). They hatched silversides right at the resort however. In your case though, it would still not be an issue of having them caught because they are still saltwater in nature and will not cause fatty liver disease. The only thing that I would worry about with feeding live fish is the possibility of having the fish carry diseases. What most people normally do when feeding feeder fish however is give them a freshwater dip for 5 to 10 minutes to kill any saltwater parasite that may be on their body. This is not a definite process of killing parasite, but it is the quickest and easiest. Then, you could put them in a small 1 to 2 gallon tank overnight and feed the live fish vitamins and nutrients (such as Zoe/Selcon) in order to make them nutritious for the fish you are feeding them to. This process would seem pretty safe if you ask me, as it seems like you are covering all the bases for potential problems. However, then again, I don't know whether you (or anyone) wants to go through all that work.

 

[fishieness]

I think it would be a fun way to give my snowflake eel a treat if he can catch them. The freshwater bath is a good idea, however it wouldnt get ride of any internal parasite like worms though would it?
and then i just thought of another aspect. Living in CT and not RI, the beach im talking about is Hamenassette in long island sound. And im pretty sure its not the cleanest water in the world. So there might be other factors such as chemicals or heavy metals that may be in the fish that they are used to, but my snowflake eel wont be.
maybe ill give it a try when i go to my friends beach house in RI this summer.
thanks for the replys.