# What live feeders to use.....



## P boost (Sep 17, 2006)

Trying to get some healthy live food for my 4.5 inc mac and my 6 inch elong to eat

I know you shouldn't feed gold fish or other carp family fish type anyother lived feeders that would be ok

Plan on trying tadpoles im up for any suggestions


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## Leasure1 (Jul 24, 2006)

I think neons, and other colorful community fish. But I'm not sure 100%


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## P boost (Sep 17, 2006)

Leasure1 said:


> I think neons, and other colorful community fish. But I'm not sure 100%


oh man i think i should have posted this topic under feeding and nutrition.
thanks i should maybe try some of those


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## psrotten (Jan 27, 2004)

try breeding some cons that way its cheap

they breed like rabbits


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## randomhero (Mar 29, 2004)

Cons are the best way to go IMO. Way less chance for disease and breed non stop, as psrotten mentioned earlier.


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

cons

and i dont mean the type of fish


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

to Feeding Forum

Harry


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## P boost (Sep 17, 2006)

randomhero said:


> Cons are the best way to go IMO. Way less chance for disease and breed non stop, as psrotten mentioned earlier.


lmao damn i had a pair of those damn cons then i got rid of them because they were just annoying to me always banging all the time screwign with my little texas blue that was about half there size in my 20 gal i had wish i would have kept them they could have made good food for my p's damnt


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Suitable (as in Thiaminase-free) live feeders are:
- Characins (tetra's);
- Cichlids (make sure you don't buy some that will beat up your piranha's, though







);
- Lifebearers (guppies, mollies, swordtails).

Don't forget to quarantaine them for at least 10-14 days before feeding them, though.


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## P boost (Sep 17, 2006)

great gtreat i did not even think about tetra's or mollys thanks


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## nemo the piranha (Sep 29, 2006)

i would say some healthy rossy red minnows,they are coldwater and easy to keep and qurantine and also they are very fast and give your piranhas something to chase,i would give them about 5 a mont just as a treat and for your own enjoyment aslong as they are healthy


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## Malok (Mar 26, 2006)

i do the convict thing too


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

nemo the piranha said:


> i would say some healthy rossy red minnows,they are coldwater and easy to keep and qurantine and also they are very fast and give your piranhas something to chase,i would give them about 5 a mont just as a treat and for your own enjoyment aslong as they are healthy


Rosy reds are related to goldfish and are just as bad as feeding golds. slightly less.


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## nemo the piranha (Sep 29, 2006)

ok then i was going to get a load,but i havent a spare heater or anything as i have to add my old 50 watt to my new tank that has a 200 watt but isnt the right size


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## carmenohio (Sep 5, 2006)

The LFS will probably tell you rosy reds are ok,( like they did me) they are not. Dont get fooled. Even if they arent pure goldfish they are close. And anything kept in a tank with 100's of others is bound to have parasites.


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## eiji (Sep 16, 2006)

try some tetras and cichlids... cheap and safe..
but be sure they are healthy though...


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## tonggi (Sep 5, 2006)

where can u get cheap tetras?


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## ChilDawg (Apr 30, 2006)

OhioStatePiranha said:


> The LFS will probably tell you rosy reds are ok,( like they did me) they are not. Dont get fooled. Even if they arent pure goldfish they are close. And anything kept in a tank with 100's of others is bound to have parasites.


They aren't even partially goldfish, TBH, but your points are otherwise good. They are cyprinids, so they thus have thiaminase...

Here's a hobbyist's view on their taxonomy: http://www.nanfa.org/archive/nanfa/nanfadec00/0063.html


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

convict


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

most fish that are sold as pets should be ok, go with cons, or tetras, or mollies etc


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

Great ideas in here for substitute feeders. I certainly agree with avoiding the carp (goldfish) family. Don't you have to question why they're so abundent and cheap?







Those two attributes never make for high quality foods.

Just keep in mind that it can be more expensive to feed "pet" fish (tetras, cichlids, etc...). Most of us probably can't afford that for a regular diet, so you'll still need a staple of "dead" foods to augment. For live, cost-effective food, I've given everything from bullfrog tadpoles, to ghost shrimp (they're a workout for P's too), to pinkies (baby) mice (can be messy at times), to earthworms and crickets.

The insects/worms are probably the most cost effective if you cannot breed your own stock, but you have to be sure they don't come from soil with fertilizer/insectiside. Take your cheap a*s to the store!!!


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