# What kind of feeders are best?



## rainydaze (Feb 10, 2005)

Ok, I know that alot of folks frown upon feeders at all or any live food at that. Understandable, I've read all the threads and get it. That has been established here very well.. but with that being said...
If someone did use feeders which I also know some do. Which are best? I've read bad things about goldfish.. What about minnows, guppys, rosies etc. Also earthworms and crayfish or maggots come to mind. It would be cool if the pro's on here that know alot on the topic could come up with a list of the best live foods. Also a list of what live foods to avoid. Some feeders are better or worse that others. It would help a newbie like myself to know what to avoid.


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## moeplz (Feb 21, 2005)

Earthworms are real good. 
NO feeders are good doesnt matter what kind of fish they can always have diseases. If I were you I would breed my one feeders like rosies, or covicts and use them to feed your p's...It's just rash and immature to only feed your P's feeders though because they just end up dying and its not worth seeing them tear a few fish apart just to watch them die afterwards..but w/e theyre not my piranhas theyre yours just have fun when you have to scoop them out of your tank.


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## rainydaze (Feb 10, 2005)

Say you quaratine(sp?) for seveal weeks or even breed your own. I understand that they can carry disease etc. But outside that, Ive read tons on this site about people feeding various fish to their p's. I was just wondering if certain fish would be better like healthier. Or if other fish were poisionous or harmful in a way other than disease.
I personally do not intend to go out and get feeders, I care alot about my p's and have been keeping fish for a long time. Watching them tear up other fish or anything else for that matter doesn't appeal to me at all. I was just wondering if some were safer than others. We both know people do it so why not educate on what is more dangerous than others. Also I wonder wouldn't earthworms be as likely to carry parasites or disease as a fish? Thanks for your input..


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## FormulatedFire (Jan 3, 2005)

try to stay away from goldfish and fish like them they carry something that stunts p's growth call thiamiese or something.......if and when i feed my p's live food i usually quartine them for 2 weeks to make sure they are free of disease....and the fish i like to get are tinfoil barb and tiger barbs.....they are usually cheap around me and are fast so its good exercise.....crayfish and crabs are kind of dangerous and could grab ahold of a fin if they wanted to so not a good idea....another cool feeder is ghost shrimp and if they dont eat them all they are also a good clean up crew.....lfs usually have them cheap also


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## rainydaze (Feb 10, 2005)

Thanks. 
I've read that goldfish have something that can stunt growth, thats what motivated me to start this thread. I have purchased ghost shrimp in the past for my cichlid tank. They are fast and jumpy. I lost track of them quick. Thanks for the tips.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

barbs come from the same family as goldfish (cyprinids) and aren't much healthier than a goldfish is.

Tetras would be very good, as would ghost shrimp.

Earthworms don't carry diseases that fish are susceptible to, they have their own set of diseases that don't really affect fish. They could be poluted with chemicals if you collect them from poluted ground though. Maggots would also likely be very good and healthy for them.

I'd go with various worms, I don't think it's ethical to feed fish and it's cheaper to go with worms anyway.


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## rainydaze (Feb 10, 2005)

Thank you. That was helpful.


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## the grinch (Feb 23, 2004)

The biggest problem with feeders is how they (LFS) care for them. Than the list goes on from there.


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## spec-v (Feb 27, 2005)

I use tadpoles my rohm will eat fish but he really comes alive if I add tadpoles


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## myles (Feb 27, 2005)

oh good tadpoles are ok hey? i remeber feeding mine a cuple back when it jsu sat at the botten and my p jus sorta look confused and stared at him for a cuple minutes but ventualy when the tadpole moved he gobled em right up


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2005)

I'll occasionally throw in a small bluegill or creek chub just to stimulate the piranhas' natural predatory behavior and prevent the captive lethargy some piranha are prone to.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

elTwitcho said:


> barbs come from the same family as goldfish (cyprinids) and aren't much healthier than a goldfish is.


Most commonly used feeders and dithers belong to the Cyprinid family: besides the ones mentioned, koi, rosies, minnows, rasbora's and danio's all belong to that group, and should be avoided.



elTwitcho said:


> Tetras would be very good, as would ghost shrimp.
> [snapback]954368[/snapback]​


Other safe alternatives are livebearers (guppies, mollies, swordtails) and small cichlids - they don't contain the hormones either.


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## Fraggy (Nov 8, 2004)

i once fed mine some neon tetras, they loved them, they chased them around for ages and after that i noticed that it brought out their colours.


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## mattd46612 (Mar 8, 2005)

Are ghost shrimp susceptible to any fish diseases?? Just wondering if you could tossem right in or would they have to be quaranteened


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## piranhasrule (May 31, 2004)

mattd46612 said:


> Are ghost shrimp susceptible to any fish diseases?? Just wondering if you could tossem right in or would they have to be quaranteened
> [snapback]959639[/snapback]​


best off quarintining them to be safe


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## Dawgnutz (Mar 2, 2005)

mattd46612 said:


> Are ghost shrimp susceptible to any fish diseases?? Just wondering if you could tossem right in or would they have to be quaranteened
> [snapback]959639[/snapback]​


I quaritined 50 of them in my 10 gallon with two goldfish. 2 days later the goldfish ate them all.







So I fed the gold fish to the piranha







and bought some mollies to breed!


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## zrreber (Mar 8, 2005)

dont feed em live food.....


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