Ethicality of Stunning Prey Items

This is really a question puffer keepers, but I assume it could be extended to people with other predatory fish in their possession as well.

Let me kinda start by saying that I don't enjoy anything about this process - I don't even really enjoy any kind of live chase, other than if I'm feeding snails or live clams/mussels. Then, watching the fish hunt is pretty cool. The worst part is stunning/incapacitating/killing prey items that could cause injury to my fish.

The most common example I run into is with fiddler crabs. They're a cheap feeder crab that I feed once or twice a month to my Figure 8 and Green Spotted Puffers, and all my puffers (besides Dwarf Puffers, for obvious reasons) have enjoyed the occasional treat. I've always killed the crabs before I added them to the tank with hot water. Not boiling, and not for long - just hot tap water. They kinda thrash around for 2-3 seconds before freezing up, and I assume die of shock rather quickly. Even when they go uneaten for a few minutes in the tank, I've never seen any more movement out of them, so I assume they're dead. Some people de-claw the crabs, but I really don't want to do that (both for my own sake and because it'd take forever), so I've always just killed them with hot water.

The main concern is the crab clawing an eye or gill out with puffers. Anyone have anything to add?

 

I see no issue with it. It is the same for those that kill the mice/rats they feed snakes. It must be done in order to keep the rodent from chewing on the snake causing injury. It is the circle of life.

 

I see no issue with it. It is the same for those that kill the mice/rats they feed snakes. It must be done in order to keep the rodent from chewing on the snake causing injury. It is the circle of life.

If it was the circle of life, the animals would be the ones doing the stunning.

 

If it was the circle of life, the animals would be the ones doing the stunning.

A good point, it's not natural. But in some cases, it's necessary to prevent injury, and the fish needs that particular food, like how puffers need their teeth ground down by shells. Crabs have a much thicker shell than, say, a shrimp does - and medium-sized puffers (like mine) tend to either suck the snail out of it's shell, pick the meat out of a clam, or give up all together because the shell is too hard. These are also the puffers who are most at risk, since their eyes and gills are so much closer to it's mouth.

Not trying to sway your opinion, just explaining my own line of reasoning.

 

A good point, it's not natural. But in some cases, it's necessary to prevent injury, and the fish needs that particular food, like how puffers need their teeth ground down by shells. Crabs have a much thicker shell than, say, a shrimp does - and medium-sized puffers (like mine) tend to either suck the snail out of it's shell, pick the meat out of a clam, or give up all together because the shell is too hard. These are also the puffers who are most at risk, since their eyes and gills are so much closer to it's mouth.

Yeah, i would definitely do the crabs. They can be quite vicious. I have seen them mess up turtles a little bit too til the turtle finally said "ENOUGH!!"

 

Yeah, i would definitely do the crabs. They can be quite vicious. I have seen them mess up turtles a little bit too til the turtle finally said "ENOUGH!!"

Yeah, I just feel bad after doing it every time. I fed three today, and just kinda felt bleh afterwards. It's part of keeping this particular animal, though.

I will say that I am usually against feeder fish with how they're usually done - when I've used feeder fish in the past, I'll usually breed endlers/mollies and use those. You can gut load them, make sure they're parasite-free, and you can pick different sizes from tiny fry all the way up to mega-sized females. Safer for the predator, and a more humane life for the feeder (even if the ending is usually the same).

Plus, mollies can survive in saltwater indefinitely, so it was a huge leg up when I was doing lionfish and they only wanted to eat when they were ready. Acclimate it, drop it in, and wait for it to disappear.