Feeder fish humane?

just wondering peoples opinions

 

personally I think its wrong, cause they don't hav a fair chance to get away cause their trapped in a tank. if they had a place to run I would find it humane

 

I give feeders about once a month, but I do feel bad for the fish in overcrowded tanks used just for that purpose..but , I also feel bad for over crowded rat/mice cages, frozenkrill, etc...sometimes the circle of life is crool ..but I'm learning the feeders aren't very good as feeders so I'm thinking of backing off on feeding them to my fish...

 

I'm wondering... is this just fish, or are you including feeder shrimo too?

My Freshwater Moray Eel eats ghost shrimp on a regular basis [rather, is starting to] and gets feeder guppies [which I breed myself in their own tank] as treats. My feeders are not fed straight from a store. They live rather nicely in their own little tank.

 

every type of feeder

 

Mine get frozen bloodworms, frozen krill, feeder fish, n pellets..although my daughter threw a cherios in once..they loved it but oscars are known to eat anything that didnt eat them first

 

Not Humane! I think it is sad. I hate it when my dad goes ice fishing because he always uses Rosy Reds are bait! I am totally against it! I hate fishing all together!

 

Oscars are wonderful! My mom had a 14 inch tiger oscar and a 12 inch albino for years and years. She didn't feed them live fish because she was afraid of the diseases that they can carry and didn't feel like breading her own. Apparenty, one 100GL tank was enough for her. =]

Oh, and btw... anyone want to take a guess what pellet food [and some flakes I think] is made out of?

Fish. Go figure. The only difference is if your fish gets the natural experience of getting to hunt like it would in the wild. Besides, taking care of an animal shouldn't be about what you want that animal to have, but what is best for the animal.

 

Perfectly humane. Altho I will feel bad for the fish, the bigger uns need the food.

 

perfectly humane, I fed guppies to my baby Oscar, tho I would suggest to breed your own feeder fish or at least quarantine them before feeding them to your fish, they r often full of diseases.

 

Oh, and btw... anyone want to take a guess what pellet food [and some flakes I think] is made out of?

Fish. Go figure. The only difference is if your fish gets the natural experience of getting to hunt like it would in the wild. Besides, taking care of an animal shouldn't be about what you want that animal to have, but what is best for the animal.

knowing that our fish food contains fishmeal.. is not the same thing as feeding your fish a live fish. Fish flakes and frozen worms,shrimp are not wiggling and fleeing from attack. The question/Poll was how do you feel about feeding your fish live foods...
Totally understandable is that some fish require live foods. Its our choice then to decide if we want to keep that type of fish knowing the requirements.
I'm also glad to know that there are supplemental foods available now with all the dietary requirements needed if someone didnt want to feed live fish.
~ kate

 

It's what would happen in the wild, not that most aquarium fish have ever experienced that. Still, if that is what is best for the fish, I would do it. Nature isn't pretty most of the time.

 

I don't have a problem with using smaller fish as feeders, but I do have issues with the feeder fish tanks at the pet stores. Aside from having little or no nutritional value because of the way they're kept, these fish are basically tortured from birth. In my opinion, it's better to keep a feeder tank of your own, with a self-sustaining population of livebearers.

 

I don't understand why people say feeder fish is inhumane! we humans r killing thousands of chickens, cows, pigs and other fish everyday just to eat them! now a 2" feeder fish deserves more humanity than a 10' cow! I don't thinks so!

 

I don't understand why people say feeder fish is inhumane! we humans r killing thousands of chickens, cows, pigs and other fish everyday just to eat them! now a 2" feeder fish deserves more humanity than a 10' cow! I don't thinks so!

Good Point!

Also, the animals eating the feeders require the stimulation of "the hunt" to stay happy and healthy. We try to replicate natural environments when we keep these animals, not impose our own notion of nature as we see fit.

I give my turtle fish every so often and he really thrives on it. His entire demeanor changes when he spots a fish and the hunting behaviors are very good for him. He stays fit, alert, and active.

The result is the same for basically all predators, they NEED the live feed for mental wellbeing.

Besides, some animals (like most amphibians) simply will not eat anything that's not alive. They need live food because of the way their brain is wired.

 

is it humane to feed fish store made food rather than what they would eat out in the wild naturally? Some would say keeping fish in an aquarium isn't humane....Buhidist(sp) don't kill any living thing not even flys!

 

... Plants are living, do they not eat plants either? (Playing devils advocate a little bit, but part of this is true speculation) How can we prove that plants don't feel pain? Neville made a good point about the livestock that humans consume, they have no real chance of escape either. I do feel sorry for the livestock that has to live its life only to be eatten, and I wouldn't want to have to live that same life... but I still eat cow, chicken, pig, bird, fish, etc.

So I guess it would be hypocritical of me to say feeders are morally wrong... (especially since I use feeders for several of my fish)

 

I don't eat meat but I will feed live food go figure.

 

I don't eat meat but I will feed live food go figure.

My Mom doesn't eat meat. She doesn't touch or prepare meat for humans. However, she makes homemade food for her dog, and there's always some sort of meat in it. I think it's the greatest respect for your animals that you feed them what they should be eating, whether or not you like it.

 

I don't eat meat but I will feed live food go figure.

makes perfect sense. As I was saying, we humans can't decide how we think nature should work. Animals that hunt, NEED to hunt.

But you have rational and physical control over your diet, so eat what you want!

 

While my husband is deciding if he wants to start a cichlid tank, oscars is what he is thinking of, I have agreed with him that he would be the one to feed the fish live foods. He said that if that is what they need, that he has no problem feeding it to them. So the job would be left up to him to do so..
I will stick to the other tanks lol...

~ kate

 

I think its sad that when you put the feeder fish in the tank, they think, if they can, that they are free of those horrible conditions at the lfs, only to get eaten. I have a problem feeding my fish live food, so I dont.

 

I agree that fish who are meant to hunt and eat live foods should be allowed to do so. However, I find the practice personally distasteful despite my greater understanding of why it is done. Therefore, I don't plan on keeping fish that would/should require feeder fish, so that my personal conflict about the situation would not impact the quality of life of any fish.

I'll stick to my little demon girl who tries to eat her food scoop and my finger.

 

I think it's inhumane and I don't use them, but at the same time I know that fish go into the processed food I use. Either way fish die, but I'd just rather not send them to the slaughter myself and watch them get eaten.

 

Hi!

Think of it this way: is the LFS exactly humane? I don't use them - no fish to eat them! I'm a small fish person, big tank and small fish!

 

HI I use my guppys and any fish that I might have to many of for my Turtles.Idont feel bad about it as in the wild that's what happens,its nature.As to whether its humain,that's a hard one.They say fish don't feel pain,yet they get stressed.I would say it is humain,its nature.

 

Hi!

Think of it this way: is the LFS exactly humane? I don't use them - no fish to eat them! I'm a small fish person, big tank and small fish!

Yes, but even so, no fish NEEDS to eat live food.

 

No, I don't think it's right. It's natural in the wild that fish eat other fish, but remember in the wild those smaller fish have a chance to ESCAPE. When you throw the little feeder fish in your tank, they're trapped and have no hope.

Not only that, but it can spread disease. I don't do it.

 

I think that it is humane to a certaint extent. It is the circle of life but if these fish were mistreated and shoved in horrid crowded cloudy tanks in the back of the lfs then that is wrong. any live food I use has been raised by me. that way I know they werent treated inhumanly before death, and they will only be used to a certaint extent in my feeding regimine.

 

They eat eachother in the wild I don't see why not in your tank.

 

This might be an odd question but...what's the difference between feeder guppies and the fancy guppies, other than color and cost (assuming each is healthy)?

 

This might be an odd question but...what's the difference between feeder guppies and the fancy guppies, other than color and cost (assuming each is healthy)?

Feeder guppies haven't been specially bred for this or that color, tail shape, etc.... They're guppy mutts, basically.

They eat eachother in the wild I don't see why not in your tank.

Tayful's response (quoted below) actually has a good response to this.

No, I don't think it's right. It's natural in the wild that fish eat other fish, but remember in the wild those smaller fish have a chance to ESCAPE. When you throw the little feeder fish in your tank, they're trapped and have no hope.

Now, of course, I'm playing devil's advocate, as I feel that, if done right, live food is acceptable. (I am very picky in what is "right" in this matter)

The counter to Tayful's response is something of a mirror of her statement. When we put the predator fish in an enclosed system, it lacks the ability to find its own food. It is trapped, and has no hope of finding any prey.

 

Feeder guppies haven't been specially bred for this or that color, tail shape, etc.... They're guppy mutts, basically.

Thanks for that clarification -- I felt kind of dumb asking, to be honest

 

Don't feel dumb. They really only label the "plain/ugly" guppies as feeders so that they can sell them for some purpose and in the human mind seperating "fancy guppy" from "feeder guppy" makes the common person more apt to use live food, which they then make more money off of than they would dry food.

You had a good and valid question.

 

I don't think it's okay but in nature at some point in time smaller fish will be eaten.It's jus the circle of life.

 

I am a hardcore vegan (not just no meat, but no milk, eggs, gelatin, etc. in my diet or household products etc.,) and I still buy fish food that contains dead animal and animal by-product in it... because my fish require that in their diet. I would personally feel horrible feeding live foods -- but only because I would have to witness the animal's death. Trust me, the way that a feeder fish dies to your Oscar is ten times more humane than the way they kill the fish you eat at dinner. But then again I have the choice not to keep a species of fish to care for that *needs* live foods.

Plants are living, do they not eat plants either? (Playing devils advocate a little bit, but part of this is true speculation) How can we prove that plants don't feel pain?

I'm sorry, I have to argue with this, because it's the argument I hear most out of meat eaters as a vegan, and the one attitude that irks me most of all... plants do not have a central nervous system, and that's a fact. You need a central nervous system to feel pain. Therefore... plants do not feel pain. ;P

 

Feeder guppies haven't been specially bred for this or that color, tail shape, etc.... They're guppy mutts, basically.




Tayful's response (quoted below) actually has a good response to this.



Now, of course, I'm playing devil's advocate, as I feel that, if done right, live food is acceptable. (I am very picky in what is "right" in this matter)

The counter to Tayful's response is something of a mirror of her statement. When we put the predator fish in an enclosed system, it lacks the ability to find its own food. It is trapped, and has no hope of finding any prey.

yes... but they won't die of hunger if they aren't fed live food right?


(unless they are like snakes... which I don't keep for such reason).

 

(unless they are like snakes... which I don't keep for such reason).

Just as a note, the vast majority of snakes don't need live food. If they are raised properly, they will be used to eating thawed frozen rodents that have been humanely killed.

Feeding live food to a snake is, almost always, just to fulfill the twisted mind of the owner. In practice it not only horrible for the 'food', but dangerous for the reptile as any animal fighting for its life is capable of inflicting some serious damage.

 

I don't understand why people say feeder fish is inhumane! we humans r killing thousands of chickens, cows, pigs and other fish everyday just to eat them! now a 2" feeder fish deserves more humanity than a 10' cow! I don't thinks so!

They have some big cows in Bangledesh, lol!

To each their own. Most animals bred for food purposes aren't very smart or pet-like. I have delt with them from the farm to the table, and have no problems eating meat.

As for the fish, from everyones posts it seems like the feeder situation isn't the greatest if bought from a store, but if bred at home seems like a viable food source for carnivorous fish.

 

I don't like using feeder goldfish because they can carry diseases. Think of the conditions they are kept in at pet stores.