Odd live food question

[anaya]

Is it considered crule or un ethical to buy damsels or other small fish and inverts knowing an eel will make a meal of them in the near future?

I'm just looking for opinions here I'm not wanting an argument to come of this.

The idea crossed my mind because it is always nice to have fish swimming around constantly, but I know my eel will eat them because I saw him eat a damsel in the LFS a few days before I purchased him.

Antonio

 

[namxas]

As long as you're getting SW feeders (such as damsels), there's really no problem, other than what others perceive. I've done it plenty of times to get fish/Stomatopods over a hump, or to get oral meds into a fish (by feeding the damsel medicated food).

About the only issue that may come up is feeding out a sick fish to a healthy fish. I've typically given the damsels I've fed out to our preds a 15 min FW dip in RO/DI "just in case". You need to watch the fish being dipped and make sure it's handling the dip OK and adjust time accordingly.

 

[humaguy]

Ant,
I suppose this is morale issue...I wouldn't, however, I have gone to great lengths to ensure that my fish do survive and have tried feeding and doing everything possible...if the eel is hard to feed, and responds better to live food, perhaps...but...it will make your eel very aggressive and he/she will then begin to strike at almost anything moving in the tank, including your arms and hands...stick with some nice store bought, fresh seafood...also feeding damsels will get expensive...as for me, I bum out when I lose a chromis...I could not put damsels into my tank knowing it will become food...unless it was my huge and nasty Domino Damsel...or my huge and nasty Jewel Damsel, hey wait a minute...come to think of it...hehe...kidding...

 

[humaguy]

I agree with Nam...and the rodi dip is awesome advice...
TK

 

[rubensito]

What species of eel is this? If it's a snowflake then just get large adult damsels that will provide activity to the tank and won't get eaten for some time especially if the eel is a juvenile.

 

[anaya]

it is a 12-14" SFE and he eats well off stick but just wanted something to be swimming around tank and I saw him eat a 1" damsel at the LFS before I bought him. I wont be buying them with the intention of them being food but this guy is a bit mean and I know he will eat them asap

 

[seahorsedreams]

About the only issue that may come up is feeding out a sick fish to a healthy fish. I've typically given the damsels I've fed out to our preds a 15 min FW dip in RO/DI "just in case". You need to watch the fish being dipped and make sure it's handling the dip OK and adjust time accordingly.

We actually started doing 30 mins dip as it was found they could handle it.... forgetting about them and then eating supper and watching TV after didn't work too well O.O

I have no problem feeding out live fish. That's the way nature rolls. That fish on the slab of ice at the deli? He was smashed in a net in a for X number of hours and then either suffocated on deck or was gutted before he was dead. They get treated worse than King Henry treated his wives!

Do I ever feel bad? Ya, sometimes I do. When we gave the spearing mantis a damsel... there was that moment of "erf!".

Do fish trust? I suppose not. They seem to trust as they "warm" up to us, but it's probably more along the lines that with repeated exposure, they perceive us a minimal treat. But I would have a problem feeding out a fish that "knew" me. I have my limits. I still sometimes feel a little bad when I put live shrimp in the freezer. Silly.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I feed my Lions, and some other bigger carnivores, clownfish quite often. But they are culls from a breeder and have been a "QT" type environment since they were eggs. IMO, one fish eating another is natural. I'd occasionally buy damsels as food, if I didn't have a big thing about QT for everything. BTW, I really don't think an OCCASIONAL FW fish is dangerous to feed either. Although I try to provide the best for my fish; I see no "moral" difference between a tang and the tuna in tuna salad.. I respect the opinions of others on this issue; but my fish aren't my kids. They're not even my dogs. Sorry, I feel no moral obligation to a fish whatever, but my ego demands that I do the best I can for them. That is a big part of the reward this wonderful hobby offers. I remember the thrill when I kept a Moorish Idol for ten years; to be honest, it wouldn't have hurt much if it croaked the next day. I gave it 10 good years, what more can a fish ask for? I remember what one hobbyist once said to me:" The only guilt in this hobby is robbing fish of their sex-life, in exchange we take the fear of being eaten and the stress of finding food away. I wouldn't go for that deal, though."

 

[seahorsedreams]

I would love to have clownfish source. You are SO lucky!

I'd eat a lionfish.... just not mine!

 

[anaya]

ok well looks as if I'm not the only one who thinks that it is what happens in nature so why not in my tank? I will not be doing for food source but for the fact that they will eat the scraps floating in the water colom and the visual aspect of having them swim around untill they become a snack.
Now if I could find a place that sells pepermint shrimp or some soft shelled crab in bulk at a decent price I would spoil this eel (please chime in if you know of such a place).

Antonio

 

[namxas]

look into getting SW feeder shrimp from live aquaria...they may have a bulk deal, or call them and ask if they can hook you up.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I would love to have clownfish source. You are SO lucky!

I'd eat a lionfish.... just not mine!

The lions are supposed to be delicious. I saw something, I think from the state of Fla, giving recipes. They are a non-native species and really becoming a problem in S. Fla and the Caribbean and people are being encouraged to take all they want.

 

[Mental1]

I breed mollies to feed to my lions and my daughter calls me a baby molly killer. I don't mind feeding lions live as they just gulp. Triggers on the other hand rip and that I find very difficult.

 

[MrTuskfish]

I breed mollies to feed to my lions and my daughter calls me a baby molly killer. I don't mind feeding lions live as they just gulp. Triggers on the other hand rip and that I find very difficult.

Yeah, and if the feeder fish is too big to gulp;they usually go for the soft belly first, they seem to love the innards. It surprises a lot of people when they first discover that cute little 2" Niger or Huma has grown into a real, live triggerfish. At that point, their tankmates become food and flowing fins become chew toys.