Am i evil

[Cichlid Kid]

Yes at another fishes demise or " loss" as you say. If they are being raised as a food source then so be it. Its no diffrent than eating a tilapia fish sandwich from farm raised fish. If your a vegan then thats a bit diffrent but all in all i say to each his own. If its being done for the right reasons who are any of us to criticise.

 

[Fishy Aston]

But why not just feed them a packet based food?

Doesnt give them any different nutritional value.

Just this person enjoys watching her betta get hold of guppies and eat them!
They are not in the wild anymore so they dont need hunt to find some pray.

 

[JryanM]

I try not to feed live foods to my fish as I do think it is unfair on the smaller fish which is going to be eaten.

I would never consent or help advise someone to let a guppy/platy/molly fry to any fish.

But it is nature

I feed mine live bloodworm's once a month as a treat I dont feel to bad that way.

Everyone is different , In that way I am a bit of a softie! I would advise you stop letting them breed and feeding them to your betta. You could raise them which is fun and then if you dont have enough room donate them your LFS

Make sure you have enough space to let them breed though and live happily otherwise I would just pack this whole business in! You could buy a bigger tank some can be cheap! Pop a heater in and a filter and your laughing! I use to have one in my shed ! I got too attached to them so I made sure they had everything they required and they were happy!

Well feeding yours live bloodworms is the same thing just on a smaller scale, they are still living creatures. But living creatures = food so if it's healthier for your fish to eat live food no matter what that live food may be then it is something to consider. Of course if you have a problem with it or feel bad for the little guppies then I wouldn't recommend it lol

 

[paytertot]

But why not just feed them a packet based food?

Doesnt give them any different nutritional value.

Just this person enjoys watching her betta get hold of guppies and eat them!
They are not in the wild anymore so they dont need hunt to find some pray.

They did not say they enjoy watching their betta eat the guppies. You ought to be a politician.

 

[LyndaB]

Just this person enjoys watching her betta get hold of guppies and eat them!

That question was honestly answered by the OP and I certainly did not get the image of them sitting in front of their tank wide-eyed and white knuckled waiting for the betta to rip the guppy apart.

But why not just feed them a packet based food?

Doesnt give them any different nutritional value.

They are not in the wild anymore so they dont need hunt to find some pray.

And the reason we should ask you to apply the above to your own situation of feeding live bloodworms is what?

I raise red cherry shrimp. When I get inundated, the plan is to use the overflow as live food for our other 3 tanks. I take great pleasure in my RCS and won't get any sense of enjoyment out of using them as a food source, but I will know that my other fish are getting healthy live protein that I raised myself and it will help keep the RCS tank healthy and balanced. I already know that I'm not an evil person. I have made a mature and educated decision that makes great sense to me as a fishkeeper.

 

[Alyxx]

I feed any deformed or injured guppy fry to my fish, and I also raise ramshorn snails for my puffers and I feed live shrimp. Am I evil? I don't think so. Sure it sucks for the food animals to be eaten but it is the food chain. I don't feed all live food of course, but I want my fish to have the best possible nutrition and I enjoy letting them express some of their more natural hunting behaviors. I agree that it is only "evil" if you are just doing it to enjoy the violence. Although I think a 1.5 is waaaay too tiny for guppies to live and breed in, that is a bit evil.

 

[JryanM]

But why not just feed them a packet based food?

Doesnt give them any different nutritional value.

Just this person enjoys watching her betta get hold of guppies and eat them!
They are not in the wild anymore so they dont need hunt to find some pray.

The only reason they don't still eat live food is because we as humans are selfish and greedy and want them in our homes to watch them( and yes I love having my tanks) and then we are lazy and wanted an easier and cheaper way to feed them besides live/fresh food so we made packaged food. They still love fresh/live food and many times it may not be more nutritious but it makes them act more natural as they can "hunt" their food. and I believe the fish truly enjoy that, it's nature.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

You might want to vary the diet...... a complete protein diet can't be good for your fish.....

Betta's are not omnivores (or vegievores), they are carnivores.

As lifted from the current Wikipedia article on betta's: in the wild, they eat worms, larvae of mosquitoes or other insects, and smaller fish. Even betta pellets are made of "crude protein, crude lipids, crude fiber, crude ash, moisture, phosphorus, carbohydrates, certain vitamins, and other ingredients".

 

[maxwellag]

Betta's are not omnivores (or vegievores), they are carnivores.

As lifted from the current Wikipedia article on betta's: in the wild, they eat worms, larvae of mosquitoes or other insects, and smaller fish. Even betta pellets are made of "crude protein, crude lipids, crude fiber, crude ash, moisture, phosphorus, carbohydrates, certain vitamins, and other ingredients".

Actually, most fish, including bettas are omnivores.

 

[Jill]

To the OP....

Evil? No. Mischievous? Perhaps.

Anyone starting a thread like this has to KNOW it will get heated....lol.

 

[aqua_chem]

Betta's are not omnivores (or vegievores), they are carnivores.

As lifted from the current Wikipedia article on betta's: in the wild, they eat worms, larvae of mosquitoes or other insects, and smaller fish. Even betta pellets are made of "crude protein, crude lipids, crude fiber, crude ash, moisture, phosphorus, carbohydrates, certain vitamins, and other ingredients".

Sounds varied to me. Different food sources, carnivorous or otherwise, often have different nutritional values. Eating all fish can very likely lead to a diet lacking key vitamins. Remember that in the wild, the fry you feed your betta also would have had a better diet (and therefore be more nutritional). Pellets are formulated to be well-rounded and nutritional. All things in moderation.


A better question would be, "Are we being cruel by denying the predatory and carnivorous nature of our fish?" They are essentially living on the fish equivalent of astronaut food (free dried, high protein, high calorie, formulated with all your vitamins and minerals).

 

[HooKooDooKu]

But why not just feed them a packet based food?

Doesnt give them any different nutritional value.

Just this person enjoys watching her betta get hold of guppies and eat them!
They are not in the wild anymore so they dont need hunt to find some pray.

Sorry, but your line of thinking is NOT logical (it is emotional).

Even if you feed the betta "packet based food", that food is still going to be protein, and that protein is still going to come from a killed animal. The only difference is that the killing wasn't "personal".

In other words, what is the difference between raising guppies to feed your pet compared to Cheetahs hunting gazelles to feed their family to a hunter that kills a deer and harvests the deer meat to eat and buying a pound of hamburger meat from your butcher?

 

[Womble1234]

If you are trying to feed its 'prey' it wouldn't eat guppy fry in the wild..

 

[jetajockey]

A better question would be, "Are we being cruel by denying the predatory and carnivorous nature of our fish?" They are essentially living on the fish equivalent of astronaut food (free dried, high protein, high calorie, formulated with all your vitamins and minerals).

You could apply question to any pets that we keep. Personally I think that we have dominion over animals and when they are in our care we should treat them well. We can't perfect a 'wild' environment for many animals that haven't been there for generations, but we can do our best.

This is besides the point, though. As to whether someone is 'evil', I guess it depends on the standard they are being held to.

Many people that give their fish feeders also get a thrill out of, or enjoy watching them feed. Does it make them evil? Not anymore than a breeder who enjoys watching his fish spawn is labeled as a pervert.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

I have guppies mollies platys in my 55 tank with an angel and some Cory's. I come home daily to see my angelfish chasing/hunting fry. I don't cry when he gets one because the parents eat them too

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I agree 101% with jeta jockey. Some simply like to observe the predator - prey relationship even though guppies wouldnt be a natural prey item for bettas it still shows how a betta would react to say... mosquito larvae or other types of fry.
IMO its no more EVIL than simply sitting down to watch Animal Planet or Discovery Channel and to think otherwise is just absurd.

 

[Megacichlid]

Really? I kill and eat meat,am i evil? Yes i am!
Quoted from one mr.James Hetfield

 

[Antipixx]

To the OP....

Evil? No. Mischievous? Perhaps.

Anyone starting a thread like this has to KNOW it will get heated....lol.

I did I just like good discussions and heated ones usually get the most notice. BTW the guppies are now moved the 1.5 was just temp till I got my filter and heater back from my neighbor his craped out. I just thought about the topic as I was setting back up.

 

[Lotsofbabies]

Really? I kill and eat meat,am i evil? Yes i am!
Quoted from one mr.James Hetfield

Excellent song, my favourite band and definitely a good example of all humans...well, those that eat meat... LOL