Can you treat a feederfish tank for disease before...

[ck85abc3]

I have access to catch lots and lots of fathead minnows with a single scoop of a net. I'm wondering if I can catch these minnows, put them in a tank then treat them for disease. After treated for disease I can then feed them to the fish without worry of the spread of disease.

Thanks

 

[WaterPond]

I would set up a QT tank for these little minnows, just keep them in the QT for a few weeks to a month, then serve'em to your fish(if they show no signs of disease in that time). But i really dont agree with taking fish from their natural habitat.

 

[hc8719]

although i dont like it, i know feederfish are needed, buy from the lfs, there cheap, and you can at least give them a decent life for awhile.

tanking fish from a pond is wrong though, just becase there are alot, doesnt mean its ok. i dunno how many you'd like to take, but by taking fish from a pond/stream your denying crawfish and larger fish a possible meal in the future. also i feel its wrong to take an animal from its natural habitat and tossing it in a tank where it has no chance to escape a predator, your denying it the chance to prosper, and to be free, which it was born into.

also, i dont know how your going to manage treated all the diseases at once, since i beleive some meds compromise other ones, you'd have to treat for ich, fin & tail rot, mouth rot, internal fugi... not to mention local bacteria and diseases that may not have any symptoms.

plus theres always parisites, if they can live inside the stomach of a wild fish, they can live inside the stomach of anything that eats it's host, and they are much more common in the wild, as opposed to captive bred.

 

[Andos99]

also i feel its wrong to take an animal from its natural habitat and tossing it in a tank where it has no chance to escape a predator, your denying it the chance to prosper, and to be free, which it was born into.

Keep in mind that all salt water fish and a large percentage of tropical fish come from the wild. Half of my cichlids are wild caught. If it weren't for this concept.....our hobby wouldn't exist.

 

[JDogg]

what if you used minnws from a bait shop?

they are fish food already, if you do not use them as feeders they will be used by anglers

 

[plecoperson]

I'm in the middle of treating some fish for a problem that wasn't solved with Melafix, Clout, epsom salts, Maracyn II or Jungle Parasite Clear. I wouldn't feel confident that the fish would be clean enough to feed my own fish even after all that. Even if you hold them for 2 months and they show no sign of a problem, they could still be carrying something your own fish would have a big problem with.

Additionally, you could be repeatedly feeding your own fish doses of whatever you are using to treat the minnows. I wouldn't risk it!

 

[RogerMcAllen]

It seems like meds would get expensive over time. $10 worth of guppies (a male and a few females) would be able to start cranking out feeders in no time (especially if you buy them pregnant).

 

[hc8719]

Keep in mind that all salt water fish and a large percentage of tropical fish come from the wild. Half of my cichlids are wild caught. If it weren't for this concept.....our hobby wouldn't exist.

i meant from a secluded area, like a pond or creek

 

[ck85abc3]

what if you used minnws from a bait shop?

they are fish food already, if you do not use them as feeders they will be used by anglers

The people that catch the minnows for the bait shop do the exact same thing I could do, they just have a lisence to do it and sell them. Besides I heard that baitshop minnows have more disease than ones you would catch in the wild. I think I'll just stick with diced up salad shrimp and LFS feeders to entertain guests.

 

[QTOFFER]

I would worry about internal parasites that may not produce visible symptoms during the quarrantine period. Wild fish have better immune systems than aquarium bred fish because of their much greater genetic diversity. A wild-caught fish may be able to live asymptomatically with an illness that would spread like wildfire throughout your inbred tropical fish population.

I also don't like the idea of store bought feeders. How do you know how old they are, what they've been fed, if they're healthy, etc?

Very very few aquarium fish truly require live foods. However, if you want to provide an occasional treat, or just observe a carniverous fish' predatory behavior, I would also suggest breeding your own guppies. That way, you can feed them well and keep them healthy so they will provide a safe, nutritious snack.