Do fish eat better in captivity or in the wild?

[ScottR]

I feed my fish a variety of food and they seem to eat it without hesitation; almost without effort. I’d say that carnivorous fish tend to eat any and everything meaty fed to them, hence my thinking: fish eat better in captivity. They’re guaranteed a meal, they have a meal schedule and high quality foods being fed to them. Or so I think...

But omnivorous fish like tangs (with a preferred herbivorous diet) probably eat better in the wild. Sure, you can feed them well but do fish like that eat better in captivity than the wild? Grazing and all. How about mandarins? For certain, parrotfish are best left in the sea. Triggers as well IMO. What’s your experience with different fish?

Thoughts are all welcomed.

 

[Katrina71]

I would agree most hobbyist don't offer as much diversity with greens. Maybe @najer does.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I think would depend on what fish you kept. A lake victoria cichlid may eat better in captivity, but an archer fish probably not.

 

[Cell]

So much variance. Some probably do, some do not. Many of us overfeed with a nice variety of frozen or even fresh food. I'd like to think these fish are eating better than their wild counterparts.

 

[ScottR]

So much variance. Some probably do, some do not. Many of us overfeed with a nice variety of frozen or even fresh food. I'd like to think these fish are eating better than their wild counterparts.

My thinking as well. But it really depends. When you know the true diet of fish in the wild, it’s amazing how picky they are.

 

[Sump Crab]

As a general rule NO. Most fish in captivity are likely fed a diet of cheap flake food.

Even though we may try to feed our fish the highest quality frozen foods IMO live, wild food is much better for fish in the long run. Although fish in captivity have the ability to outlive their wild counterparts I believe that is due to livning in an enviroment w/o predators and not due to a better diet.

Besides we will never be able to replicate as varied a diet as fish find in the wild. A diet that they have evolved to consume for millions of years.

 

[najer]

I try to keep fish that do things, natural grazers and scavengers, they have a 50 G jungle of algae to play in attached to my display.
Why would you try and feed tangs, for instance, on a foreign diet when their systems are designed for a different diet?
Natural behavior, mandarins are designed to peck at food every 5 - 10 seconds, mine does that and she is a proper plump little thing! I think she takes some offered foods also.
Starry / jewel blenny, both scopas tangs and the flame angel graze on and off all day, occupied and eating what they should.

Yes, imo they eat better in the wild.

 

[ScottR]

I try to keep fish that do things, natural grazers and scavengers, they have a 50 G jungle of algae to play in attached to my display.
Why would you try and feed tangs, for instance, on a foreign diet when their systems are designed for a different diet?
Natural behavior, mandarins are designed to peck at food every 5 - 10 seconds, mine does that and she is a proper plump little thing! I think she takes some offered foods also.
Starry / jewel blenny, both scopas tangs and the flame angel graze on and off all day, occupied and eating what they should.

Yes, imo they eat better in the wild.

I’ve been watching lots of diving videos recently which has got my brain running. Watching fish I keep and have kept in the wild is really intriguing. It begged me to think, am I providing?

 

[Gareth elliott]

As an aside, this is true of virtually every pet we keep though. In the wild felis cattus eats a variety of small prey animals none of which are present in commercial pet foods. I own a crested gecko; in the wild they eat a wide variety of insects(as juveniles) and fruits. In captivity they eat an engineered diet and a few insect species. But, the captive breeding program that sprung from research has guaranteed they will not go extinct, something that is possible in the wild. Captive animals also live much longer than their wild counterparts on the whole.(except feral cats, the difference is like one year).
Think there are multiple sides to the dice in this particular case.

 

[najer]

I’ve been watching lots of diving videos recently which has got my brain running. Watching fish I keep and have kept in the wild is really intriguing. It begged me to think, am I providing?

Ok, think about it this way, give fish stuff to do that they would do naturally?

 

[Mykawl]

Following was wondering the same, I always look to nature first other things that really bother me are they bored? And how annoying is the buzzing of motors from pumps powerheads skimmers etc.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would think in the wild, fish have a constant food source. Seeing the sizes they reach, availability of food would be obvious.
I have 21 different diets I feed to my tanks.

 

[revhtree]

Nice thread. Featured the poll!

 

[Brew12]

I feel like they eat MORE in captivity because it is easier to obtain. I feel like they eat BETTER in the wild because they can follow their naturally adapted feeding habits without any processing or freezing.

 

[Peace River]

Great question @ScottR ! The aspect of eating is an subset of quality of life and the concepts of swimming, predation, and so forth also need to be considered to understand the bigger health picture. Additionally there will be notable variation based on the fishes and the fish keepers.

I feed my fish a wide variety of quality feeds and include a lot of frozen foods so IMO my fish are feed well, consistently, and can eat confidently without the concern of predation. However, based on my experience with freshwater fishes the ones kept in outdoor tanks/ponds usually have better color and (depending on the type of fish) breed more readily because of the continuous supply of live foods.

 

[ScottR]

I feel like the eat MORE in captivity because it is easier to obtain. I feel like they eat BETTER in the wild because of they can follow their naturally adapted feeding habits without any processing or freezing.

I agree wholeheartedly. However, I think aquarium nutrition has come a long way. I remember back in the day feeding wrasse and tangs flakes and pellets. We’ve come a long way.

 

[revhtree]

Fixed the poll too!

 

[Brew12]

I agree wholeheartedly. However, I think aquarium nutrition has come a long way. I remember back in the day feeding wrasse and tangs flakes and pellets. We’ve come a long way.

Absolutely, and we are continuing to improve. Even pellets have come a long way. There are now multiple suppliers of pellets with probiotics added and I imagine that will become more common.

 

[Lukas75]

This is the reason I switched to LRS as my primary food and always have a refugium attached to the tank. Am I going to get close to the variety or availability? No of course not. But they have me to ensure that they will never go hungry.

 

[siggy]

Not sure so I cannot participate in the poll. In some of the videos fish are always looking and feeding or grazing.
I feed my fish Pisyss pellets, frozen brine and myssis once a day along with nori 2 or three times a week...
So you tell me?...Biologists?