Freshwater Feeders for a Saltwater Predator: Pros and Cons for a noob

[UnderwaterGamer]

I am planning to get a wartskin angler/frogfish for a species only tank, however I have no experience with a predator fish so I wanted to ask what the pros and cons were to live feeders (Ghost shrimp, guppies, mollies). I've read a lot of things and I'm not sure which are myths and which are true, so I figured I'd ask! The following is what I've seen the most online:

1) I should QT my feeders for a week or two before feeding them to my fish, however I've read that freshwater diseases can't transfer to a saltwater fish

2) Even though I should try to get the predator fish on frozen food, they should still have something live once in awhile for stimulation/ hunting abilities

3) Freshwater feeders aren't very nutritious unless you gut load them (Ps what do you recommend/use for gut loading)

Thanks in advance for any input! Some of the forums I've read are from 2007-2011 so I'm not sure if there is better information a decade later, but I'd love to hear what people with predators do for feeding! TIA as always!

 

[lion king]

Mollies, guppies, and ghosties period, you can tap my name and find all threads to see I have covered this extensively. You can find necropsies with pics of healthy livers after almost 10 years on this diet, while all the people that repeat against this, can't keep predatory fish like anglers, lions, abd scorps even as long as 1 year.

 

[DapperCuttlefish]

I am planning to get a wartskin angler/frogfish for a species only tank, however I have no experience with a predator fish so I wanted to ask what the pros and cons were to live feeders (Ghost shrimp, guppies, mollies). I've read a lot of things and I'm not sure which are myths and which are true, so I figured I'd ask! The following is what I've seen the most online:

1) I should QT my feeders for a week or two before feeding them to my fish, however I've read that freshwater diseases can't transfer to a saltwater fish

2) Even though I should try to get the predator fish on frozen food, they should still have something live once in awhile for stimulation/ hunting abilities

3) Freshwater feeders aren't very nutritious unless you gut load them (Ps what do you recommend/use for gut loading)

Thanks in advance for any input! Some of the forums I've read are from 2007-2011 so I'm not sure if there is better information a decade later, but I'd love to hear what people with predators do for feeding! TIA as always!

I’m so glad you asked because I was going to ask as well! @lion king I will be reading your threads as well, but are ghost shrimp as equally as nutritious for peacock mantis shrimp? I was doing research on ghost shrimp and learned you have to gut loaf them which made me wonder if I was going to basically be feeding her the equivalent to Chinese food. Yummy, but not much stays, and not much nutrition to be found.

 

[WVNed]

I feed guppies and ghost shrimp
I feed them both Ocean Nutrition formula one and 2 pellets plus other stuff
My lions have done very well on them.
I get boxes of feeder guppies online 300 at a time and Ghost shrimp 100-300 at a time.
I just got one

I also get saltwater ghost shrimp and keep them in my fuge.
None of my lions have any interest in dead food at all. I feed the tank LRS for other fish but they never look at it.

 

[lion king]

I’m so glad you asked because I was going to ask as well! @lion king I will be reading your threads as well, but are ghost shrimp as equally as nutritious for peacock mantis shrimp? I was doing research on ghost shrimp and learned you have to gut loaf them which made me wonder if I was going to basically be feeding her the equivalent to Chinese food. Yummy, but not much stays, and not much nutrition to be found.

Ghost shrimp are shrimp, the shells are concentrated nutrients, and their nutrient content is comparable to their larger cousins. As simple as their digestive systems are, there is still live gut flora that is very beneficial. It is best to feed them yourself a healthy diet befors feeding to your pred, as the saying goes, "we are what we eat" . Something as simple as a plastic container with a spnnge filter will be fine. I have kept small preds on a dominant ghosties diet for years, so I believe they are an excellent food sourcs.