Saltwater sheepshead minnows

CLR2 · Jul 26, 2021

Are saltwater sheepshead minnows a good feeder fish? I have access to them and my fish love them. Is it something I could feed eels, groupers and hamlets long term? I’m not sure if they provide the nutrition needed.

lion king · Jul 26, 2021

I know specifically of rosie red minnows, if the minnow family fillows, this is what I know. They are high in thiaminese which leads to a vit B1 defiencency and an early demise. They contain the wrong balance of fat and may contribute to fatty liver disease, which again leads to an early demise. Stucturally they have a bone which can bind in the gut causing bloat and death. Personally I would not feed minnows.

Also any source of saltwater feeders can be a source of disease.

CLR2 · Jul 26, 2021

That is what I was wondering. I catch them when I go to the beach. I couldn’t find much information on them. I just know the water where I catch them is saltwater and it’s thousands just swimming. They are the same ones in this link.

Sheepshead Minnow; 50 - Live Brine Shrimp

Buy 50 count of Live marine Florida Sheepshead Minnow (1-1.5" long) Cyprinodon variegatus. Known as pupfishes because they give live birth to their young!

www.livebrineshrimp.com

lion king · Jul 26, 2021

You prompted my interest and I decided to do more research, as I have never been asked that question before, and I do not have access to these fish. 1st off since you are catching these live yourself, while disease is possible, it is less so than commercially stocked fish. It is in the facility and transport of the captive fish which harbors and breed disease. Still possible, but much less so. They are from the same family as rosies but I am not sure of how distant their relationship may be. They are not live bearers as livebrineshrimp states, so I would not compare them to guppies and mollies. Guppies and mollies have been found to be safe to feed to marine fish and long term success had been noted, as I continue to have long term success after 20 years of feeding these fish. I can not answer to the long term safety of feeding these fish. An occasional feeding likely wouldn't kill as long as the reminder of the diet is solid. I can't answer to propensity of the binding of these fish, so that is also a concern; be careful of overfeeding and using smaller individuals may be a good idea.

CLR2 · Jul 27, 2021

Thanks for all the information. I will continue my normal feeding and add these fish every once in a while. My oldest predator is a skeletor eel that’s about 9 years old. I also have a chain eel that’s 6 years old. I can also catch a type of silverside. I just put them on ice because they die extremely fast. I’m going back collecting this weekend. I will post pictures of the fish just to make sure I have a correct identification of them.