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I don't feed goldies or rosies, but all of my 10 predators get a combo of fresh water ghosties, guppies, and mollies. While there may be a foundation of how bad it is to feed goldfish and possibly minnows to your lions, scorps, and anglers; I know people that do and keep their preds for years. On the other hand, the gang that teach "train your pred" to eat dead food; never keep them more than a year to year and a half. So go figure, there's got to be something there.
The fresh water ghosties that most of us have access to, are actually a variety of shrimp that live in fresh, brackish, and salt water. They are cheaper, easier, and live longer in fresh water. Gut load them and enhance them with multi vits and efa's and you have a very nutritional food that can be the staple of your pred's diet. If you have to keep the marine version of a feeder shrimp; expect to spend more and incur greater losses, as well as if not kept in "no fish" symptom, the possibility of spreading disease.
Feeder guppies are nice for smaller guys, you can house them with your ghosties and enhance them similiarly. You get some bones and guts that I believe are very necessary to the long term health of preds. If you have a lfs with a high volume fresh water business, you can likely find mollies of all sizes available. I've gotten baby mollies for as little as 5 or more for a $1 and I get large ones for a $1 each. It's also easy to breed your own mollies, but growing out for larger preds may not be worth it. Feeding any salt water prey would require qt and deworming/parasite treatment, and consider any treatment could contaminate the food, just as mercury does for human; so no fish from copper systems as well.
This diet has served me well, I have had some of my current crew for over 7 years, a fu manchu coming up on 8 years. I'm posting in response to still seeing post in regards to not feeding marine preds fresh water food and still running into people at the lfs that repeat this teaching. While it may not be the perfect diet, it is this best we can do. Most people that continue to teach not feeding fresh water food or training to dead food don't have the long term success these guys deserve, at least in my experience.
The fresh water ghosties that most of us have access to, are actually a variety of shrimp that live in fresh, brackish, and salt water. They are cheaper, easier, and live longer in fresh water. Gut load them and enhance them with multi vits and efa's and you have a very nutritional food that can be the staple of your pred's diet. If you have to keep the marine version of a feeder shrimp; expect to spend more and incur greater losses, as well as if not kept in "no fish" symptom, the possibility of spreading disease.
Feeder guppies are nice for smaller guys, you can house them with your ghosties and enhance them similiarly. You get some bones and guts that I believe are very necessary to the long term health of preds. If you have a lfs with a high volume fresh water business, you can likely find mollies of all sizes available. I've gotten baby mollies for as little as 5 or more for a $1 and I get large ones for a $1 each. It's also easy to breed your own mollies, but growing out for larger preds may not be worth it. Feeding any salt water prey would require qt and deworming/parasite treatment, and consider any treatment could contaminate the food, just as mercury does for human; so no fish from copper systems as well.
This diet has served me well, I have had some of my current crew for over 7 years, a fu manchu coming up on 8 years. I'm posting in response to still seeing post in regards to not feeding marine preds fresh water food and still running into people at the lfs that repeat this teaching. While it may not be the perfect diet, it is this best we can do. Most people that continue to teach not feeding fresh water food or training to dead food don't have the long term success these guys deserve, at least in my experience.