Live Fish Feeding Contradictory Info?

[Markw84]

I had rosy minnow bought from PetSmart years ago. They spawn more than my goldfish ever would. I went from 12 to maybe 500 population. If only I can keep guppies year long like that! But I don’t live in tropical climate.

If you get true mosquito fish, not "guppies" sold by pet stores, they will do very well outdoors in your climate. In california, you can get them free from the county mosquito abatement district. They don't care about the size or what's in your pool, puddle, or pond, they will come and put some mosquito fish free in to ensure the control of mosquito larva. The fish will breed and populate from there quite quickly.

 

[Markw84]

I’ll have mine inside the house with a heater. I don’t have a pond nor do I need one. I’ve read a lot about them and they should be fairly easy to raise hopefully. I told my mother and she said we actually had guppies when I was young and they ended up breeding LOL.

guppies are the easiest to raise indoors. Fatheads require a bit more care and are egg layers as opposed to live bearers like mosquito fish. With minnows you need some rocks and ledges as they prefer to lay eggs on the underside of rocks and the male will guard the nest. several females can add to the single nest.

 

[Moozillion]

The "minnows" you buy at pet stores for feeder fish are actually fathead minnows. They are a fish native to most all North America and are used extensively for stocking ponds with a good food baitfish to help the desired bass or bluegill thrive by giving a source of good food. The comment of they don't last long by the store employee, is that they are more in need of good water quality and aeration, so they often will die rather quickly in a tank that does not have great water quality. They are a great food for you turtle. I have them as part of the balance of my outdoor pond. When I first got them, I bought 40 from the pet store. (Some are orange colored and called "rosy minnows" to sell). We within 5 months I seriously had over 10,000 minnows in my pond. I would scoop a 12" net under one of my pond lights at night and could net 200 small minnows in one scoop! I promptly went down to a local fish farm and bought 20 young bluegill. Within another several months the minnow population was down to probably a few hundred and it has stayed that way for a few years now. Young minnows feed the bluegill and the turtles and the pond is in "balance"

I do also have gambusia - Mosquito fish in the pond. As stated above, they are also a great baitfish and good turtle food. However, the ones you buy from a pet store will normally not be true wild strains of Gambusia affinis as they have been rebred constantly for the pet trade. They are much less tolerant of water conditions and will often die out in the winter. I had the local Mosquito Abatement District come out and deliver FREE true wild mosquito fish to seed my pond. These are the hardy, wild strain that are extremely tolerant of amazingly poor water conditions and temperatures. These are what you want to get if you can, especially if to be used outdoors.

Both are good turtle food and a natural source of D3. I do use a good pellet as the primary diet and let my turtles eat if they can catch the fish. The fish will be easier for your turtle to catch in a tank. A sick or stressed new fish will be caught fairly easily. Once established and comfortable in the tank and fish will be much harder for your turtle to catch. I keep mosquito fish in all my turtle rearing tanks. I also put one or two plecostomas in there as well as they are great algae eaters to keep the glass way cleaner of algae! I can't use plecos in my pond as they would die in the winter cold water.

Fatheads are fast swimmers and tight schoolers constantly moving about the bottom portion of the pond. Mosquito fish are also schooling, but not tight and much more random in just wanting to stay together. They stay at the top of the water and around the edges of the pond. They are much more easily picked off if they venture too far into open water!

GREAT info, as always!!!?❤️

 

[traci/and/her/tortoise]

Hello! I’m new to the turtle world (though not the tortoise world. I’ve had a tortoise for a year and a half just about and she’s fantastic) - so I decided to get a water turtle (next I’d love to get a box turtle but that’s later) anyway after my turtle came in (a common stinkpot musk turtle) well he was shy (no surprise for his species) and so I thought maybe a couple fish would make his environment more enriching (I know they’re solitary creatures and I know he doesn’t need a “friend” this was strictly for his comfort and I knew fully he could end up eating them), so I went to go buy some guppies, thinking if he ate them, well he’s a turtle but as a stinkpot he’s so freaking small I completely underestimated him thinking he surely would be unable... The pet store had no guppies so I got three (feeder) minnows for like 20 cents a piece. It was all great and fine until a couple days ago one vanished. Today we took the tank apart completely, checked every crevice, and the filter as well. No minnow. So now I’m wondering - are the minnows safe for him to eat? Are guppies (which I still plan to get unless otherwise advised against) not a good idea? There is so much misinformation and/or contradictory information out there I’m SO confused. One site said to not feed guppies, another said feed guppies, one said not to feed fish at all... any advice or information would be gladly appreciated. Should I get him a couple guppies? Shrimp? Snails? Should I just feed the pellets and forget live animals? I know I have to be careful not to over crowd his tank as well. As of now I have one slightly bigger than quarter-sized stinkpot turtle and two (feeder) minnows which are just an inch or so bigger than the guppies would’ve been. Thanks for any advice you might have. I just want to give my little guy (or girl; who knows haha!) the best life possible.

I feed my turtles fish, frogs, crawfish, and they love shrimp!!! My turtles eat most of the fish n leave a few for company. I chop fish n shrimp up n feed to my babies! They love it- I started my first turtle 10 years ago n I now have 15 turtles! I cut up beef liver n chicken too- they tell you don’t but I do! They love it! Just be careful with The tank n not leaving any of food - that’s when it becomes a problem

 

[Temploni]

If fish ru

Well they’re called minnows at petco. Like 20 cents each, technically feeder fish for reptiles. The worker said they don’t usually live too long. One has been eaten, one was snapped at today while I was watching my turtle and the fish twitched oddly after. Not sure if it was hurt or scared; I couldn’t see any marks on it. I’m going to get some guppies to bred for him and maybe a snail or shrimp occasionally as a “treat” for him. I definitely won’t buy feeder minnows/goldfish anymore. Thank you for the warning!

B t

If fish rub themselves on the side or bottom of tank its usually means they have parasites on their body. When ive bought my koi new fish often show this behaviour and i have to treat with anti parasite to clear it.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

oh yes I bought him food pellets before I ever bought him fish! I just thought he was extremely shy (natural for stinkpots) and that fish may make him more confident and if he eats them, well it’s natural, just the way of life. But no I feed him pellets morning and night. Though last night he had a midnight snack..... I’m pretty sure I’m done to one minnow....

I figured you probably already had that part covered, but I wanted to make sure I mentioned it anyway. I'm curious... Which pellets are you feeding? I try to suggest starting with some of the less expensive options (ReptoMin, Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Hatchling pellets, other good choices as well) before introducing a bottom-feeding turtle to the Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets.

The Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets have successfully tempted (and won over) some of the most finicky mud turtles on the TFO... The down side is that they're painfully expensive if you buy the small bags. If anyone has to go down that road, buy the first (small) bag to make sure the turtle will eat it, then go online and buy the large (bulk) quantity. Last fall, I purchased the large bag (almost a year's supply) and it paid for itself in just a few months. I keep the large bag in the freezer and regularly transfer small portions to another container for daily use.