Re: NANFA-- Feeding live food

Bruce Stallsmith (fundulus_at_hotmail.com)
Tue, 15 Jul 2003 21:32:44 -0400

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That's a fair question that everyone has their own answer for. I avoid
keeping fish like sculpins which pretty much have to eat other fish at least
occasionally, logistically it's a pain merely to acquire and keep feeder
fish. I just don't get a thrill out of one fish eating another. But I do
keep fish that are obligate "meat eaters", like my prize northern studfish
(some of you saw him at the convention). I don't have qualms about feeding
him worms and frozen brine shrimp; maybe it's a "vertebrate thing". Same is
true for my darters and bluespotted sunfish, they only sparingly eat
offerings that aren't "meat". Flake food is really just prettified meat
products when you get down to it, so if you take a Vegan approach seriously
you're in trouble for keeping aquarium fish. Keeping pets seems to be a very
human trait that also raises a bunch of issues; NANFA as a group has a code
of ethics but feeding decisions are pretty subjective.

--Bruce Stallsmith
Huntsville, AL, US of A

>From: "Chirstyn" <chirstyn_at_cogeco.ca>
>Reply-To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
>To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
>Subject: NANFA-- Feeding live food
>Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 20:23:00 -0400
>
>Hi!
>
>I'm rather new to this list and this is my first post so if I've missed
>some
>important step in the etiquette of posting or what not please feel free to
>knock me about the head. :)
>
>I've got a question: I've kept fish for years but I've always avoided
>fishes that ate "live food" like the plague. I have a problem with feeding
>live food. I have been a vegetarian since I was twelve (grew up on a farm
>where all the "food" was named - gah!) and when it comes to feeding live
>food I've got some sort of mental block (I cannot even manage to feel baby
>brine shrimp).
>
>What I'm curious to know is... how do you do it? I'm sure that I would be
>brought to tears merely by the image of one fish devouring another. I'm
>curious to know if anyone here as similarly wrestled with this issue and
>how, if at all, you succeeded in coming to terms with it. It took me ages
>to realize and accept the fact that I couldn't save all of the babies bourn
>of my livebearers.
>
>I just don't know if I've got what it takes for the native thing if I can't
>come to terms with feeding live food.
>
>Chirstyn
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