Feeder fish

[moby]

Hi, need to ask you good folks on here.....what are feeder fish please? I've never heard of this term here in the U.K. and I keep coming across it so often here on the forum. Feeder fish for what, some kind of carnivorous fish or another equally voracious life form? Please do tell! I've come across one day old chicks that are bred/sold for feeding snakes/birds of prey and the like but can't think what one needs baby fish for......or am I barking up the wrong tree here and its a loosely used term for 'feeding and kick starting' a filter system? I'm baffled.

 

[Angel]

feeder fish are just that fish ment to feed an animal that will eat it, turtles etc.

 

[MoonShadows]

Feeder fish is a term for inexpensive common fish, usually common goldfish or guppies.

From the article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeder_fish

"Feeder fish is the generic name for certain types of inexpensive fish commonly fed as live prey to captive animals such as sharks, turtles and some other fish such as Oscars."

"Although the use of feeder fish is fairly common in the United States, in the United Kingdom it is much less common, with aquarists and hobby magazines in Britain generally rejecting the use of feeder fish as being unnecessary and likely to cause health problems."

 

[moby]

Thanks to both of you for answering my query!
Ahh turtles, yes, we don't get turtles here, we only call marine chelates 'turtles' and no one keeps those apart from zoos and Sealife Centres. The only aquatics we can buy are types of terrapins, but realise maybe you call them turtles too! Plus we get tortoises, but can only buy captive bred ones, others need a special license to be bought, or so I believe. My sister has a fifty something year old red eared slider, it's diet is fruit, leafy veg, invertebrates and it occasionally does eat meat, but she's never fed fish to it as far as I'm aware. I didn't realise that oscars were carnivores either, piranhas yes, so there's another I suppose plus the other Amazon meat eaters! Guppies are sold as a type of very colourful tropical fish here, never ever seen anything for sale as feeder fish.

 

[moby]

*chelates, should read Chelonia, thanks to autocorrect once again!

 

[Nyboy]

Comets are also sold as feeders and can grow in to pretty fish with their long fins.

 

[MoonShadows]

Comets are also sold as feeders and can grow in to pretty fish with their long fins.

I have 8 comets in my pond, and I think they are beautiful.

 

[j.w]

I started out w/12 feeder fish in my first pond here at this house. All a solid orange.
Here they are playing ball.

 

[Usman]

feeder fish are usualy comets that are bad quality and they can be pretyy aswell if selected , some times minows ,they are used for feeding carnivorous pet fishes like arawana , aquarium paroon sharks ,ik its cruel but nature ...

there bright colour might be the reason they r good for feeding as it attracts larger fish altho other wild fishes wud have been used , just my thought

 

[saugeye tom]

Hi, need to ask you good folks on here.....what are feeder fish please? I've never heard of this term here in the U.K. and I keep coming across it so often here on the forum. Feeder fish for what, some kind of carnivorous fish or another equally voracious life form? Please do tell! I've come across one day old chicks that are bred/sold for feeding snakes/birds of prey and the like but can't think what one needs baby fish for......or am I barking up the wrong tree here and its a loosely used term for 'feeding and kick starting' a filter system? I'm baffled.

Comets and Rosies are feeders in my part of the world! T

 

[Lisak1]

Feeders fish to me are things like salmon and trout and cod and... oh, wait. Not talking about feeding ME! haha!