# Big feeder fish?



## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

Can somebody please recommend freshwater feeder fish that are bigger than guppies, platies or goldfish?

I have pet turtles and I was raising platies but my turtles can't seem to get enough of them (because they're so small). Of course the feeder fish are not their main staple but I would like to offer them live feeder fish that are bigger.

Can somebody make some suggestions?


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

There's nothing you can use that's going to be economical. What you're doing now is probably the most cash efficient way of doing it. 

You can obviously use any larger fish but it's going to cost you a lot of money to keep that up if you aren't breeding them.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Feed chunks of tilapia.

If you want to feed live get some crayfish or snails

Feeders are equivalent to garbage

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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Jackson said:


> Feeders are equivalent to garbage
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I wouldn't say that. "Feeder fish" like feeder goldfish are definitely an inferior source of nutrition as they are not well cared for in the trade and are sickly and malnourished.

But feeding Platys you raise at home is not garbage at all.

It would be good to feed Tilapia but since there is no bone, the turtle is not getting any calcium with it's meal.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

That's why a good quality pellet should also part of its diet.

Platies are ok but you'll need a big breeding project to have enough platies to keep the turtles well fed.

I feed all of mine NLS pellets, fresh veggies, tilapia, crayfish and snails. The snail shells provide calcium as well

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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Jackson said:


> That's why a good quality pellet should also part of its diet.
> 
> Platies are ok but you'll need a big breeding project to have enough platies to keep the turtles well fed.
> 
> ...


I know turtle pellets are inferior quality to NLS but wouldn't they still be better for a turtle than NLS?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

What species are the turtles ? I ask because if they are RES, they become vegetarian when they're older. They tend to lose their interest in meat once they get some age on them. 

Meantime, I'd suggest cultivating as many snails as you can. I used to feed my turtles snails, which they love, and the shells are good calcium sources. When they were babies, I used to drop them in my tanks to eat the snails, as they were too small to catch any fish at the time. I also fed them liver, which they loved as well, and it's relatively cheap.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

what species of turtles do you have? how old are they?

In my turtle set up, I have cherry shrimp and endlers with them. So they would occasionally catch one and get some extra enrichment, plus its good environmental enrichment for them as well. Also have aquatic plants in there and they would take a bite and nibble on plant matter from time to time. (also have some small "flakes" of cuttlebone for extra Ca supplement. 

In terms of pellets, one I would recommend you look into is Mazuri Turtle Diet (or Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food...dont remember the name). I know a couple of local reptile stores carry them, they are also available online through a couple of Canadian suppliers. Mazuri is one of the best in the market as a dried diet and it actually provides good nutriment. In my 5+ (I think, at least 3+) years of using Mazuri as their main staple, I have never had MBD, bad shell development and pyramiding in either adults, juvis or 3month hatchlings.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

A buddy of mine mooches off the worms I raise for my axolotl. He feeds them that as a supplementation, alongside pellets. I raise red wiggles and have a simple farm going. Occasionally I'll buy more red wiggles to mix in just I case I run out and don't see it coming. His turtle eats much more than my axolotl does haha


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## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

Kimchi24 said:


> A buddy of mine mooches off the worms I raise for my axolotl. He feeds them that as a supplementation, alongside pellets. I raise red wiggles and have a simple farm going. Occasionally I'll buy more red wiggles to mix in just I case I run out and don't see it coming. His turtle eats much more than my axolotl does haha


That's funny. I'm a vermicomposter myself; I've got an ad running on Kijiji. I feed them :


Red Wigglers
Mazuri Freshwater Turtle Food [Pellets]
Frozen shrimp (and I pack in the Mazuri Freshwater Turtle Food [Pellets] into each shrimp for added nutrition)
Beef heart (and I pack in the Mazuri Freshwater Turtle Food [Pellets] into each shrimp for added nutrition)
Comet Platies (but they're just so damn small)

Oh well.....guess I'll have to stick with what I've been doing so far. Too expensive to raise the bigger fish I guess.


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## YMS_1975 (Jan 6, 2013)

Hitch said:


> what species of turtles do you have? how old are they?
> 
> In my turtle set up, I have cherry shrimp and endlers with them. So they would occasionally catch one and get some extra enrichment, plus its good environmental enrichment for them as well. Also have aquatic plants in there and they would take a bite and nibble on plant matter from time to time. (also have some small "flakes" of cuttlebone for extra Ca supplement.
> 
> In terms of pellets, one I would recommend you look into is Mazuri Turtle Diet (or Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Food...dont remember the name). I know a couple of local reptile stores carry them, they are also available online through a couple of Canadian suppliers. Mazuri is one of the best in the market as a dried diet and it actually provides good nutriment. In my 5+ (I think, at least 3+) years of using Mazuri as their main staple, I have never had MBD, bad shell development and pyramiding in either adults, juvis or 3month hatchlings.


I've got :


An Alligator Snapping Turtle (AST) - But I'm trying to sell him now
4 Red Ear Sliders

SO yeah....

As for the pellets I feed them, I only feed them Mazuri Freshwater Turtle Diet.


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

YMS_1975 said:


> I've got :
> 
> 
> An Alligator Snapping Turtle (AST) - But I'm trying to sell him now
> ...


The red eared sliders are pretty easy to deal with when it comes to feeders. I think platies or Mollys would be ok for them though you would need a huge colony. Try getting a couple in a 55 or a 75 and let them breed like crazy . The snapper is a whole new ordeal. They get massive. I say your best bet is tilapia and supplement calcium. You can feed both some worms as well


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

While Tilapia is easy to get, it probably isn't that good a food, compared to say Pollack which is usually cheaper. Snails are great and easy to raise. We had some RES for about 8 years and they never showed any interest in any vegetable matter. Their staple was trout pellets, supplemented with snails and the occasional fish.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

NLS= much higher quality ingredients which equals a better good for fish and turtles. Even hikari massivore would be better than any turtle pellet which is essentially a low quality kibble repackaged as turtle food.

Purina= Mazuri = no thanks I'll pass

Just compare the ingredients of both foods and see which is better. Just because they show a percentage of calcium and D3 doesn't make it better. I don't want to feed any of my animals corn meal and cheap poultry and fish meal.

But hey people like use it and I'm not trying to change anyone.

Bill is right pollock is another great fish to use I originally mentioned white fish but that's was mistake never feed white fish. I had to dig through the freezer and pollock is the other one we use. You'll save around $3-$4 dollars. Another fish I use and forgot to mention is flounder. It's high in D3 really good for turtles.

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## w_boughner (Mar 18, 2010)

You can go to a fishing bait shop and buy large minnows

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