Is it ethical to feed guppy fry to bigger fish?

Question

I have a breeding tank set up and feed the fry to bigger fish in my other tank. My dad told me not that such an idea was terrible. I found it ironic that we had hamburgers for supper but he claimed that "It wasnt the same". HEELLLPPP

Answer 1

Its and ethical question only you can answer, we could all sit here and say we do it, but it may not be for you. I go fishing but the U.K. has banned the use of live fish as baits, but im not adverse to using feeder fish for my oscars, and in the past i've used all sorts of live fish to feed a variety of fish.

If its not ok to use fish is it ok to use worms? or fleas (daphania) or brine shrimp where do you draw a line to live foods

Answer 2

I think as the last poster here put it, it's really a matter of choice. I think if you are the kind of person that gets enjoyment out of seeing the death of another living creature, so in other words you feed feeders out of enjoyment, you might want to lay down on a couch and let your feelings go with a therapist, but as most all the others have said, it happens in nature. I don't see why it would be unethical to use feeders and this has been done for a long time. I don't think we as humans have a right to tell a great white shark it shouldn't be eating other fish or any other predator fish is wrong for doing that, and I also think your example of hamburger was really good! I toss crickets in the water knowing they have no chance of getting away from my arowana, and if he was in the wild living, as an adult he could possibly eat small birds, so by the logic your father is saying...I should tell my arowana it's unethical to behave the way it is genetically designed to?

Answer 3

I agree with you on the irony: we're eating a cow because we are omnivores and require protein. Your fish is an omnivore (or carnivore) yet we will feed him flakes and pellets..made up of fish that OTHER people have turned into food. It's actually pretty much the same thing.
I don't think it's so much an ethical thing as it is a matter of personal preference. Your dad will eat the burger but doesn't want to work in the slaughter house. Some people can farm...some only consume.
As long as what you are feeding your fish is healthy and not done to enjoy watching something die...I really don't see the problem. Some people don't feed their fish live foods because they can't stomach the deaths. The fish see it entirely differently.

Answer 4

I once had guppies sharing a tank with an Angel fish. I was horrified to see the Angel fish following the female guppy and eating the babies as she gave birth to them. i know that sort of thing happens in the wind but I couldn't tolerate it in my home fishtank so I gave the Angel fish back to the aquarium.

If you can watch it I can't see why not. Personally I couldn't do it.

Answer 5

Try adding a few rotten old leaves to the bowls of water, the adult mosquitos may not want to lay eggs there because there is no food for the larvae. Also, make sure that the bowls are in a shady corner, damp if possible. Until you get some larvae, have you thought about trying frozen or dried bloodworms? Many pet shops sell them, and bettas absolutely love the stuff.

Answer 6

Personally I would. But then as much as I'm a sap for animals, I'm also looking it at it from a 'natural is better' standpoint.

By feeding them the fry you are replicating a normal situation in the wild. How is that bad? better nutrition, more exercise for you fishies since they will be hunting down the fry, less boredom, equals happier fishies.

Answer 7

Many pet stores sell guppies as feeder fish so I say do it. It's good for animals that are made to eat live prey to actually eat live food once in a while.

Answer 8

Ethics are a whose story in it's self, but wether you feed baby mice to snakes, worms to fish, crickets to lizards, it's all the same. you can keep doing what your doing or go to the per store and pay for feeder guppies it's all the same. i feed ghost shrimp to my sea-horses and thousands of other pet owners do the same.

but on a lighter note if you gut load your fry before you feed them to you larger fish you will get more nutritional value to you large fish. just feed the fry finely crushed vitamin enriched flakes less than one hour before you feed them to you large fish and your large fish will gain from the added nutrition in the fry's system. i do this with my ghost shrimp to make sure my sea-horses are get the nutrition they need.

Don't feel bad. it's nature. if you didn't feed them to your fish and sold them to the fish store someone else would feed them to there fish.

Answer 9

Ditto to Andyj, ethical questions are best left for you to decide based on your personal morals, ethics and religious beliefs. Personally, I view it as an extension of nature and what occurs in nature and don't have an ethical problem with it. But ultimately it's a question you should decide for yourself. Continue to seek input from adults you trust and respect, as you already have with your father.

MM

Answer 10

As long as you have alternative options to feed your fish, you should not "take life" because you do not have the capacity to "give life".

As far as Hamburgers for supper, its more of a question of being morally responsible for what you do.

I do not feed my fishes with "live food".