I caught a lamprey eel in lake michigan over the weekend. The only thing i can find that they eat is flesh and I am not going to feed it the flesh of anything i had. I was wondering if anyone knew what they ate besides blood/flesh. Maybe hotdogs or fish food or something, please help!
2007-09-16 11:20:22 · 3 answers · asked by pantherbaseball14 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Well i feel like i was doing a good thing since any lampreys that are caught in the great lakes area are ordered to be killed, so i do not feel like i am doing anything illegal/wrong. what about sandwhich meat or something like that?
2007-09-16 18:29:56 · update #1
That's tough without knowing the species - there are several types of lampreys in the Great Lakes area, and only some are predators - others are filter feeders. Although the sea lamprey is the one with which most people will be familiar, at least 4 others occur. You would need to know which type you have.
See this link on lampreys of this area, and take a close look at the shape of the dorsal fin(s) and teeth within the buccal cavity to try and identify yours. Also, I should warn you that through efforts to eliminate the sea lamprey, many of the states surrounding the lakes have used chemicals to try to kill them in their larval stages - this has affected the populations of the 4 native species, and some of these are now considered Threatened or Endangered in the staes surrounding the Great Lakes - it may not be legal for you to have taken your fish or to keep it.
2007-09-16 11:47:06 · answer #1 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Lamprey eels use their disc-shaped mouth, full of teeth, to bit onto fish. They make holes in the sides of their victims and feed on blood and body fluids. They can stay attached for hours, days, or even weeks on one fish. Large fish will most likely survive a lamprey attack with just a circular scar left on the fish's side. Small fish may die immediately from the attack or will die from an infection from the lamprey eel's attach.
Good luck with your ell!
2007-09-16 11:29:31 · answer #2 · answered by So not a Princess 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i believe they only eat flesh.... They are probably the worest thing you can have as a pet as they do require special needs. When they get huge they will need to go into a saltwater environment and truely not suitable for fish tanks,
If your not willing to buy slabs of beef then you shoudlnt have it as a pet.
Again they are not suitable for home aquariums and they are really a pain to the eco-system as they are like parasites.
2007-09-16 11:26:51 · answer #3 · answered by Coral Reef Forum 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋