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So, I finished making a 150 gal pond for Mr.T (my RES) and I put four feeder fish in there. I was waiting a couple days to put Mr.T in the pond to make sure everything was fine with it. Within the past couple days I've become attached to the fishies and don't want them to die!

I ended up going to petco and buying a bunch of junk for these dang fish. Fish bowls, rocks, fake plants, fish food, ect... I spent $30 on fish that cost .10 cents each! Have you guys ever had this problem? Also, is it important for my RES to hunt live fish? I'm sure it's pretty entertaining for him since he doesn't have much else to do.

I sometimes feel guilty but I offer live prey as a very rare treat or if they are being picky.

It's not necessary for captive RES to hunt, but some become real excited about it. If you provide enough hiding spots for those fish, then you could just let nature and Mr. T's instincts take hold.

They don't eat as much fish in the wild as is commonly assumed. I have never fed my turtles live fish (I explained why in a long-ago post) and they seem fine without them. I can understand your feeling, and don't think it's strange.

They do get some stimulation from the hunt, but if you don't want to feed them the fish (they sound like pets already ), you could provide them with other foods (live crickets, worms) to give them something to forage for.

I have bought rosy reds, and my turt chases them for a couple hours, can never get one, and then gives up... I have feed live crickets twice.. what should I do? I want to feed live food, but I dont know why she loses interest, or cant catch them!

ive gotten realy attached to a ghost shrimp....then my turtle ate it,right in front of me ] . =

There's no requirement for live food, you just want to give them protein and calcium which can be give in many different forms.

I used to have feeder goldfish that grew enormous and I had to give them to my friend, my uncle said to kill them and cut the stomachs out so the turtles could eat them. I personally didn't want to perform surgery on a poor helpless fish.

If you are prone to getting attached, just don't get them and feed them those nutrients in other ways. Protein - pellets, Calcium - cuttlebone

The best way to say farewell to an attached feeder fish is a game I like to call Turtle tank thunderdome. The game is quite simple you have had an opertunity to see these feeder fish, so you stand a good chance of guessing which fish will live the longest wen dropped into the slaughter den. I like to gather a group together have everyone bet on a different fish place a small wager like $10 on which fish will live the longest, and wait till the last fish is living. My little girl is a killer so this usually takes about 5 min w/ 12 gold fish. She gets a hearty meal, hopefully you will make some money, and the last surviving fish gets scooped out and placed in a safe haven, ensuring that its champion blood line continues on. Its fun for everyone, especially the turtle.

i had a stupid feeder fish that would never die once.

i tried feeding it to my last turtle (god rest his soul) and he was the only one that wasn't eaten. so then my turtle died. not only was i heartbroken but now i had this damn feederfish. i didn't have the heart to just flush it so i kept it...but i wasn't good about feeding it. in fact, i totally ignored it...but i stayed alive somehow. his name was yoda.

i finally found a use for him though! Maurice thought he was very tastey! i guess that i kinda got attached to him when he just refused to die...

sorry, guess that was a little bit of a weird story.

Ellic, goldfish aren't good for your turtles. They're high in fat, try something along the lines of rosy reds or feeding guppies. weird game man...

the gold fish are more of a treat occurence, and easily distinguishable from each other. The prefered feeder fish I use is shiners, and smelts.

just a question...shouldn't you only feed your turtle fish once every three weeks or once a month or something. i'm pretty sure that i read that somewhere...

Well i had aquarium tetsters(lol) and they survived like 6 months with my turtle in a 20 gallon so i got attached and i bought a bowll and coming back from school i say they were eaten:( it made me kinda sad

I have 7 guppies that I am currently trying to breed. Three of them are sick. On supplies and medication and food I've spent well over 100 dollars. I'm not ready to feed these guys to my turtle for a long time.

Especially not the sick ones I'm nursing back to health.

It was bad enough watching her rip random fish to bits while half of their bodies twitch at the bottom of the tank....now I have to feed her my babies?

kneenuh wrote:I have 7 guppies that I am currently trying to breed. Three of them are sick. On supplies and medication and food I've spent well over 100 dollars. I'm not ready to feed these guys to my turtle for a long time.

Especially not the sick ones I'm nursing back to health.

It was bad enough watching her rip random fish to bits while half of their bodies twitch at the bottom of the tank....now I have to feed her my babies?

No silly, just your babies babies.

yeah but that's like feeding my grandchildren...

I'm trying not to think about it.....at least until the time comes.....