Red Tail Cat

[Minedweller]

There is a local pet store in my area that has a 300 gal tank with just one Red Tail in the tank and when I was there he threw a mouse in the tank and the fish ate it.. I didnt know you could feed a mouse to a fish is that safe for the fish to digest?

[Northernguy]

Thats sadistic!
I don't recomend it! stick to fish food.

[aspects]

feeder mice are pretty common with some larger predators. same with feeder frogs. though i agree, its best to stick to fish food. lol

[HomaridNoob6]

I used to feed my red bellies mice when I was a bit younger and dumber. Not only was it really probably not the best food for them, but looking back it must have been a pretty horrible way to die for the mice, I wouldn't do it now.

I also imagine that because the red tail probably swallows it whole theres a chance that a real lively mouse could do some harm to the fish.

[Minedweller]

Im guilty of torturing mice in my past I use to have 21 snakes but my god that fish just about jumped out of the tank for that mouse, I think it scared me more than the mouse he never seen it coming

[annageckos]

Fine for the fish. But cruel for the mouse. In the wild predatory fish will eat anything they can get in their mouths. Mammals, birds, reptiles, inverts, other fish .......

[Northernguy]

In the wild a fish can can handle it better.They have more room to swim and more ways to get it through their system faster.
In a tank they do not!Its not the same.There are no mice swimming in aquariums,at least not on therir own!
You can feed what you like to your fish!lol Its just not reccomended!:22:

Snakes on the other hand,its part of their [B]regular diet.My brother in law fed his pythons frozen rats all the time.

[annageckos]

Sure, not recomened, I agree. But it will be digested. Not wanting to start an argument but I would think a mouse would be healthier than beefheart. Trust me, I know about snakes. I feed my snake pre killed or frozen thawed rats. I use to have a bunch of snakes(burmese, ball and rock pythons, redtail boa, green redtail ratsnake, african house snakes and more over the years) but now I am down to one. I was also raised around large constrictors (tatto shop) retics, berms, boas.... But this is about fish and fish and snakes are totally different when it comes to food.

Truce, Peace white flag...:hmm3grin2orange: :22:

[HomaridNoob6]

Hmm, kind of surprises me, I would think beef heart might be better. But don't worry Annageckos, typically this is not an argumentative forum anyway, so I do not want to be rude or argue, just discuss :). I would think with a live or dead rodent the fish is also digesting useless waste products, fur, contents of the digestive system, etc. I way agree with NG that a captive fish has much more chance of being injured by a live rodent than a wild fish would. In fact, my friend fed his captive bred ball python frozen rats because he was once injured by a live one. Either way, I think nowadays there are very many good prepared fish foods available, so a lot of live feeding of fish (with larger animals like goldies, mice, etc) is purely for the entertainment of the owner.

[Crispy]

Predatory fish don't have a good digestion system for mammalian meat/bones. I've heard of some monster fish dying a day or two after eating a mouse. Even though it can be done, doesn't mean it should. If you want to feed your fish the best, do it with a good variety of fresh seafoods. :fish: