Just thought I'd share this.

[AllenIsbell]

A video of my buddies aquarium.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=1mKGRWHbzic

Enjoy!

[Crispy]

not a big fan of feeder goldfish, but nice tank. I'm sure having it barebottom helps keep it clean. your friend has 3 poop machines in there.

[AllenIsbell]

He makes sure they have a well balanced diet.

His tank has been changed many times, and he's not quite finished with it, yet. He was talking about adding a substrate and a rockscape in the future.

[AllenIsbell]

I figured there would be more interest! :/

[~firefly~]

Awful. It is perfectly possible to keep oscars healthy and well fed without feeding them live fish. There are no health benefits to the oscar in feeding them alive. It's just for the owner's so-called entertainment. The levels of stress in those goldfish must be astronomical.

Sorry, not a fan at all.

[AllenIsbell]

I didn't mean to offend anyone...

It's a common occurrence in nature that smaller fish are eaten by larger fish. It probably just happened a billion times by the time you have read my post. I understand that in nature, the fish do have an opportunity to run and hide, though.

I read about and see videos of people using feeder fish all the time for larger fish. His fish don't eat goldfish as a main source of food, even though they are naturally carnivorous. Their main source is Cichlid pellets.

I had no idea that this was looked down upon. I won't condone in feeding live fish.

[~firefly~]

Indeed, there is much suffering in nature. For me, that doesn't give us the green light to recreate this suffering artificially. If there are alternatives, morally, we should go with them.

[AllenIsbell]

I never really thought about it. Thanks for the enlightenment. I was under the impression that Oscars required live fish to have their complete diet.

[ddavis1979]

I disagree with firefly whole heartedly, and I am irritated that you feel comfortable in passing judgement on this person. Who are you? The champion and hero of feeder goldfish? They are bred for that purpose.

#1 - Nature can be heartless sometimes, but that is the natural order, and I think that its our responsibility to create and environment as close to real nature as we can. Feeling bad for the goldfish being eaten is a stupid human emotion that has no place in the wild kingdom.

#2 - I do not think that dried pellets are a good complete diet. Fish do need fresh food and if this is the most effective way to get the fresh food to the oscar then I am in support. I think its good for the oscar to get something other than dried food, and I think its good to make him work for it. It battles fish boredom and gives him a little exercise. The fish that get put through the grinder to make the pellets suffer no more or less than the ones in the tank. The part that you dont like is that some people enjoy watching the hunt and kill.

#3 - If you were really a champion of fish rights and not stressing out fish for our entertainment, then you wouldnt have an aquarium to begin with. At a very basic level, you are taking a fish out of its home and putting it in a glass box, and creating stress with water conditions and tank mates and limited space all for your amusement. If people want to recreate the hunt and watch feeder fish get eaten for thier amusement, I dont consider this any different than any other fish keeper.

Dude, thanks for sharing the video, I for one enjoyed it. I would give caution that feeding oscars too many live fish can lead to "hole in the head". But supplimenting the diet 2-3 times a month with live fish is just fine. Also be aware that oscars are big bulldogs and can break items in your tank or hurt themselves going after a fish. But thats a risk for the individual fsh keeper to evaluate.

Laterz!

[Cliff]

There are many pros and cons to feeding live fish and most people can be passionate about their views on the topic.

The OP's intent was only to share a video.

Let's not see this thread or debate turn into arguments that might result in this thread having to be close. I'm not saying that has already happened here, just stating my concerns about this thread.