Is there a basic generic chemical that wild caught feeder fish could be treated with during their quarantine?
I've had to set up an automatic pellet feeder while I was out of town, but what I would have like to have done is had a scoop full of the Gambusia that are absolutely infesting the creek that is 50 meters from my back gate.
As well as eating pellet food that was missed, they would give the axies something to chase rather than each others legs and tails.
I am well aware there are risks of parasites/infections in wild caught feeder fish, so let's not get caught up in that issue. I won't be just dropping them in my tank.
My point is "is there a way to dose them and make them safe in a separate tank", while at the same time loading them with goldfish flakes or some other food.
I literally have billions of these things splashing on the edge of our creek, every morning when i go for a walk.
How can I make them safe to eat?
Some ideas would be:
1. Quarantine tank with no substrate/plants for 2-4 weeks. Obvious enough.
2. Commercial feed. I have read that carnivorous animals benefit from their live food being gut loaded with vege based food (not sure why).
3. Strong chemical treatment, preferably with a generic household product. Bearing in mind it's illegal in Australia to NOT kill any Gambusia you catch (they are a declared noxious pest), I'm not too fussed about dosing them hard.
Obviously ammonia or something like that won't work, but how about something like Mercurochrome (that red stuff your mum put on scratched knees), iodine or even a fish medicine like that blue stuff only heavily applied.
4. 100% water change. Don't put the creek water in the tank, just pour them through a net and drop them in the quarantine tank filled with some water from your axie tank.
5. Seawater. Apparently Gambusia can handle salinity almost up to straight seawater. Can their parasites and ailments handle salinity?
Bearing in mind these things are an introduced plague in Australia, we have easy access to BILLIONS of them for free, while helping the environment at the same time.
I know that fish aren't a great primary food compared to worms, but when I was a kid my (creek fed) axie was a highly active hunter, especially of a night time.
To be clear, I'm not saying I will do it, because I don't want my axies infested with nasties. I'm asking "is there a way they could be made safe?"
Do we have any chemistry/biology students on the forum who could recommend a near lethal dose of household products (without burning out their eyes or being crueler than feeding them to a larger animal)?
Just some food for thought...pun intended.
Here's a start:
http://aquaden.com/phpBB2/articles2.php?type=dewormrecipe
Fish food mixed with agricultural worming medicine!
And another:
http://www.loaches.com/disease-treatment/levamisole-hydrochloride-1
Pig wormer?!
I've had to set up an automatic pellet feeder while I was out of town, but what I would have like to have done is had a scoop full of the Gambusia that are absolutely infesting the creek that is 50 meters from my back gate.
As well as eating pellet food that was missed, they would give the axies something to chase rather than each others legs and tails.
I am well aware there are risks of parasites/infections in wild caught feeder fish, so let's not get caught up in that issue. I won't be just dropping them in my tank.
My point is "is there a way to dose them and make them safe in a separate tank", while at the same time loading them with goldfish flakes or some other food.
I literally have billions of these things splashing on the edge of our creek, every morning when i go for a walk.
How can I make them safe to eat?
Some ideas would be:
1. Quarantine tank with no substrate/plants for 2-4 weeks. Obvious enough.
2. Commercial feed. I have read that carnivorous animals benefit from their live food being gut loaded with vege based food (not sure why).
3. Strong chemical treatment, preferably with a generic household product. Bearing in mind it's illegal in Australia to NOT kill any Gambusia you catch (they are a declared noxious pest), I'm not too fussed about dosing them hard.
Obviously ammonia or something like that won't work, but how about something like Mercurochrome (that red stuff your mum put on scratched knees), iodine or even a fish medicine like that blue stuff only heavily applied.
4. 100% water change. Don't put the creek water in the tank, just pour them through a net and drop them in the quarantine tank filled with some water from your axie tank.
5. Seawater. Apparently Gambusia can handle salinity almost up to straight seawater. Can their parasites and ailments handle salinity?
Bearing in mind these things are an introduced plague in Australia, we have easy access to BILLIONS of them for free, while helping the environment at the same time.
I know that fish aren't a great primary food compared to worms, but when I was a kid my (creek fed) axie was a highly active hunter, especially of a night time.
To be clear, I'm not saying I will do it, because I don't want my axies infested with nasties. I'm asking "is there a way they could be made safe?"
Do we have any chemistry/biology students on the forum who could recommend a near lethal dose of household products (without burning out their eyes or being crueler than feeding them to a larger animal)?
Just some food for thought...pun intended.
Here's a start:
http://aquaden.com/phpBB2/articles2.php?type=dewormrecipe
Fish food mixed with agricultural worming medicine!
And another:
http://www.loaches.com/disease-treatment/levamisole-hydrochloride-1
Pig wormer?!
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