Safe Feeder Fish

[Little Wise Owl]

What type of live (or frozen I suppose) feeder fish would be the safest to feed to my tegu. I thought it might be enriching for him to go fishing and have a different way to work for his food. I always read that the usual "feeder fish" at pet stores were a no-no.

[infernalis]

Feeder fish are not so bad if you have the right ones. No goldfish, rosies or comets.

I feed my herps (that eat fish) trout, organic tilapia or organic salmon.

Just make sure the ingredients do not list any preservatives. Sodium Tripolyphosphate is bad stuff (it will be listed on the package if it's used.)

Hope that helps.

[KORBIN5895]

Originally Posted by infernalis

Feeder fish are not so bad if you have the right ones. No goldfish, rosies or comets.

I feed my herps (that eat fish) trout, organic tilapia or organic salmon.

Just make sure the ingredients do not list any preservatives. Sodium Tripolyphosphate is bad stuff (it will be listed on the package if it's used.)

Hope that helps.

I think she is looking to put live fish in her water bowl for the monitor to hunt.

[jarich]

It sounds like you might be talking about the issue of thiaminase in feeder fish. If you are feeding fish just as an occasional thing, you shouldnt have to worry about it though. Its more of a problem if fish are a large part of the diet.

[Little Wise Owl]

I didn't think the thiamine thing would have been an issue simply because they're only going to be a treat. So does that still include things like goldfish or common feeder fish (I know nothing about fish, haha)

[jarich]

Goldfish and common cheap feeder fish have the thiaminase problem, which is why they are often not recommended. They are also basically junk fish and so have a nutritional limitation as a result. Not quite the same as say an invertebrate fed garbage, but still not a great food source. Would be better to go with the kinds of fish Wayne mentioned above if possible.