Feeding Fry To Fish Cruel?

[Proxo]

Opinions on this?
Thinking of getting a shell dweller tank (african multis?) but i know i'll end up been
over run with them as it'd be a smaller tank, possible to feed the fry to me green terrors?

I would prob take some to the local LFS most of the time too as i know the manager pretty well and his african selection isnt as good as he wants.

 

[england]

Alot of people do this, you could just destroy the eggs

 

[fluttermoth]

It's a lot less cruel than trying raise fry without enough room or good homes to go to, IMO.

 

[StandbySetting]

Not cruel, but of very little nutritional value unless you gut feed.

 

[nurglespuss]

I don't think its cruel myself, and I have done it too,

But, strictly speaking feeding the feeding of live fry (or any vertebrate after 'X' age dependent on Family) does fall under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act...

So, its worth considering the ethical implications first.

 

[Tolak]

But, strictly speaking feeding the feeding of live fry (or any vertebrate after 'X' age dependent on Family) does fall under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act...

I've had a long day, out of state swap meet & just got home. Either I'm really sleep deprived, going blind, or the section no longer exists in reference to feeding live food to other animals; http/www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents

 

[soybean]

Bit of a grey area. Interesting PFK article on the Animal Welfare Act guidelines this month (July '11, p17) with blog/article online under Staff Blogs, Nathan Hill, Friday 11 March. (My phone won't let me link the non-mobile format site, but it's easy to find.)

Morals and ethics aside for a second, the only practical reason I can think of not to do this is the relatively poor nutritional value fry have compared to prepared foods.

 

[amy1994]

I would never do this, and i do think that it is cruel.
If they're already dead then it's okay, but not if they're alive.

 

[Tolak]

Bit of a grey area. Interesting PFK article on the Animal Welfare Act guidelines this month (July '11, p17) with blog/article online under Staff Blogs, Nathan Hill, Friday 11 March. (My phone won't let me link the non-mobile format site, but it's easy to find.)

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3713

In a breeding situation, as this is what the OP is dealing with, culling is a necessary evil. Most everyone tries to save every fish they produce when they start breeding. This often involves separating the smaller, weaker, or deformed fry from the rest. They eventually die off, little by little, despite the best efforts. Often external problems also manifest themselves as internal problems, giving the fish a low probability of survivability from the start. In the wild these would be the first to be eaten by predators.

Where growout space is a concern, you are not doing the fry any favors by condemning them to a slow death due to an extremely overstocked situation. Being eaten in one bite by a larger fish is just as quick & painless as any other culling method, and certainly better than a slow death due to lack of room. In the wild, many small fish in a certain area would attract larger hungry fish, and be dispatched in short order.

While out tanks are not the wild, nature has been doing this for longer than we have walked the planet, and has been doing quite a nice job. This is something we can learn from, along with other aspects of aquatics observed in nature, to give our fish the best possible situation that we can.

 

[Mikaila31]

Its fine.

 

[Duz]

I would never do this, and i do think that it is cruel.
If they're already dead then it's okay, but not if they're alive.

Although it can be seen as being cruel if the fish are above a certain age, like Tolak said

the section no longer exists in reference to feeding live food to other animals

There are loads of other animals which need to be fed live food. For instance reptiles such as bearded dragons should be fed live crickets. Not all fish are vegetarians, most have survived this long because they are able to eat other fish. While they might not have much nutritional value they can survive on them and if 1 species eats another so long as they are 1 month full I don't see anything wrong with it. Loads of people feed there fish live bloodworms and brineshrimp, fry are about the same size so I personally think it's fine. But everyone has their own opinions.

 

[Cooper2085]

I dont find it cruel, it can be a neccesary evil.

 

[nurglespuss]

There are loads of other animals which need to be fed live food. For instance reptiles such as bearded dragons should be fed live crickets. Not all fish are vegetarians, most have survived this long because they are able to eat other fish. While they might not have much nutritional value they can survive on them and if 1 species eats another so long as they are 1 month full I don't see anything wrong with it. Loads of people feed there fish live bloodworms and brineshrimp, fry are about the same size so I personally think it's fine. But everyone has their own opinions.

Invertebrates don't fall under the legislation, it refers to vertebrates and one species of octopus.

 

[drobbyb]

Bit of a grey area. Interesting PFK article on the Animal Welfare Act guidelines this month (July '11, p17) with blog/article online under Staff Blogs, Nathan Hill, Friday 11 March. (My phone won't let me link the non-mobile format site, but it's easy to find.)

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3713

In a breeding situation, as this is what the OP is dealing with, culling is a necessary evil. Most everyone tries to save every fish they produce when they start breeding. This often involves separating the smaller, weaker, or deformed fry from the rest. They eventually die off, little by little, despite the best efforts. Often external problems also manifest themselves as internal problems, giving the fish a low probability of survivability from the start. In the wild these would be the first to be eaten by predators.

Where growout space is a concern, you are not doing the fry any favors by condemning them to a slow death due to an extremely overstocked situation. Being eaten in one bite by a larger fish is just as quick & painless as any other culling method, and certainly better than a slow death due to lack of room. In the wild, many small fish in a certain area would attract larger hungry fish, and be dispatched in short order.

While out tanks are not the wild, nature has been doing this for longer than we have walked the planet, and has been doing quite a nice job. This is something we can learn from, along with other aspects of aquatics observed in nature, to give our fish the best possible situation that we can.

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