Disadvantages of Using Feeder Fish
Many aquarists view the use of feeder fish as cruel and unnecessary, arguing that once the feeder fish is introduced into a small tank it has no chance to escape, and such a contrived situation cannot be considered “natural” in any meaningful sense. Most predatory species that eat live fish can also be weaned onto dead alternatives. Some of the species used as feeder fish (goldfish and rosy red minnows) contain high quantities of thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys vitamin B1 and when fed in large quantities cause nutritional imbalances. When bred and held in an overcrowded or otherwise sub-optimal environment, they may also carry bacterial infections and parasites, which can be passed along to fish that eat them. A major disadvantage of using feeder fish, particularly goldfish, is that they do not actually simulate what tropical fish eat in the wild.
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