Why guppy tanks are a great food source for your reef

Show me where I stated Mysis are bad for sw fish?I said I don't feed them to my fish because I try to use a more natural diet and it may or may not be harmfull.
Which is my advice to the O.P. Good luck BWFT.Keep reading my friend.Your heart is in the right place,even if your head isn't sometimes.
It comes with being young .

Heres some interesting info on Mysis since Gresham isn't around to help.


What is Mysis relicta?
Mysis are not a true shrimp though they do closely resemble and are, in fact a primitive relative of the shrimp found in the oceans. There are 58 genuses of mysis which make up the Mysidae family. PE MYSIS is 100% Mysis relicta which is one of the two types of freshwater Mysidae. All other species of Mysis are either saltwater or estuarine species. PE MYSIS are part of the zooplankton, the small invertebrate animals found in lakes that feed on microscopic algae (phytoplankton) as well as other zooplankton. In turn these organisms form the basis of the food supply for many fish.

Its strange to see that there are many sw Mysid shrimp but none are made available.You can also understand why the fw versions are used.They have a common ancestory and are probably aot alike. I am sure it is cheaper to grow them and this may be the reason they are used.Hmmmmmm.

 

you don't state that it is bad, however, you obviously don't believe it is a good food source and I disagree with that. Fish in the wild eat "live" things all of the time. They also tend to the eat the whole animal in the wild - this is part of my reasoning in feeding Mysis along with a variety of other foods. Fish in the ocean do not eat prepared flakes so you do tend to feed your fish sometimes things that are not a part of their natural diet.

 

SW fish eat sw fish whole or otherwise.

Fish in the ocean don't eat prepared flakes but prepared flakes are made using things from the ocean with a few terrestrial ingredients that I only trust because I have used it for 30 years with great success and its part of a balanced diet.

 

This is kinda like the way we feed our other animals too. A wild cat is 100% carnivore but comrcial catfood contains grains/corn/rice which have no place in a cats diet. Cats in the wild are never obese and dont get UTI's. They also dont live 20 years...

If feeding a guppy encourages the fishies its a good thing but as a staple it will surely be bad. Think McDonalds for fishies

 

I think we all agree that feeding guppies as a staple to marine fish is not healthy. Feeding fish a variety of foods is what they need for optimum long-term health. What those foods are is up to the individual aquarist to determine based on reading from a variety of sources and their own experience.

Maybe we can agree to agree on this Vinny?

 

I wasn't really trying to get you to agree with me.I was just trying to make sure you understand my point.If you do then great!!!;D
I am sure Greg or Renee have some good input on this as well.The study I participated in dealt mostly with lionfish and Grouper.
My friend and lfs owner(marine biologist) lost his prized Volitan for no apparent reason.A necropsy was performed and over the next few years different diets were studied by him.I unfortunately do not have access to the data anymore as this was the late 80's. but it was his conclusion that the problem was the fish were having a hard time assimilating the fats and proteins of fw fish.Enlarged livers to the point that they were crushing other organs was also observed as well as intestinal blockages and other digestive problems.There was some serious fat around the organs of his Volitan.

 

were the fw fish the primary diet or supplemented with other things?

 

Its a shame because without the info on the diets and other factors, this can pretty much be found on Google.

Also, nothing here about Mysis shrimp.

I'm curious as to what EXACTLY do the smaller fish (fish not like lions or groupers that don't need to eat live fish) eat?

I understand what you're getting at, but if you refuse to feed things that occur in freshwater (ie. not naturally occurring to the fish), I find that the same concept would apply to feeding pieces of fish/squid/krill, as I find it hard to believe some fish like a royal gramma, for example, would be able to hunt down a squid or fish, and I don't think the krill we feed is found on reefs?

I don't believe you've revealed what you feed your fish, other than flakes.

 

They may not be able to eat or catch a squid; but they live with other animals that do.(just an example) Dead and decaying matter make up the"soup" that most fish consume. So its possible they could come into contact with things you wouldn't think of them eating.Is it good for them??I don't know.Animals in the ocean are for the most part made up of the same kinds of fats and proteins so assimilating them should not be difficult.(speculation)
This brings me back to the same thing.There are a lot more questions then answers and maybe we will never fully understand it.Choose species that we have a decent understanding of as far as diet and other needs.Stay away from the ones that we don't.Look for people here who house fish long term to help choose fish that will tolerate us.lol The tank raised fish we are now seeing more and more of are also good choices.
I stick with mostly frozen foods either store bought or homemade.The ingredients are determined by the kinds of fish I am keeping. Right now I have a goby and a blenny. I use ocean nutrition formula 1,flakes,krill, and a combination of these which I love!!!.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=2190 3058&pcatid=3058

LA does sell the sw variety of Mysid shrimp but look at the price.I think you know why the fw Mysis are used.lol
Mysidopsis bahia
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=2190 3057&pcatid=3057

 

*yoda voice* Yes, many questions, I have. lol
Makes sense. You may or may not know, but I am a strong advocate for researching before buying, not overstocking tanks, and trying to do what's best for our fish in general. You're making me question feeding Mysis now. In case you were wondering, I have a royal gramma and feed flakes, squid, Mysis (may not anymore), krill, and this mix called Pred-mix or something like that. My RG has probably doubled in size since I've had him/her for about a year and a half now.

Occasionally, I'll buy him/her a live peppermint shrimp because he loves eating those things lol

Thanks for the LA thing, I was merely referring to the fact that they feed some of their DD fish Hikari Mysis shrimp, which I assume is the freshwater kind.

No harsh feelings, sorry if I came off as rude