Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I'm new here. I've got a baby snapper (about 5" and I was wondering if anyone here has had any experience ordering rosy red minnows or any other feeder fish straight from hatcheries. I'm not feeding him exclusively minnows (I've got him on a diet of rosy reds, raw chicken/beef, reptomin, crickets, and mealworms, and soon i'll have some toadlets for him to hunt), but I was curious because I'll be getting a 5" Matamata sometime in the near future and their tastes, from what I understand, are much more discriminating. Big chain store can be somewhat unreliable sources for fish, as I'm sure some of you have come to know.

thanks!

If you are going to order fish from a hatchery do you have a big enough tank to keep them in? What about bait store minnows? Your snapper and mata mata should handle those with no problems. What about a cast net and go out and catch your own? Sunfish are common just about everywheres.

well, space is the other issue. from what i've been told, you can only order from these places in the thousands. I'm thinking a good alternative would be to raise tadpoles from frog eggs (I found a university biology department where I can order them from. I live in a city, so it's hard for me to get out to a place where I can catch some wild minnows, although we do have a lot of parks here with streams and ponds. I guess it will just be an excersise in budgeting food!

be careful when feeding toadlets arent they toxic,it would be safer to feed froglets.