Clownfish eat live fish?

[stephen]

I have a constant supply of feeder fish (very tiny), and was wondering if they could be used as a treat for a nano clownfish.

If this is the case, could the feeders be used as a major part of the clown's diet, along with store-bought foods?

[gobies]

Sounds like you've got livebearers in the other tank.... Guppies, platies, swordtails, or mollies? (In case the fry size makes a difference regarding whether or not the clowns will eat them.)

[jjharrisx4]

freshwater food does not make a good saltwater menu. Ocean fish would never get the chance to eat a molly, guppy, goldfish, ghost shrimp, etc. and therefore don't get much in terms or nutrition from them. Actually it has been indicated that feeding freshwater baitfish to saltwater fish can cause liver damage, and digestive problems. The clown will probably eat them just fine, but is it worth it?

[gobies]

> Ocean fish would never get the chance to eat a molly, guppy, goldfish, ghost shrimp, etc.

 

Not necessarily true...all of these except the goldfish are brackish fish/critters. Mollies and ghost shrimp are occaisionally found in full salt water in the wild (at least one field guide to North American fish lists the molly as a saltwater fish!); in captivity, both can be acclimated to full-salt conditions and thrive.

 

While I doubt that clownfish would ever eat these in the wild, there are probably other fish that do.

[NanoReefer53]

mollies can actually live in higher salinity that most saltwater fish. There's a chance that larger clowns will eat small ones though, just as if they would eat brine shrimp.