# Can I Feed My Scorpion Fish?



## LordofScorpions (Oct 10, 2007)

I was just wondering if I could feed my emp a small fish like neons or minnows, cheap little fish, or how about hermit crabs?


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## REAL (Oct 10, 2007)

LordofScorpions said:


> I was just wondering if I could feed my emp a small fish like neons or minnows, cheap little fish, or how about hermit crabs?


If its willing to eat it I say give it a try I don't see much harm from it at all.

I, however, am uncertain about hermit crabs..I think its harmless as well but I never really heard of anyone feeding their scorpion a hermit crab...


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## cacoseraph (Oct 10, 2007)

hermit crab would probably eat the scorp unless you stole the hermit's shell.

seems like an odd thing to feed a scorp... especially when you consider no hermit is captive bred.


i don't think the emp would even try to catch live fish in water. it would probably take dead fish though


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## Brian S (Oct 10, 2007)

What's wrong with feeding the normal diet of crickets, roaches, etc? Thats what practically all of us do


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## Cirith Ungol (Oct 10, 2007)

I've given them small prawns once and they didn't die from it. But they had to be presented with them, and I had to tug on them a little bit to get their ego all fired up. But then, no problem.


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## Cyris69 (Oct 10, 2007)

Yes I agree Brain, but i think it would be cool to see it fight with a floppy fish.


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## Brian S (Oct 10, 2007)

Cyris69 said:


> Yes I agree Brain, but i think it would be cool to see it fight with a floppy fish.


Ever seen one fight with a floppy roach?


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## Cyris69 (Oct 10, 2007)

My large adult B. dubias just don't stand a chance when getting eaten.

The feign and by that time "crunch"


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## Kenobi (Oct 10, 2007)

I asked this once before. I can't remember who it was that told me, but apparantly fish aren't good for the scorpion. Dunno why tho :?


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## Rosenkreuz (Oct 10, 2007)

Kenobi said:


> I asked this once before. I can't remember who it was that told me, but apparantly fish aren't good for the scorpion. Dunno why tho :?


Vertebrates aren't overly great for your scorpion to begin with. There's usually remains that must be watched for once the scorpion is done and removed, or else they attract all the nasties you don't want your scorpion exposed to.

Not that they don't or won't eat verts in the wild, but it's much easier and safer to feed them other inverts (crickets, roaches, etc).


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## cacoseraph (Oct 10, 2007)

Kenobi said:


> I asked this once before. I can't remember who it was that told me, but apparantly fish aren't good for the scorpion. Dunno why tho :?


you are probably thinking of goldfish. my understanding is that they are the sort of yuck collectors of the fish world.  someting about diseases or something about their goldcoloration or something


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## Kenobi (Oct 10, 2007)

I think the main reason people want to feed their scorpions verts (and don't get me wrong, I have to admit I am one of them) is so they can see how tough their scorpion is against what originally comes to mind as larger animals with a little bite in them.
I was asking only a few weeks ago about feeding frogs to my scorpion  However that's a long way away, as my little guy is only 3 inches at most.
If you want a compromise between seeing you scorp kill and eat something "tough" and feeding it the safer option of inverts, why not go out into the garden and catch the biggest spider you can find. I personally spent half an hour this evening doing just that and managed to collect about 8 spiders. (Although I find myself wanting to keep them  )


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## Gojira (Apr 20, 2010)

*Roaches*

Where is a good cheap place to order roaches to feed my scorpion?

Also, we tend to get small grasshoppers in my area. Would it be harmful if I fed one to him?

Finally, what prey does an Emperor tend to use its Venom on?


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## AzJohn (Apr 20, 2010)

I'm glad that's cleared up. I've been losing sleep over this one.


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## snappleWhiteTea (Apr 20, 2010)

theres no reason to feed a scorpion a fish. ask your question out loud to your self, you will then see how i perceive the thread.

roaches and/or crickets are all they need.


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## Mack&Cass (Apr 20, 2010)

Gojira said:


> Where is a good cheap place to order roaches to feed my scorpion?
> 
> Also, we tend to get small grasshoppers in my area. Would it be harmful if I fed one to him?
> 
> Finally, what prey does an Emperor tend to use its Venom on?


1. Check the classifieds, I see a lot of roaches for sale there. Just keep checking back until you see some you want for the price you want to pay.

2. Feeding prey you've caught outside isn't generally a good idea. I'm mostly a T person, but I can imagine the same risks are present with scorpions. If you feed something you've caught outside, it may have a parasite or may have been sprayed with an insecticide which can potentially be harmful to your scorp.

3. I've never seen our Emps stings any of their prey, they take advantage of the size and strength of their claws. With that being said, obviously some Emps sting their prey, but I can't really offer personal experience. I can see them stinging something that's giving them a hard time and that they can't control with their claws alone.

Cass


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## AzJohn (Apr 20, 2010)

Gojira said:


> Where is a good cheap place to order roaches to feed my scorpion?
> 
> Also, we tend to get small grasshoppers in my area. Would it be harmful if I fed one to him?
> 
> Finally, what prey does an Emperor tend to use its Venom on?



The easiest thing with roaches is to breed your own. I've seen a large emp sting large roaches.

JOhn


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## funksmumsmiff (Apr 20, 2010)

I fed my Emperor a pinkie once. He ate it clean. There was not a trace of it left in the tank.


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## Sevenrats (Apr 22, 2010)

Pet shop feeder fish are routinely treated with medications to prevent diseases because they live in those overcrowded feeder tanks. Some of those medications are for parasites which could be harmful to invertebrates.


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## snappleWhiteTea (Apr 22, 2010)

i keep seeing this thread and its stupid, how bored do you have to be to feed a scorpion a fish.


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## Selket (Apr 22, 2010)

Gojira said:


> Where is a good cheap place to order roaches to feed my scorpion?
> 
> Also, we tend to get small grasshoppers in my area. Would it be harmful if I fed one to him?
> 
> Finally, what prey does an Emperor tend to use its Venom on?


It is usually suggested that you don't feed your inverts wild caught prey. They could have been around pesticides or other toxins that your scorp is not used to or built up a tolerance too. They could also being carrying a parasite.


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## skinheaddave (Apr 22, 2010)

snappleWhiteTea said:


> i keep seeing this thread and its stupid, how bored do you have to be to feed a scorpion a fish.


Why do you keep participating then?  Just ignore it if it offends your sensibilities so.

Now, onto the topic at hand.  I seem to recall reading somewhere in the past in some book or paper about a scorpion species that was observed to scavenge on fish.  It was a long time ago, though, and I have no idea of species or source so I may have entirely made it up.

That being said, there are scorpions which live in intertidal zones and plenty that have access to small pools etc. which may contain fish.  There are arachnids which specialize in hunting fish and plenty of other examples of arthropods that include fish in their diet.  

As to the domestic situation, I see no reason why you couldn't .. with the proviso already given that many fish in pet stores are treated with substances that may be toxic to invertebrates.  This is particularly common with "feeder fish."   

Cheers,
Dave


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## paul fleming (Apr 22, 2010)

Hi mate.
There is no need to feed any T,scorp,true spider or Mygalomorphae on fish.
Crickets or meal worms are fine pal....even a pinkie now and again for the bigger ones.
You have to ask yourself......what do these eat in the wild and I don't think fish is on many of their menus.
Good luck and this is the place for all the advice you will ever need regarding your animals.
Paul


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## Mister Internet (Apr 22, 2010)

Yeah, no problem with trying it once or twice as a "why the heck not?" kind of fun thing, but you need to make VERY sure that they are not treated with antifungals or other water/tank conditioners at the store!  There are a LOT of chemicals that they sometimes have to put in feeder fish tanks because they cram so damn many of them into far too small a tank and they are usually quite toxic in short order.  If they can guarantee you that their feeders are free of ALL chemicals/anti-fungals and herbicidal treatments, then go for it.

As you can see, I don't think I ever would, given what I've seen from most pet stores...


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## SixShot666 (Apr 24, 2010)

I been keeping scorpions for almost 11 years....And within that time I never once fed my scorpions any pinkie or goldfish.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying it if you wanted to. But in my honest opinion I think with a pinkie or goldfish it might get a bit messy in their enclosure with the leftover uneaten parts.


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## DireWolf0384 (Apr 24, 2010)

Umm..........I seem to have missed why he would feed Scorpions fish when they never encounter them in the wild. :?


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## Irene B. Smithi (Apr 24, 2010)

DireWolf0384 said:


> Umm..........I seem to have missed why he would feed Scorpions fish when they never encounter them in the wild. :?


for the fun of it.

maybe if you breed your own feeder fish it would be safe to do every once in a while??


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## Mister Internet (Apr 24, 2010)

Alright, if people are going to behave like children, I can certainly treat you like children.  Would you all prefer that?

Stop the crap.  Now. Complaining in public is certainly not going to make us want to keep you around.  If there are posts breaking the rules, please report them.

If you do, in fact, have a gun to your head and are being forcibly made to read posts that contain material deemed to be beneath your intelligence level, then I am inestimably sorry for your very unique and utterly unprecedented situation. 

-MrI


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## DireWolf0384 (Apr 25, 2010)

In my opinion, there is simply no need to feed Scorps, fish. Also, many fish breeders use chemicals to treat the water and to keep them alive. If you ask me, the chemicals alone would be reason to not feed them fish.


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## funksmumsmiff (Apr 25, 2010)

SixShot666 said:


> I been keeping scorpions for almost 11 years....And within that time I never once fed my scorpions any pinkie or goldfish.
> 
> I'm not trying to discourage you from trying it if you wanted to. But in my honest opinion I think with a pinkie or goldfish it might get a bit messy in their enclosure with the leftover uneaten parts.


I fed my Emperor a pinkie once on the advice of the person in the pet shop that sold it to me. It was a long time ago. I had no computer or internet access at the time to research anything. He told me it was a desert species and to keep it warm and use sand as a substrate. 
It took a while but when he was finished eating (as I previously posted) there was no trace of the pinkie anywhere. This amazed me as I thought the scorpion would suck out the insides and leave the carcass, or eat half and leave some uneaten parts.
With the exception of the pinkie the Emp was only fed crickets. 
It died exactly one year to the day I bought it.


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## SixShot666 (Apr 25, 2010)

funksmumsmiff said:


> I fed my Emperor a pinkie once on the advice of the person in the pet shop that sold it to me. It was a long time ago. I had no computer or internet access at the time to research anything. He told me it was a desert species and to keep it warm and use sand as a substrate.
> It took a while but when he was finished eating (as I previously posted) there was no trace of the pinkie anywhere. This amazed me as I thought the scorpion would suck out the insides and leave the carcass, or eat half and leave some uneaten parts.
> With the exception of the pinkie the Emp was only fed crickets.
> It died exactly one year to the day I bought it.


Really?!?!? WOW!!! Ok I stand corrected. 
I never tried it, but from what I seen and heard from other members on this board that why I didn't bother to even attempt it.


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## funksmumsmiff (Apr 25, 2010)

Theirs was messy?


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## H. laoticus (Apr 25, 2010)

Can the scorpion properly digest fish?  I know some animals have issues with certain types of fish or just fish in general.


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## OneSickPuppy (Apr 26, 2010)

Im not really sure if id want to find out with one of my own pets if something is safe to eat. I really do not think fish would be on a "foods to eat" list for scorpions. If it gets through the fish though, I see no reason not to offer it a poodle for snack.


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## skinheaddave (Apr 26, 2010)

H. laoticus said:


> Can the scorpion properly digest fish?  I know some animals have issues with certain types of fish or just fish in general.


Can you expand on this?  There are nutritional issues with a heavy fish diet with many species .. but I don't know of any digestibility issues.

Cheers,
Dave


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## paul fleming (Apr 26, 2010)

If spids can eat fish,can't see  scorpions having much trouble.
Although I have heard of fish eating spiders....not far from me actually 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3150719.stm
But never heard of fish eating scorpions,not to say they are not around mind.
paul


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## skinheaddave (Apr 26, 2010)

paul fleming said:


> But never heard of fish eating scorpions,not to say they are not around mind.


Yes, there are plenty of fish eating spiders around the world.  Whether or not they show any specialized adaptations to those diets I couldn't tell you.  I do know that in vertebrates, adaptations to a fish-based diet tends to revolve around the use of the particular nutrient balance found in fish and dealing with thiaminase, rather than any sort of digestibility issue.  Also, those hunting salt-water fish obviously have ways of dealing with the salt issue.

As to scorpions, I find it extremely unlikely that there are any scorpions capable of effectively hunting fish.  They are just too dense .. a scorpion may walk around completely submerged but you will unlikely to find it striding across the water surface -- a technique used by every fish-hunting spider I can think of.   That being said, scorpions are somewhat opportunistic and though there have been biases shown in their diet in certain areas, they don't seem to be too selective.  There are plenty of places where there are temporary pools and fish get stranded all the time.  As mentioned, there are scorpions living in intertidal areas.

As to the medication issue, I built a pond in my basement when I was in university and had guppies breeding in there medication-free for years.  I would see no issue with feeding one of those to a scorpion, though I never bothered.

Cheers,
Dave


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## myles756 (Apr 26, 2010)

*Ha*



REAL said:


> If its willing to eat it I say give it a try I don't see much harm from it at all.
> 
> I, however, am uncertain about hermit crabs..I think its harmless as well but I never really heard of anyone feeding their scorpion a hermit crab...


HaHa a hermit crab


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## SmallX (Apr 26, 2010)

When I was young, I fed my crickets some golden fish I kept and the crickets accept the fish happily  There seems no problem. Scorpions eat crickets and cricket eat fish --- you see --- so my wild guess is that scorpions may eat fish  But of course you don't want to feed scorpion fish because fish might be more expansive than those little bugs


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