Can Red-eared Sliders eat Feeder Fish?

Q: Can Red-eared Sliders eat Feeder Fish?

Feeder Fish is rated safe for Red-eared Sliders. Natural prey item for adults. Use guppies, mollies, or rosy reds — avoid goldfish (thiaminase risk with regular feeding).

Trachemys scripta elegans · Poecilia reticulata

Safe

Adults: once or twice per week

Exotic vet review

Natural prey item for adults. Use guppies, mollies, or rosy reds — avoid goldfish (thiaminase risk with regular feeding).

Feeding frequency

DailyWeeklyOccasionalNever

Safe

Adults: once or twice per week

OmnivoreProteinNot toxic

The short answer

Natural prey item for adults. Use guppies, mollies, or rosy reds — avoid goldfish (thiaminase risk with regular feeding).

Feeding it safely

How much / how often

Adults: once or twice per week. Not recommended for juveniles as a regular food.

How to prepare

Avoid goldfish as a regular feeder — high thiaminase content. Guppies, mollies, and rosy reds preferred.

What's inside

Per 100 g of raw feeder fish

16mg

Calcium

214mg

Phosphorus

0.1:1

Ca:P ratio

INVERTED

18g

Protein

Backed by sources

Exotic vet reviewVCA Animal Hospitals — Feeding Aquatic Turtles

Feeder fish are an appropriate food for adult aquatic turtles, mimicking their natural diet.

Stuff that helps

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Basking is here to help you learn — it isn't veterinary advice. For anything specific to your animal, talk to a qualified exotic-animal vet.

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