Feeding fish with non native diet foods? Crackers/dog biscuits

I've heard from many people thru the years: Bring dog biscuits, cookies, etc to lure fish to you while snorkeling to get more fish to come to you.

How do you feel about this? Yes I know when we go to places such as Stingray City the guides throw in squid to get the rays to come by. But that is their natural food (kind of). I see a lot of people bring in non-native or natural foods or treats to get fish to come to them. I wonder if this harms their system. Their digestive system and their ecosystem. Even my sis who is a certified diver says she has used crackers in the past to get fish to come to her.

I wonder how the crackers/dog biscuits even keep their shape and not get soggy in the water.

My sis also said her dive master once got an uni and cracked it open to feed it to the fish. Wow jealous of the fish.

Our captain at Stingray City said absolutely not, do not feed the fish with people or dog food. He said it could make the sea life, whether stingray or fish etc, sick. For reference, we used Kevin with Ecotours in the Caymans.

Do not feed the fish!

No junk foods for the fish!!

Most sporting goods store have fish food. You can use that to attract them.

One time when I was snorkeling at Cozumel, I had dozens of fish swimming over my back. I was next to the guide who was feeding them Tortilla strips.

At least it was "local" food.:rolleyes:

Thanks for confirming my thoughts. Maybe I will buy some actual fish food.

Is it cool to feed the fish when you're on an excursion? I imagine that I'd be really irritated if I'm snorkeling along and enjoying the fish...then to have all of them swim over to the dude feeding them.

When going on snorkeling excursions I tend to swim way out on the fringes of the group as I really don't appreciate how close everyone gets...not a fan of getting finned in the face. So, I guess I wouldn't be too much of distraction to others if I were to feed the fish....I'd certainly enjoy the thrill of a swarm of fish around me for a bit. (Yep. I know fish school together...but when they group up in that feeding frenzy it's more of a swarm to me!)

Do the excursion/tour operators encourage feeding the fish? If they don't mind...I'm going to do a little grocery shopping for the fishies.

Is it cool to feed the fish when you're on an excursion? I imagine that I'd be really irritated if I'm snorkeling along and enjoying the fish...then to have all of them swim over to the dude feeding them.

 

When going on snorkeling excursions I tend to swim way out on the fringes of the group as I really don't appreciate how close everyone gets...not a fan of getting finned in the face. So, I guess I wouldn't be too much of distraction to others if I were to feed the fish....I'd certainly enjoy the thrill of a swarm of fish around me for a bit. (Yep. I know fish school together...but when they group up in that feeding frenzy it's more of a swarm to me!)

 

Do the excursion/tour operators encourage feeding the fish? If they don't mind...I'm going to do a little grocery shopping for the fishies.

Any eco conscious tour provider says to absolutely not feed the fish. Even fish food is often labeled for specific breeds. If you give them anything, make sure it's their natural diet, is like squid to the stingray in the caymans.

Sounds like it's easier to do the right thing...enjoy the view as it is!

Even without anyone feeding the fish, when we snorkeled Goff's Caye there was a huge swarm of blue fish that swam right by me. It was awesome! Really wished I had charged my GoPro. :(

I don't feed them anything, be it natural to their habitat or not. Feeding wildlife tends to make them more reliant on humans for food, and that doesn't help them or us. Kinda like feeding the bears in Yellowstone. It seems innocent enough, but there are unintended consequences.

Problem with that is, no matter if we the tourists do it or not, the "guides" will.

Please don't feed the fish....

Many "guides" know what they are doing. They have locally stored food that they know won't harm the fish and aquatic life. They are also out there, every day/week and the fish and aquatics know that they are coming and what they is serving...

If you were to bring something, you can mess up their digestive tracks. They usually have a set amount they eat a day and then you have over feeding. Anything left, goes straight to the bottom (pollution) or onto the reefs (which can kill a natural reef)...

So, please, please, please, keep your foods at home. Let the guides feed them and enjoy the beauty of what you see!!

Problem with that is, no matter if we the tourists do it or not, the "guides" will.

JMHO, but I still wouldn't feed fish on dives.

I maybe a noob, but while diving several dives in the Keys, Coz, Belize, Roatan, and Costa Maya, I've never seen a 'guide' feed any fish. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, I just wonder how common it still is. Understanding that some dives, such as shark dives, are centered around feeding. I'm not a big fan of those type dives either.

No junk foods for the fish!!

 

Most sporting goods store have fish food. You can use that to attract them.

 

One time when I was snorkeling at Cozumel, I had dozens of fish swimming over my back. I was next to the guide who was feeding them Tortilla strips.

At least it was "local" food.:rolleyes:

Hopefully most guides will only feed with their natural diet, but what about this example above?

For Sting Rays, they usually use squid to feed them.. With sharks, yes, they use chum w/blood, to feed them...

Tortilla strips- I believe the tour guide had one too many, before starting his day... I know fish will eat alot of different things and I have seen them eat Fritos before.. Personally, I would never feed them that... Augh, if I knew enough Spanish, I would probably tell them off...

I'm also of the school - do not feed the fish!

And think about your fellow snorkelers. Many of them are newbies and nervous enough already. I saw one poor soul trying to snorkel and wasn't having a good time of it and someone near them decided to throw food in the water to see if he could get any fish to come. Of course, there was a swarm of the typical stripped Sargent Majors which absolutely freaked out the person trying to snorkel. Poor guy.