AbbeysDad
Fish Gatherer
Well, unless all you eat is raw organic vegetables, most everything you eat has been 'processed' in one way or another. I'll bet you're prolly not malnourished?
Collected flying insects for fish?
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I understand your point and I agree, depending on the definition of "best". That is what got me started in the first place
Most convenient for the hobbyists - yes.
Good for the fish because tried and tested, therefore not error prone - yes.
Superior to the right live foods - no. (only 30+ years in the hobby)
(My last post here, and I try not to get started on processed foods for humans
)
fish48
Fish Gatherer
I started collecting and cultivating my own live foods more than 30 years ago I feed all my fish a variety of live foods almost daily. I have a friend that feeds nothing but blood worm and grindal worm with no Ill effects .There are some good high quality commercial foods but nothing beats livefoods
How does he know this? I would seriously question it. Every microbiologist, marine biologist and ichthyologically-informed individual I have come across advises bloodworms as a treat once a week, not more. Just because he can't see trouble does not mean trouble is not present in the fishes. And a diet of solely worms is not natural for any of our fish that I have come across.
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AbbeysDad
Fish Gatherer
Oh wait, Nick you are in Austrailia....your outback is quite different then my out back! Around here, the Outback is a really good Steak House!... and my out back (yard) is quite different! lol
fish48
Fish Gatherer
There will never be a straight answer to this topic.
It has been mentioned that some live foods are not natural those of us that feed live foods should be feeding a good quality commercial food to their diet.
It has also been mentioned that high quality commercial foods are not natural those that feed high quality commercial food should feed some live foods to their diet. Not frozen food
We all want to feed the foods that we think are best for the fish.
It has been mentioned that some live foods are not natural those of us that feed live foods should be feeding a good quality commercial food to their diet.
It has also been mentioned that high quality commercial foods are not natural those that feed high quality commercial food should feed some live foods to their diet. Not frozen food
We all want to feed the foods that we think are best for the fish.
AbbeysDad
Fish Gatherer
Crossing Over!!!
This spring I setup an outside 110g tank (separate post to follow) to breed and grow out some red Swordtails. In addition, I'm growing out many dozens of fry inside. In addition to high quality crushed flake food, I was hatching brine shrimp and also feeding some frozen baby brine shrimp and at one point I grew out some brine shrimp. (Fish go crazy for brine shrimp!) But culturing and growing out brine shrimp is just not sustainable unless taken to a much larger scale. Hatching brine shrimp is time consuming and frozen foods can get expensive, but so productive it got me thinking (again) about other foods I might culture/collect to both provide high quality diversity and lessen the strain on the wallet. I've setup a few tubs and am in the early stages of culturing daphnia. With separate green water tubs, I hope to [also] collect mosquito larvae. In addition, I'm considering culturing scuds and white worms...and who knows what else (but prolly not vinegar eels or wingless fruit flies, but who knows!)
...
Now wait...I still believe that high quality prepared foods offer well balanced nutrition, so the live foods I'll feed will be additive and eliminate the purchase of frozen foods. Since most will be cultured, I can control the input foods ensuring a high quality live food.
This spring I setup an outside 110g tank (separate post to follow) to breed and grow out some red Swordtails. In addition, I'm growing out many dozens of fry inside. In addition to high quality crushed flake food, I was hatching brine shrimp and also feeding some frozen baby brine shrimp and at one point I grew out some brine shrimp. (Fish go crazy for brine shrimp!) But culturing and growing out brine shrimp is just not sustainable unless taken to a much larger scale. Hatching brine shrimp is time consuming and frozen foods can get expensive, but so productive it got me thinking (again) about other foods I might culture/collect to both provide high quality diversity and lessen the strain on the wallet. I've setup a few tubs and am in the early stages of culturing daphnia. With separate green water tubs, I hope to [also] collect mosquito larvae. In addition, I'm considering culturing scuds and white worms...and who knows what else (but prolly not vinegar eels or wingless fruit flies, but who knows!)
...
Now wait...I still believe that high quality prepared foods offer well balanced nutrition, so the live foods I'll feed will be additive and eliminate the purchase of frozen foods. Since most will be cultured, I can control the input foods ensuring a high quality live food.
Just a note for anyone who cultures mosquitoe larvae. It is against the law to culture or encourage mozzies to grow in most countries around the world. This is due to the diseases they can spread. However, if you were using some containers outside and forget about them and leave them outdoors in summer, some leaves might drop into them and they could fill up with rainwater or sprinkler water, and mozzies take up residence, then you should use a fine mesh net to remove any larvae and dispose of them so they can't turn into adults.
You can rinse the larvae under tap water to make them a bit cleaner. You can also put them in salt water for a few minutes to clean them up. And if you bleach the mozzie larvae they turn white but don't die.
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In some areas you will also get bloodworms (Chirominid Midge larvae) in the same containers. These are small red insect larvae that look like red worms about 8mm long. They live on the bottom of the water containers and usually have a brown tube they live in.
Live bloodworms should only be fed to fish that chew their food like Corydoras. Otherwise they should be frozen to kill the larvae and then fed to the fish. This is because the larvae can sometimes survive in the fish's stomach for a while and there have been reports of the larvae chewing through the fish's stomach and killing the fish.
You can rinse the larvae under tap water to make them a bit cleaner. You can also put them in salt water for a few minutes to clean them up. And if you bleach the mozzie larvae they turn white but don't die.
-------------------------
In some areas you will also get bloodworms (Chirominid Midge larvae) in the same containers. These are small red insect larvae that look like red worms about 8mm long. They live on the bottom of the water containers and usually have a brown tube they live in.
Live bloodworms should only be fed to fish that chew their food like Corydoras. Otherwise they should be frozen to kill the larvae and then fed to the fish. This is because the larvae can sometimes survive in the fish's stomach for a while and there have been reports of the larvae chewing through the fish's stomach and killing the fish.
This is just for information, right? You're not actually suggesting people bleach the larvae before they feed them to fish?
no I'm not suggesting people bleach mozzie larvae. I was experimenting on killing mozzie larvae years ago and dumped a heap of chlorine in the swimming pool. It made the pool nice and clear and I could no longer see black mozzie larvae so thought I had managed to murder the biting blighters. Turns out they just turn white but are still alive and active. You can feed them to fish tho. I scooped a heap out and rinsed them under the tap before leaving them in a bucket of freshwater for a few hours, then fed them off to the fish. They look pretty cool when they are white, definitely different to the black ones
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I hope it's a black forest cake, yummy
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