Crickets

[HendrixTheOscar]

Hi all,

Does anyone happen to feed their fish crickets and other insects and if so how big are they? Also do they stand on top of the water and if so can they jump/fly back out if you don't have a full hood? Just interested as i'm trying to give my Cichlids some varied diet. They eat about everything else nad i've heard insects are good for them as part of their healthy/natural diet.

Cheers everyone,

Pete 8)

 

[Tempestuousfury]

What is this about white crickets?

And crickets generally get waterlogged almost instantaneously, so, no, they do not get out.

Since crickets stay on land for the most part and rarely fall into the water, I would not say that crickets are necessarily part of a cichlid's natural diet.

Mosquito larvae are, I would think, for sure. Also, crickets have a high percentage of exoskeleton (indigestible, methinks) in proportion to their mass. Also, small crickets are better than large crickets (more small crickets are better than a few large ones) since they have less exoskeleton, proportionately. You might also want to try mealworms, earthworms, and night crawlers, though I am not sure how good they are for the fish. Also, if you ever catch any type of food, make sure that the lawn you get them from is not being sprayed with pesticides.

 

[HendrixTheOscar]

What is this about white crickets?

And crickets generally get waterlogged almost instantaneously, so, no, they do not get out.

Since crickets stay on land for the most part and rarely fall into the water, I would not say that crickets are necessarily part of a cichlid's natural diet.

Mosquito larvae are, I would think, for sure. Also, crickets have a high percentage of exoskeleton (indigestible, methinks) in proportion to their mass. Also, small crickets are better than large crickets (more small crickets are better than a few large ones) since they have less exoskeleton, proportionately. You might also want to try mealworms, earthworms, and night crawlers, though I am not sure how good they are for the fish. Also, if you ever catch any type of food, make sure that the lawn you get them from is not being sprayed with pesticides.

I heard that insects such as crickets etc were their natural diet. I'd never feed them anything from a lawn or garden just in case, it's never worth it. Crickets are digestible though as a friend of mine has gecko's that eat nothing but (different story, never mind).

Where can i get meal worms and stuff etc? Fishing shops? What are night crawlers by the way? How about maggots? Too much bateria? I don't know really i just thought i'd try them on something other than bloodworm and pellets for a change.

BTW Whte Crickets Can't Jump = White Men Can't Jump (get it?)

Cheers,

Pete B)

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Lol. Crazy white men joke.

As for digestibility, I did not mean that the cichlids would not be able to get the food to pass, just that if they are at all like reptiles, they'll be able to digest all of it save the exoskeleton.

Mealworms are sold at Petsmart, for sure. Other lfs might have 'em. Night crawlers are pretty much bait used for catching fish, so Wal-mart, fishing stores, Petsmart, etc. would have them.

Not catching the food is a good idea (nods).

How about feeders? However, depending on where you get them from, they might lack nutrition due to being improperly fed (same goes for crickets). As for the crickets, if you could, set up a small container for them and feed them special foods to make them more nutritious for your fish (you could probably find out about these foods online ).

 

[HendrixTheOscar]

Lol. Crazy white men joke.

As for digestibility, I did not mean that the cichlids would not be able to get the food to pass, just that if they are at all like reptiles, they'll be able to digest all of it save the exoskeleton.

Mealworms are sold at Petsmart, for sure. Other lfs might have 'em. Night crawlers are pretty much bait used for catching fish, so Wal-mart, fishing stores, Petsmart, etc. would have them.

Not catching the food is a good idea (nods).

How about feeders? However, depending on where you get them from, they might lack nutrition due to being improperly fed (same goes for crickets). As for the crickets, if you could, set up a small container for them and feed them special foods to make them more nutritious for your fish (you could probably find out about these foods online ).

You've been very helpful on the matter and i thank you for your time. As for the shops i'll just have to check my lfs as i'm not in the US i'm in the UK so now Wal-Mart/Pet Smart or anything like that.

Yeah i might get a miniature plastic tank and whack lettuce leaves etc in it and loads've bugs. Saves me going to the pet store for a while.

Cheers again,

Pete

 

[Saedcantas]

Actually, Mealworms have a much higher chitinous exoskeleton to bodymass ratio and are therefore much less suitable.

I think the best type of crickets for the job would be small to medium sized black crickets (much less jumpy and more yummyness in them apparently...)
Since you're in Leeds the best place for you to look would be SnakesAndAdders the reptile shop, they certainly come with a thumbs up from me

 

[HendrixTheOscar]

Actually, Mealworms have a much higher chitinous exoskeleton to bodymass ratio and are therefore much less suitable.

I think the best type of crickets for the job would be small to medium sized black crickets (much less jumpy and more yummyness in them apparently...)
Since you're in Leeds the best place for you to look would be SnakesAndAdders the reptile shop, they certainly come with a thumbs up from me

Any chance you could fill me in on where Snakes & Adders is please? Is it in Leeds centre or further out somewhere? Have you ever been to Pet & Garden World in Armley? Won't they do them there? Having said that last time i was there they just had huge ones!

Any more info would be much appreciated.

Cheers again,

Pete

 

[Saedcantas]

Snakes and Adders can be found at;
384 Kirkstall Road
Leeds
LS4 2HQ

Also, for future reference, this website has listings for lots of nationwide reptile suppliers
ReptileShops.co.uk

The reason I'm pointing you towards reptile shops only is that they are far more likely to have good, reasonably priced ranges of livefoods than any other types of pet shops