Feeding Live Mosquito Larvae

[SPLiSH]

I like to let my bettas have variety in their diet, so every now and then I give them some live mosquito larvae. I fill an icecream tub with tap water and leave it outside, the bugs do the rest. (Sounds gross but hey, this is tropical Queensland - mosquitos breed anywhere, might as well be where I can feed them to my bettas!)

Has anyone here ever experienced any illness in their fish as a result of feeding mosquito larvae?

 

[Synirr]

A couple of mine have gotten a weird bacterial disease that I think was brought in by live mosquito larvae, but as often as I used to feed them, the risk is so low it's not something I'd worry about, personally. It made their fins literally stick together to where they couldn't stretch them out, but a little TriSulfa clears it up in a jiffy.

 

[SPLiSH]

Thanks.

I only feed them very infrequently, like every two weeks - my family would go nuts if I started routinely breeding moquitos. How often did you feed them?

 

[Synirr]

Before I moved out, maybe 2-3 times a week. I just harvested them out of the birdbaths

 

[SPLiSH]

Oh good, thanks. I feed them a lot less than that so I guess I am safe. I still rinse them.