Can I Feed My Fish These?

[Spiceweasel69]

I was told that i can feed my cichlids on maggots bought from the local Fishing shop. Apparently theyre bred in a sterile environment?? Can you help. If so it would be INCREDIBLY cheap way to feed the fish with good food.

Ta

 

[willtang3000]

i have done this many times with my fish but i only used the white ones incase if they dye has a side affect on them and they usually take it down pretty well

 

[Spiceweasel69]

Have you ever had any disease problems? Did you wash the maggots, and how do you store them?
Its intriguing. Live bloodworm is hard to come by and costs alot when you find it. A handfull of maggots costs 30p and would last a long time, if they can be stored.

 

[Ginge]

I wouldnt feed bloodworm if you have any mbuna.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

Feeding fish is a good source of protien however, if it's too big for the fish to swallow, it will kill the fish. Maggot can live for quite alot of minutes underwater and it takes less time for it to chew through flesh.
I fed my goldfish maggots from a tackle shop and nothing happened. This fish should kill the maggot in it's mouth otherwise it would just chew through it's stomach. Check for uneaten ones though because they can cause serious harm to water once they start rotting and turning brown.
Also, don't forget they cawl under the gravel or into sand.
I just fed one at a time so I could keep an eye on it.
And don't forget that people fish with maggots and would no doubt be a food source for a huge amount of fish in the wild.
Make sure they are clean though.
And I would just like to add, maggots arn't dyed, its their natural colour. Its the species they are.

 

[Synirr]

The maggots won't eat through your fish's stomach or anything of the sort even if they did make it there whole and alive, they are only capable of digesting dead tissue, which is why one type of maggot is actually used in medicine to clean necrotic wounds that are resistant to healing. There are some types of maggots that do digest live tissue, but you don't come across them often and they certainly aren't the ones being bred for fishing as they can't be easy mass produced

 

[Fella]

Feeding fish is a good source of protien however, if it's too big for the fish to swallow, it will kill the fish. Maggot can live for quite alot of minutes underwater and it takes less time for it to chew through flesh.
I fed my goldfish maggots from a tackle shop and nothing happened. This fish should kill the maggot in it's mouth otherwise it would just chew through it's stomach. Check for uneaten ones though because they can cause serious harm to water once they start rotting and turning brown.
Also, don't forget they cawl under the gravel or into sand.
I just fed one at a time so I could keep an eye on it.
And don't forget that people fish with maggots and would no doubt be a food source for a huge amount of fish in the wild.
Make sure they are clean though.
And I would just like to add, maggots arn't dyed, its their natural colour. Its the species they are.

Are you sure they're not dyed? From what I remember as a kid from my coarse fishing books, they said yellow ones were coloured with annato (sp?) the same colouring used in butter.

 

[Trance2006]

They aren't colored. That would be a pain in the butt to do. Since maggots can't survive inw ater for any longer than say 10 minutes I doubt they would be still alive in a fishes stomach. Because a small amount of water goes with the food doesn't it? And than there is stomach acid and the such.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

im not sure if maggots eat through the stomachs of fishes. i think you are thinking of mealworms

 

[Spiceweasel69]

I hope that when you said "they can be stored", you meant freeze them. You can't store them alive, they turn into flies within 24 hours (depending on species).
[/quote]

I think if you store them cold it slows thier metabolism and you can store them for a few days.

So general consensus. Should i try it or is it too risky?

 

[chishnfips]

what if you froze them would them come back to life when they defrost?

 

[whip]

I'm sure fish eat them in the wild.

 

[Ginge]

Yeah without a doubt.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

Have you ever stuck your finger into a box of maggots, just to feel what its like, and had one hanging onto your skin? I do it all the time. Most maggots have little black things on the point of their heads.
If you squeeze them, it comes out and you can feel it. It feels like a really tiny peice of metal just brushing on your finger. This would take a maggot sometime to chew through the stomache of a fish but its happened in the lake I fish in once or twice.
Maybe a more safer method would be to leave the maggots for a few days to turn into casters. These float but fish seem to prefer them for some reason. Probably because they are crispier I dunno

 

[SirMinion]

I wouldnt feed bloodworm if you have any mbuna.

You're thinking or blackworm, not bloodworm.