Commonly Available Live foods guide

[OohFeeshy]

If you breed your own waxworms, you can feed them to your fish when they are ickle. You just need to look, they burrow into the hamster food (if your using it). Will goldfish eat waxworms? Sorry, I actually hate waxworms, but when you live side by side witht them, you learn about them. AS I said, you just have to make sure they don't escape, if they do any you don't want to feed them to your fish, frazzle them, or if your fish won't eat them live, frazzle them to death then try to feed them. I might start breeding sea monkeys again (moo ha ha) to feed to the fish.

 

[Dragonscales]

Great thread

Just thought I'd add one note though.

For those who are finding it difficult to obtain some/many of these foods then I would suggest finding a local fishkeeping club or society. Alot of the harder to find foods are bred by private hobbyists (many of whom are members of these venues) who are often more than willing to give away, or sell for a modest fee, enough to get you started. I myself have obtained life foods which I now breed myself in this fashion This is also a great way to find otherwise unobtainable fish as well (not to mention cheap second hand tanks, equiptment and reliable advice)

Alot of LFS are either unaware of these foods, unable to obtain them through suppliers or just plain don't want to stock or obtain them for whatever reasons.

 

[Phantom Thief]

Just a question, if you breed your own live food, is it possible to "inbreed" it?

P.T.

 

[KentBlokey]

I feed my Fish Frozen Bloodworm every third day. Is that right?

I was thinking about getting some Daphnia. How often would they be fed that?
Cheers!

 

[SirMinion]

I feed my Fish Frozen Bloodworm every third day. Is that right?
I was thinking about getting some Daphnia. How often would they be fed that?
Cheers!

Yeah that's fine, and daphnia would be well received too.

Just make sure it's totaly defrosted in a little water from the tank before giving it to the fish. Never give your fish food that is still frozen.

 

[KentBlokey]

Thanks!!

Yep, I allways let it totally defrost.

 

[Paul_MTS]

Just thought i would add some links. Not everywhere has a good supply of some of the foods like crickets and mealworms.

I'ved used both of these sites-

http/www.ekmpowershop.com/ekmps/shops/th...skink/index.asp

http/www.livefoods.co.uk/

the first is cheaper if you buy 3 tubs or under but the 2nd is cheaper if you buy 4 or over and they have a better range plus do them in bulk bags.

I was very happy with both the services.

Oh and here's another one...

Super Worms- They are pictured next to a AA size battery for comparison. Very tough shell and only suitable for the large fish like birchirs, arowanas, cichlids, gars and pims. I pay about £2-50 for a tub of 60grams which contains plenty.

 

[Sky042]

Note on the glass shrimp.
in the US I find them usually about 5 shimp for a dollar.
if you put about 20 in the tank with my oscar it provides him about a day or two of enjoyment while hunting. The glass shrimp are unbelieveable jumpers so make sure your hood is down.

Also they'll get a little cleaning done in your tank while waiting to be eaten

 

[FoundMoney]

I have a question on live food. I only have one tank and don't have plans to set up any others. While my wife enjoys our current setup I don't think she'll stand for any additional tanks and it's not worth the battle.

Is it ok to buy live food and and just throw it in the tank? I assume it will live for awhile until it's eaten. Of course there is the possibility of contamination from parasites or other pests, but my fish are smal and I would never feed them "feeder fish".

Someone else asked if there is a risk of contamination from frozen food. Currently, I feed my tetras frozen cyclops from time to time. Is there any risk involved with this practice?

 

[Dragonscales]

Frozen pre-packed food is probably the safest "live" food to feed your fish, most places clean the food really well and screen it for disease before freezing and I doubt alot of bacteria could survive being frozen on the odd chance the food was contaminated. It is also fine to take food that is still alive and kicking and put it straight into the tank, it is actually prefered as the nutritional value is higher than frozen due to a lack of breakdown which occurs through freezing. It also makes the fish eat with more gusto as it is simulating what would happen in the wild and excites the fish as the food moves (great for new additions who are timid or just finicky eaters in general). The most you may want to do is give it a good rinse first to make sure no dirt, salt (in the case of brine shrimp) or other foreign particles (or pathogens) end up in the tank.

P.T, it is possible to inbreed, this doesn't present a problem when it comes to live foods as it is only going to end up as fodder anyhow. I am pretty sure that my microworms have probably been inbred to death since the original culture as they have probably had a small number seperated to sell/swap/give as a new culture each time for the last god knows how many years before I brought my culture. It doesn't affect their nutritious value or the fish's appetite for them though.

 

[Opcn]

there isn't much crossbreeding in nature among microworms, and in any of the largr foods you useually have a large enought colony to go for many years (heck the colony of mws is bigger than any of those) the thing about live food is that there is something about hunting doen a live morsle that stimulates predators, they find that animals fed live feeders will grow faster than the same type of animal fed freshly killed feeders of the same species

 

[WILDCARD]

My lps saids its now illegal to sell live food like blood worms. I have had to resort to frozen. Where in the UK can I still buy live blood worms if the illegal bit is nonsense?

Thanks in advance

 

[Paul_MTS]

live foods you get in bags are still perfectly legal.

my work orders about 50 a week

 

[colegamby]

my LFS only sells dehydrated bloodworms, dehydrated shrimp cubes, or frozen brine shrimp. all are comparable in price which one do you think would be the best choice for giving my fish a treat?

 

[Paul_MTS]

the froozen foods are the best, try to find froozen bloodworm instead though.