Feeding Mosquito Larvae

[screamingdonkey]

I went down to the pond in the garden yesterday and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of mosquito larvae at the surface of the water. I've read on here that it's safe to feed these to tropical fish so, after scooping a few out, I fed them to the fish in each of my four tanks. ALL the fish absolutely loved them.

I've done a search on TFF for how often I can feed these to my fish but couldn't find any other posts with this question being answered. I don't know how much longer they'll be in the larvae stage, so I want to make the most of this free (and well appreciated) food source while I can. Therefore, in your opinions, is it ok to feed these daily until they are all used up?

FYI -
Tank 1: 180l general community tropical
Tank 2: 120l coldwater fancy goldfish
Tank 3: 40l tetra tank
Tank 4: 25l fry (platy) grow out

Thnaks in advance

 

[community begginer]

i would think a big feeding every second day. if you feed too much, constipation might set in. so be careful. buit other wise go for it. they really are a great treat for fishies.

 

[latenightrob]

I would add something to your pond to stop the mosquito's from breeding or you may become the mosquito's food! you could add cheap comet gold fish or the Mosquito Fish http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=1530

 

[helterskelter]

I would feed a little each day, but not to much, as if they done get eaten and develop into adult mosquito's your be having fun trying to kill them

 

[Straydum]

feed twice or thrice a day. do not over feed though. by the looks of it, you'll be itching all over really soon.

 

[screamingdonkey]

Thanks for all the replies - no real definitve answer though

feed twice or thrice a day

I would feed a little each day

i would think a big feeding every second day

I guess I'll just go for somewhere in the middle - as per HS's suggestion.

When I fed them yesterday, I made sure I didn't overfeed and there were none left once the feeding frenzy was over.

Not sure how advanced in their larvae stage they are, so I want to get rid of them asap.

 

[J4MES]

erm pardon me for asking but feeding live foods is very risky is it not?

J4MES

 

[helterskelter]

if your feeding from livefoods from ponds which contain wild ducks is risky. but from garden pondand or pool are fine

 

[J4MES]

what about a bucket of water that has gone brown because of leaves in it?

J4MES

 

[helterskelter]

The brown in water is tannins, and yes this can be toxic but I've never had a problem myself.

 

[jayjay]

Tannins are toxic? Explain.... Tannins are leached from bogwood in a lot of peoples tanks, can't be that toxic...

 

[kingmed]

Just wondering can the mosquito larvae be frozen and feed at a later date so as to keep them from growing into flying blood suckers. I have thought about putting a jug or bucket of water out myself to obtain larvae, and I thought if it possible to freeze them for a later date it'd be great?

 

[helterskelter]

Tannins are toxic? Explain.... Tannins are leached from bogwood in a lot of peoples tanks, can't be that toxic...

It's used as a preservative and can be lethal, but not in the doses u get from bog wood, how ever we used to get problems on our fish farm from Oak tree leafs, losses was always more with ponds with Oak leaf and the tannins was the only thing we could think of.

 

[CFC]

Its more likely to be oxygen levels dropping over night as the rotting leaves use up the available oxygen while none is being produced by plants to replace it, by morning the levels go back to normal but the damage is already done to the fish, a similar effect can happen to the pH over night as well as CO2 levels rise and acidify the water faster because of the softening effect of the tannins, again the levels appear normal again in the morning as the flora use up the excess CO2, in nature still bodies of water have been monitored over 24 hour periods and seen massive swings in pH over the measured period.

 

[madmom]

It may be possible. I've read of several foods being frozen in KNOX unflavored gelatin. Follow directions on package to make gelatin pour into a container and spoon the larvae into it mix well and partially freeze. Then take out of container break into small pieces and put them in a zip lock bag. Take out what you want; defrost and add to tank. I have no personal knowledge if it will work but it may be worth a try.