Risks associated with live foods

[GobyMaster11276]

I was just feeding my betta Percy his fortnightly mosquito larvae, when I realised I had never properly researched the risks associated with feeding live foods. I know of the benefits, but what are the risks? Pathogens? Parasites? Thanks.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

Also, I am talking about livefoods cultivated yourself (say, from your backyard). I didn't mention that.

 

[SayonROY]

Isn't it better to feed dried tubiflex worms?
I don't think it's a good idea of feeding live foods. As you never know what disease live foods may carry.

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[StandbySetting]

Frozen would always be my choice as most manfacturers blast their products with Gamma rays which kills any pathogens prior to freezing.

There's always a risk of introducing parasites/pathogens/chemical pollutants when feeding live food, even more so if you're collecting them yourself, if you live in an area with any sort of air pollution then the mosquito larvae will of course be living in water which no doubt has some degree of pollution in it which could then find its way into your fish.

Freeze dried products I avoid as they can cause bloating and constipation.

In all my 15 years of fish keeping I am yet to have any problems from feeding live foods though - I usually get mine from my local pet shop.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

Frozen would always be my choice as most manfacturers blast their products with Gamma rays which kills any pathogens prior to freezing.

There's always a risk of introducing parasites/pathogens/chemical pollutants when feeding live food, even more so if you're collecting them yourself, if you live in an area with any sort of air pollution then the mosquito larvae will of course be living in water which no doubt has some degree of pollution in it which could then find its way into your fish.

Freeze dried products I avoid as they can cause bloating and constipation.

In all my 15 years of fish keeping I am yet to have any problems from feeding live foods though - I usually get mine from my local pet shop.

My area isn't too polluted, though it is urban. I believe it is okay, because I have an outside pond with goldfish, and have been doing this for quite some time. How would you, or anybody here, recommend lowering the risks, just to be cautious?

 

[Byron]

Years ago I used to buy live foods once a week from a very good fish store. Brine shrimp, tubifex worms, wingless fruit flies. I even started a culture of the latter. This was many years ago, and there was not the concern there is today over live foods. I never had issues from these, so far as I know.

Having said that, the good quality prepared foods we have today, brands like New Life Spectrum and Omega One, are far suprerior to the old flake foods, and nutritionally are superior to live foods and frozen. The only real benefit in the live or frozen is their appeal to fish. And of course some species will more readily spawn with live foods.

You may wonder why live foods would not be as nutritious. The reason is that in the wild, fish eat from many sources. Insect larvae, crustaceans, worms, and insects are all dietary items and this provides a variety. When we aquarists get into live foods, we probably stay with one or maybe two, and rioght off we are not only limiting the nutrition, but providing too much in some cases. Worms for example are not good to feed more than once a week. Insect larvae (your mosquito) is different in this aspect, it is safer. But I wouldn't overdo it.

The other thing is that too much live food can cause some fish to refuse prepared foods, and if you have a temperate climate where live foods may be seasonal, this is a risk.

Jack Wattley is well know to all discus fish keepers, and I doubt anyone knows what he knows about discus care. In his former monthly column (Jack has decided to retire, now in his 80's I believe) he more than once mentioned that good quality prepared foods were his prime choice for discus now, and you really couldn't do better. A variety of prepared foods should provide a very good and balanced diet. So go easy on the "treats."

Byron.

 

[hobby5]

This is a complex topic and @Byron has touched on many points already. While it is true, that prepared foods are pretty good today, imho nothing beats proper live food. There is a reason why many fish spawn easier when getting live food. As mentioned already diversity is king. There is even a study which found that fish, who know more than one kind of food were more intelligent. The only live foods I would consider as stable and one can feed everyday without running into problems are daphnia, cyclops and black and white mosquito larvae.

Possible risks are:
1) introduction of disease if the food comes from waters inhabited by fish.
2) toxins if the source are contaminated waters
3) unbalanced diet, if you feed the wrong live foods too much (many worms)

 

[GobyMaster11276]

Thanks for all the information. So how often would you recommend live foods? Is fortnightly too often? I decided to get some new foods for Percy, and am currently looking at Betta Buffet Pellets from Omega One. What do you think?

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Thanks for all the information. So how often would you recommend live foods? Is fortnightly too often? I decided to get some new foods for Percy, and am currently looking at Betta Buffet Pellets from Omega One. What do you think?

Depends on what you're feeding, obviously you would not feed 3 mosquito larvae to an adult betta, as you would feed 3 pellets, as mosquito larvae may differ in size, what do you plan on feeding? My Bettas personally get a mix of the food groups, my fish have an extremely varied diet, insects, fresh talapia, fish eggs, baby sardines and earth worm, they have shunned commercial foods completely, don't feed too much live as, they may stop eating pellet completely.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

Depends on what you're feeding, obviously you would not feed 3 mosquito larvae to an adult betta, as you would feed 3 pellets, as mosquito larvae may differ in size, what do you plan on feeding? My Bettas personally get a mix of the food groups, my fish have an extremely varied diet, insects, fresh talapia, fish eggs, baby sardines and earth worm, they have shunned commercial foods completely, don't feed too much live as, they may stop eating pellet completely.

I would likely do a mixture of pellet and mosquito larvae, as I have been doing fortnightly. I would probably feed 7-10. I don't know, hard to count them in the net. After or before the larvae, I also fast him for a meal (because I was told a while ago that most people do this).

 

[NickAu]

I breed my own live food,

Heres what my fish get.
I have a small worm farm for earth worms, they are only fed organic vegetable matter so they are 100% safe, All my fish love chopped up earth worm.

I also breed maggots, and catch fruit fly, Just leave some fruit in a glass jar ( I dont like tin or plastic ) in the back yard in summer, check after a few days there will be fruit fly and maggots in the jar,

Live baby shrimp culls, If you have lots you can freeze them for latter use.

Rams horn snail, Just squish 1 or 2 in the water.

Mosquito larvae. I suck them up into a turkey baster and squirt into tank.

On average my fish get live food 4 out of 7 days, The other 3 days they get New Life Spectrum pellets and if they dont like it they dont have to eat it,they can go hungry.

 

[GobyMaster11276]

I don't think I can cultivate that many species. The only possible ones at the moment would be earthworms (which I don't trust in my area) and ramshorn snails. Maybe I will try them soon? Definitely no fruit flies at this time of year. I might use New Life Spectrum Pellets instead of Betta Buffet Pellets, and just stick with mosquito larvae. Do you think I should increase how often I feed mosquito larvae? If so, how often should I feed it?

 

[NickAu]

Once a week should be fine.

 

[hobby5]

I think it is a myth that fish unlearn to eat dead food if they get too much live food. They might not eat it as vigorourisly the first day, but will quickly adapt again as soon as they get hungry. We tend to overfeed our fish anyways.

Mosquito larvae are a natural food for plakad (bettas) and it is the main food used by professional breeders in Thailand. So if you have a secure source for mosquito larva I would feed them everyday and only once or twice a week give something else.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

I think it is a myth that fish unlearn to eat dead food if they get too much live food. They might not eat it as vigorourisly the first day, but will quickly adapt again as soon as they get hungry. We tend to overfeed our fish anyways.

Mosquito larvae are a natural food for plakad (bettas) and it is the main food used by professional breeders in Thailand. So if you have a secure source for mosquito larva I would feed them everyday and only once or twice a week give something else.

My fish never have accepted prepared after about a month of feeding frozen, raw or live, it depends on the fish