What food do you feed your bettas??

[susangc]

Isn't that what bloodworms are?

Susan

 

[JoKeR]

I feed my betta bits fro top fin they like them

 

[bkk_group]

Isn't that what bloodworms are?

Susan

Bloodworms

Bloodworms are larvae of the midge family Chironomidae (Order Diptera, Class Insecta). Midges are mosquito-like insects. There may be more than 2000 species but only a small number have been formerly identified. Not all chironomid larvae are red in colour. While the most common ones are red, they can also be green, brown, or black. Also some are transparent and are commonly known as Glassworms. However, only those that contain haemoglobin are red and hence the name Bloodworm.

Chironomidae larvae and pupae are highly nutritious and nourishing and constitute one of the staple food items of many fishes in their natural environment. They are a commonly used live or frozen food source for aquarium fish culture. Almost all fishes will greedily devour them when they are offered. Research has found that most fishes when provided with bloodworms as a supplementary food item have better growth and spawning rates. Their nutritional value is considered very good. Chemical analysis shows that bloodworms contain 9.3% dry matter and of this there is 62.5% crude protein, 10.4% crude fat and 11.6% ash with 15.4% nitrogen free extract. They are also a good source of iron for the fish since they contain haemoglobin.

Chironomidae go through a complete metamorphosis in their life cycle, egg, larva, pupa, and winged adult midge. Each stage has different characteristics. After mating in flight the female releases the eggs while skimming the water surface. Egg numbers can range from 50 to 700. The eggs sink to the bottom where, under tropical conditions, they hatch in 24-48 hours into the next stage - the larva or aquatic stage. The newly hatched larva are not more than 1 mm long but they can measure up to 10-25 mm when they reach the last stage of the larva period. The larva stage can last from less than 2 weeks up to 7 weeks depending on temperature.

Each larva moults four times before it reaches the pupal stage. This stage of the chironomid forms a large part of a fish's natural diet as they leave the larval tube and actively swim to the surface of the water. Those that reach the surface emerge into flying adults after a few hours and immediately fly off to mate, living only a few hours or days. The adults do not feed during their adult existence and mating normally occurs during the night. The entire life cycle can be completed in 2 weeks, although it is common for the life cycle to take longer to complete.

Midge larvae can be found in all waters with muddy bottom. They occur in great numbers in ponds, swamps, and streams. Natural breeding sites for chironomid midges are diminishing due to urbanisation, land clearing and other changes to much of the natural environment. However, they are abundant in waste water channels, sewage treatment and settlement ponds, and other man-made water systems. It is these breeding areas that cause a variety of nuisance problems and public health agencies regularly spray these areas with insecticides to control their population and distribution.

If you wish to collect bloodworms the best time to catch them in large numbers is during the night when the larvae leave their self-made tubes and when the dissolved oxygen at the bottom of water is low. They can be caught easily using small mesh netting. Bloodworms can also be obtained by sieving the mud on the spot. The larvae and the coarse particles of detritus will remain in the sieve and then shaken into a bucket filled with water. After a while the larvae will swim to the surface where they can be fished out with a net.

Attempts to propagate bloodworms have been carried out in many countries without much success. The major problem is the inability to induce swarming and mating of the chironomid midges in captivity. However, there is now some successful cultivation of Bloodworms in Southeast Asia.

mosquito larvae

The life cycle of a mosquito consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The eggs may be laid singly or in rafts, deposited in water, on the sides of containers where water will soon cover, or on damp soil where they can hatch when flooded by rainwater or high tides.

Culturing mosquito larvae is straightforward. First established a tub or container outside where it will obtain partial shade. Shallow containers with a large surface area seem to be preferred to deep containers. Fill the tub with pre-conditioned freshwater.

The best source of water is filtered stream or pond water; rainwater collected for low air polluted areas, or use the water from your aquarium water changes.

Next, add some animal manure or organic fertiliser. Fresh material is preferred over old because they are richer in microbes and organic matter. This especially applies to manure, which is usually dried before use. The fertiliser can be added to your culture in several ways. One is to soak the dry material for several hours, then distribute the wet material over the bottom, allowing it to slowly decompose. Another is to place the dry material in a mesh bag and suspend the bag inside the tub.

After a few days when the water has cleared, add a handful of duckweed to afford the mosquitoes a place upon which to rest while laying their eggs in the water. One female may lay several batches. The elongated eggs look like little black rafts and are about 6 mm wide. Each raft contains from 50 to 400 eggs, depending partly on how much blood the female has fed on. If the female doesn't get blood she is still able to produce eggs, but the eggs will be smaller and have less chance of survival. In warm water, the eggs of most species will hatch in two to three days and the larvae or "wrigglers" feed mainly on algae, protozoans, and organic debris.

Once you observe egg-floats or rafts, spoon them into small glass jars containing about 5 cm water and cover with a fine mesh. Later, when the eggs hatch into larvae, merely pour the contents of the jar into the aquarium. Then again, if you require them larger, place the eggs-rafts in a larger jar and when hatched, feed the larvae until the desired size is reached. The larvae are tiny and must moult five times before reaching the adult stage of life. The larvae hang upside down on the underside of the water surface. The tail of the larvae has feather like structures, which allow it to hang onto the surface using the water surface tension. The mosquito larvae have an interesting way of breathing. They have a breathing tube which reaches from the tail to the pond surface. This tube is used in much the same way humans use a snorkel to breathe while remaining underwater.

Sometimes the culture will be so successful that if all the larvae were fed at once to the fish not all would be eaten and the insects would hatch causing at the least a nuisance. In this event you can either place some of the larvae into containers in the refrigerator where their metamorphosis will be slowed down or preferably frozen and fed to the fish during the winter months. Other species of insects produce different larvae such as bloodworms and glassworms, which may also be found in the container and fed to the fish.

It is far preferable to breed mosquitos in the manner outlined than to permit the eggs to hatch in the outside tub and collect the wrigglers in a net. It is inevitable, that some will manage to complete their metamorphosis and escape to plague you and your neighbours. Remember, some mosquitos are capable of transmitting diseases such as encephalitis, malaria, and fever.

© Copyright Adrian R. Tappin

 

[wuvmybetta]

isn't he full of information our overflowing fountain of knowledge

Great info bkk, I always wondered the difference between glassworms and bloodworms,besides the obvious color.

I feed mine
Hikari bio-gold
*=frozen
*spinach/fish/meat/garlic mix (made by lfs)
*krill
*bloodworms
*plankton
*glassworms
*Formula 2 (algae fish mix)
*brine shrimp
*spirulina enriched brine

Live brine
live grindal worms
live mealworm guts ( )
Live fruit flies

blanched zucchini

 

[freshmike]

Hikari betta bio gold
HBH betta bites
Hikari frozen bloodworms.

 

[HeatherSweetness]

Wuv,your bettas have a more balanced and nutritional diet than I do.

You have a 5 star betta hotel at your home. Wow.

 

[wuvmybetta]

Wuv,your bettas have a more balanced and nutritional diet than I do.

You have a 5 star betta hotel at your home. Wow.

Sadly, they eat better than we do too ,I'll give the kid a bag of chips but refuse to feed the fish a low quality food, how messed up is that?

They only eat so well because I always have that food on hand for the bigger tanks, I break off an extra chunk to defrost it for the bettas or they get the left overs,they're my little garbage disposals

 

[treefrog]

No blood worms are not mosquito larva. ( as I live in Houston, Tx. there are an abundance of mosquitos here almost year round!) oops didn't see that other post though how I missed it is a mystery.

 

[Inchworm]

Since my bettas live in my cory tanks, they eat cory food which is:

Live bloodworms and tubifex worms
Spirulina discs
Freeze dried tubifex worms
Shrimp pellets
Granulated tropical or goldfish food

Since I raise microworms for my cory fry, I'm glad to hear that baby bettas like them too. That means that they will probably work well for young gouramis the next time I spawn them.