Where Can I Buy Live Food?

[constantine03]

Should my LFS have live white worms? I've never seen them. Where do you all get your supply of live food, and what kinds do you buy for your bettas?

 

[Colin_T]

you buy what you can from the LFS and then check out the aquarium societies. You can also collect your own and then start culturing.
Small white worms would be fine for bettas but grindal worms would be good too. They are smaller than white but kept the same way. Have a 2 litre icecream bucket with some peat or potting mix in. Leave the worms in it and feed them on dry baby cereal. Have a piece of glass on the top of the soil and lift it off to get the worms. They stick to the glass.
Micro worms are smaller again and can be kept in plstic containers with a thin layer of oatmeal in them. The worms crawl up the sides of the container and you can wipe them off and feed to baby fish.
Daphnia can be collected from most ponds or lakes and cultured in plastic tubs full of green water.
Cyclops can be done the same as Daphnia.
Gammaris can be kept in ponds and fed on plant matter. They can be collected from lakes along with Daphnia and Cyclops.
Mosquito larvae will appear in buckets of water outside under a tree.
Bloodworms can be found in rotting plant matter that is in ponds of water.
Small Tadpoles make a great food source. Livebearer fry can also be used as food.
Glass Shrimp can be kept in heavily planted tanks or ponds and will breed readily. You can feed them on normal fish flakes and pellets.

 

[Tolak]

I don't know if bettas like blackworms, I get 10-15 pounds shipped in from California every few weeks. I use a pound or so weekly with my setup, and sell off the rest, getting more in when I get low. If I'm selling a full pound or more I sell it at my cost, smaller quantities I charge a little more, as I have to rinse them & change water every evening, as well as keep them refrigerated.

If you or someone you know is going back & forth from your school to the south side of Chicago let me know, they transport easily enough, though they do need fresh water daily.

 

[Bubblenester]

You will probably never "see" any live foods at your LFS... they will be kept in a fridge or in the back if they don't need refrigeration, so just go in and ask someone. We carry live blackworms at mine which bettas loooooove... I use them for all of my conditioning. If you want to grow your own foods, try a local fish club or Aquabid for starter cultures.

 

[constantine03]

I'm bumping this thread for a question...

I just called my LFS- they said they carry glass worms. Do bettas like these?

 

[Netty]

We just picked up some glass worm today and they all loved it