Is there a treat for fish?

[ValRasbora]

Hello!
Thanks so much for visiting my thread, I love to get advice to make my tank better for my fish.
Now, here's my question:
Is there a treat for fish? I've fed them egg yolk once, and it didn't seem to do anything bad to them. Is this OK to feed to them again? Or is there a better path for fish treats/food...? I have some disgustingly old and stinking brine shrimp thingys in my "fish drawer" but it's years old and I would never feed my fishies that yucky stuff!
Is thee something cheap and good for fish?
Thanks so much!
-ValRasbora

 

[RexyTexel]

I give my bettas blood worms(freeze dried) about twice a week. Once on Monday and once on Friday and I skip every other week. You can even get frozen blood worms but make sure you thaw them first before you feed them.

Some fish love algea wafers too and cucumber slices.

 

[OrangeCones]

Other choices for live foods that fish love include black worms for larger fish and microworms for smaller fish. My rasbora LOVE microworms and attack what I put in like a shark feeding frenzy.

 

[exhumed07]

my cichlids love brine shrimp. as well as earth worms, small frogs, small insects up to about the size of katydids. those are the kinda treats I give my fish.

 

[ValRasbora]

There's pond across from my house (I live in the country, you see...) so I was actually looking around for anything interesting, and I saw mosquito larvae. I have heard that fish love these... But I wasn't sure, because they where wild, and where from muddy waters- Could I feed these to my fish, or is it best to stay away?

 

[RexyTexel]

It's not safe to collect larvea from outside and feed it to your fish. Who knows what kind of pollution or parasites are living in that water? It's best to just culture it yourself or buy it live from a LFS or online dealer.

 

[OrangeCones]

It's not safe to collect larvea from outside and feed it to your fish. Who knows what kind of pollution or parasites are living in that water? It's best to just culture it yourself or buy it live from a LFS or online dealer.

What makes the LFS's collection any safer that collecting your own??? My own LFS collects live foods out of a water retention ditch adjacent to their parking lot

 

[ValRasbora]

Yeah, I'm not sure... It's by the side of the road, so there could be oil in it. I've seen lots of pollution in it, like Coffee Crisp bar wrappers, and pop bottles. I wouldn't want to risk it.

 

[RexyTexel]

What makes the LFS's collection any safer that collecting your own??? My own LFS collects live foods out of a water retention ditch adjacent to their parking lot

Most stores get there's from large companies that culture the larvae, shrimp, etc themselves. Who knows if any sort of pesticices got dumped into the pond outside? Or if there are any sort of parasites in the water.

 

[OrangeCones]

Most stores get there's from large companies that culture the larvae, shrimp, etc themselves. Who knows if any sort of pesticices got dumped into the pond outside? Or if there are any sort of parasites in the water.

I agree, I wouldn't buy from a LFS unless I knew where they got the foods from. I personally culture my own Banana, Walter, and Micro worms for my microrasbora and fry and would not dream of contaminating my stock with what passes as the LFSs in my area.

 

[Lotus]

Another thing to watch out for with mosquito larvae is West Nile Virus. If you live in an area that has a problem with it, you probably shouldn't bring them into the house.

I sometimes raise baby brine shrimp for my smaller fish. They love it. Otherwise, frozen bloodworms and live blackworms from the LFS. For fish that like vegetables, nori (sushi wrap from Oriental store), blanched spinach or blanched zucchini slices are good treats.

Some people chop up live earthworms (rinsed well) or crickets for larger fish. I can't do that stuff, so my fish don't get those

 

[Gilly]

I have a pond in my back yard. I go to my canal down the street and get some of the minnows and throw them in there. In 2 to 3 weeks they have spawned. This is how i get my feeder fish as a treat for my fish. my cichlids enjoy hunting.

Is this safe, considering they are spawned from minnows from the canal?

Also i buy nightcrawlers as a treat for my African Clawed Frog.

 

[ValRasbora]

I gave my fish (neon tetras) some itty-bitty pieces of cucumber- they loved it but it was still to big! Guess I'll just have to chop it up smaller next time...

Gilly,
You can often buy feeder guppies at pet shops (usually baby guppies that are deformed) this sounds cruel, but in the wild, they'd probably just get eaten anyway. If you still insist on getting minnows from your canal, check VERY closely for any signs of disease. I wouldn't reccomend it, though.
It's a fish-eat-fish world