Imagine living in a palatial suite where all of your needs are fulfilled by a pampering staff. The attentive housekeeping crew makes sure nothing remains unturned in their quest for impeccable cleanliness, and also the utilities supervisor deftly maintains your suite temperature precisely in your comfort zone.
However, this utopian environment is plagued with absolutely dismal room service. While meals are delivered in colorful vessels replete with seemingly delectable ingredients, the cuisine is definitely the same dry material fortified with vitamins and artificial colors. Your meals are quite healthy, but it lacks freshness.
Keep it Fresh
The intent of this article isn't to demean the many excellent flake foods which are now available. Since the 1960s flake food manufacturers have done a commendable job in providing quality products at very affordable prices. But think about it: Would you rather consume a bowl of cereal or perhaps a crisp garden salad? Few would decide to exclusively consume either, but served at different times during the the day both are highly desirable. I would like to present reasonable options for complementing flake food diets.
These options can be customized for species-specific needs, or simply developed based on your available some time and the level of effort you wish to devote to the project. The options are presented in three categories, from the smallest organisms to those of moderate size and culminating with larger fresh produce. A tool list is included for propagating many of the live foods discussed. Two levels of effort are also included: 1) easy (low effort and simply obtainable results) and 2) intricate (time intensive, construction required and/or frequent attention to culture).
Small Foods
Nitrosomonas
These bacteria along with other microorganisms are the tiniest of organisms. Oftentimes, fish can be seen picking in the roots of plants, rocks as well as other objects within the aquarium. They're devouring animals and plants which are usually seen only through a microscope.
Thankfully, betta vases go the clear way of your pet rock, but when these were the rage most of the fish housed in them survived solely on microorganisms. Proof of microorganisms could be readily observed simply by floating a well-seasoned biowheel in an aquarium. Fish that feed on options are having a fresh micromeal.
Equipment
Biowheel, live plant roots, sand and anything bacteria can grow on.
Level of effort
Easy. This is a lot more like dessert as opposed to a main course, however your fish will sure possess a feeding frenzy if you float a biowheel in their tank for a few minutes.
Infusoria
These are very small organisms which are ideal for feeding newly hatched egg-laying species. Most live-bearing species can take larger food at birth. They do not need infusoria, but they will definitely appreciate it.
Equipment
Clean tank water, infusoria starter culture, 2-gallon aquarium, turkey baster and magnifying glass.
Level of effort
Intricate. Here is how it's accomplished: I fill a 2-gallon aquarium with water from my turtle pond, which is replete with infusoria. Aquarium water will even work nicely, but aquarium fish eat most infusoria, so a starter culture may be essential for those hobbyists who are in a rush to get a colony established.
Add several leaves of finely shredded lettuce contributing to a 1/2 cup of chopped hay. Maintain a water temperature of about 80 degrees, and the water will soon become opaque. Have patience, and in in regards to a week the water will clear.
Here are a handful of easy means of testing the ripeness of your culture. First, try illuminating the rear of the aquarium. Next, use a magnifier to look with the front glass for movement. Infusoria look like specks of pixie dust zooming around.
Another approach to test for the ripeness of your infusoria culture is to draw an example using an eyedropper, and examine the sample on the glass slide. There should be swarming activity once the culture is mature. Use an eyedropper or turkey baster to harvest your culture, as well as your baby fish will enjoy a delectable meal.
Daphnia
Also called water fleas, they are ideal for feeding small fish. These little crustaceans seem like swirling specks near the shoreline of most ponds. They're easy to collect utilizing a dipnet. The best place to collect them is within calm water near an algae bloom. I use a 3- by 3-inch dipnet to gather about 50 specimens. The collection is placed inside a clear 1-quart plastic container, that allows for easy inspection to make sure other organisms aren't inadvertently included.
These Daphnia will be cultivated in green water. Green water is basically a deliberate algae bloom. Daphnia as well as some newborn fish consume the unicellular algae along with other organisms present in green water. Creating green water and cultivating Daphnia is relatively simple.
Equipment
One 15-gallon plastic tub, pond or seasoned aquarium water, a dipnet, magnifier, lettuce, aquatic plant fertilizer, turkey baster and a small clear container.
Level of effort
Intricate. Set up a plastic 15-gallon tub where it'll get bright light. You might have to test out several locations to determine the ideal amount of light required. I have my green water tub receiving sunlight until about noon. A nook from the foundation of a home is a perfect location to keep the water from overheating.
I fill a 15-gallon tub with water from my turtle pond and add small bits of lettuce, a 1/2 teaspoon of yeast and turtle feces like a fertilizer. Depending on the amount of light and the outside temperature, green water develops within per week. Late summer and spring are perfect for green water culturing because of the lengthy photoperiod. After your green water is well established, do partial 25 percent water changes just as you'd to have an aquarium. In some cases, gentle aeration might be essential to prevent stagnation.
Here are a handful of tips about cultivating Daphnia. Stay away from chlorinated plain tap water because chlorine kills Daphnia. There are numerous recipes for feeding Daphnia, but I use about a 1/2 teaspoon of active yeast for 15 gallons water every week. Make use of a turkey baster to harvest your culture. Cull your Daphnia culture if you have a population explosion and should not use all of them. You will be a hero for sharing your yield with fellow aquarists.
Moderate-Sized Foods
Microworms
This is the generic reputation for several kinds of tiny worms about 1/10 of an inch long. Perfect for feeding small fish that have outgrown the requirement for smaller foods for example infusoria. They bridge the gap between infusoria and baby brine shrimp.
Equipment
Two cup-sized glass bowls with tight-fitting clear covers, a microworm culture, four bioballs, wheat germ and baker's yeast.
Level of effort
Intricate. Take 1/4 cup of wheat germ and 1/8 teaspoon of baker's yeast and blend with water right into a paste. Place the paste into the glass bowl, add some culture and gently place three bioballs to form a triangle-shaped base.
Place the fourth bioball over the three to make a pyramid. The greatest bioball won't touch the culture medium and remains clean. Cover the culture tightly. Keep the culture at approximately 80 to 84 degrees, and you ought to possess a mass of worms within 1 week. The worms will climb to the bioballs.
You can easily toss the top worm-laden bioball to your aquarium. Microworms do not float or swim, but will quickly fall to the bottom and remain there. Raising and feeding baby fish in a bare-bottom tank is surely an advantage when feeding them these worms since uneaten food is easily seen and removed.
I should mention that while I'd success culturing microworms years back, the smell made my family quite unhappy. The best bet is to keep multiple cultures going sequentially. Once you harvest a culture, discard all but a little portion, which can be used to begin a new culture. This will definitely keep offensive odors low.
Vinegar eels
These are another viable food. I have not cultured vinegar eels, but read they're an excellent option for feeding small catch these reasons: they are truly aquatic, can survive for days in an aquarium and are easily cultured. Vinegar eels can also fill the gap between infusoria and baby brine shrimp.
Brine shrimp
Newly hatched brine shrimp are thought by many people to become the perfect supplement food for those however the smallest of fish. Just like all foods, brine shrimp should be a part of a well-balanced diet. They're about the size the 14-point type period enclosed between these parentheses (.).
Equipment
A 2-liter plastic soda bottle, an aura pump, a rigid and versatile airline hose, one anti-siphon device, an aquarium sealer, two unused power filter siphons, a submersible heater, an airstone, a man-made light, a resource of heat and some brine shrimp egg mix.
Level of effort
Intricate. Hatching brine shrimp isn't difficult while offering a very high return for minimal effort. I made my hatchery from a plastic 2-liter seltzer water bottle linked to an air pump. Make sure to use an anti-siphon device on your airline hose to avoid accidentally draining your culture throughout a power outage. Seltzer water was chosen because the bottle doesn't need repeated rinsing to remove sticky soft drinks. I made use of old power-filter siphons to suspend my hatcheries because coat hanger wire has a tendency to corrode.
Use aquarium sealer to put the bottles along with a handful of rubber bands to add additional support, if desired. Stick to the directions on the brine shrimp egg package for hatching. I found keeping the temperature at about 85 degrees expedites hatching and produces a maximum yield.
To maintain the ideal temperature and increase your yield, try suspending the soda bottle inside a bare-bottom, heated 18-gallon tall aquarium. An airstone in the tank will circulate the heating water. Utilizing an 18-gallon tank is actually neat because there is room of countless hatcheries. If they are started a few days apart, the system produces a continuous flow of newly hatched brine shrimp. Position a bright light alongside your hatchery throughout the hatching period. Fish gorge on newly hatched brine shrimp.
Fruit flies
These would be the small gnat-like bugs that are sometimes seen hovering near bananas along with other fruit. They come in either flightless or wingless varieties. Apart from the aquatic community, they are considered an annoyance, but to juvenile and adult fish they are candy.
Equipment
A 1-gallon glass jar with tight-fitting cheese-cloth lid, starter culture, dehydrated flaked potatoes, sugar, banana, baker's yeast along with a battery-operated vacuum.
Level of effort
Intricate. Mix the food ingredients into a puree and place them in to the bottom of the jar. Add some fruit fly culture and keep the jar in a temperature of about 80 degrees. The fruit flies will begin hatching in about two to three weeks.
I recommend starting several cultures at weekly intervals to maintain a constant way to obtain flies. Simply shake the flies to your tank. Should you keep the wingless cultures opting for an extended period, it's possible that some of the offspring may have the ability of flight. One trick is to open your container outside and allow those with wings to take off. I use a small battery-operated vacuum capture those flies that escape either by flight or crawling from the tank.
Large Foods
Mosquito larvae
These are another potential meal source. The word, “Build it and they'll come,” absolutely applies to mosquitoes.
Equipment
A 1-quart rectangular container, dirty or stagnant water, a dipnet or eyedropper.
Level of effort
Easy. Simply set the container water in a shaded spot and make preparations to reap mosquitoes. Mosquitoes love dirty and stagnant water since it contains nutrients that water that is clean typically lacks. I love placing the container close to the ground especially next to a pond.
Mosquito larvae look like small wiggling organisms at the water's surface. To capture the larvae pour the contents of the container via a dipnet, wash them, feed your fish and restart the procedure with new water. Make use of an eyedropper should you just have a few mosquito larvae. Harvest your container weekly to preclude the larvae from turning into flying pests. Your fish goes wild when fed mosquito larvae.
Ants
They create a wonderful snack for larger fish, especially small black ants.
Equipment
A 1-quart container along with a paintbrush.
Level of effort
Easy. Look under rocks and logs for ant colonies. I prefer the smaller black ant species. Hopefully, you will find ants carrying their eggs. Take a clean paintbrush and gently whisk as many ants as you need right into a 1-quart plastic container. Take care to avoid damaging the ant nest and never take more than you'll need. Shake them into your aquarium to feed larger fish. Ants are climbers so only introduce a few at a time.
Houseflies
Though normally considered annoying pests, they can make good fish food.
Equipment
A good color (not see-through) soda cup having a clear lid, an ice chest with ice, watermelon, meat and scissors.
Level of effort
Easy. Few things attract houseflies much better than watermelon along with a bit of meat. Have a plastic soda cup and put a big slice of watermelon along with a piece of fresh meat in the cup. Leave the cup outside on the warm day and in seconds watch the flies swarm. Slowly approach the cup, and with lightning speed cap it with a clear lid. Chill the cup down to about 40 degrees in the ice cooler to slow the flies' movement. Examine the clear lid to watch the decrease in movement. Remove one fly at a time, clip off one wing and feed your fish. Wash well we have spent with flies given that they can transport disease.
Pond snails
When crushed, they make a pleasant treat for carnivorous fish.
Equipment
Tweezers, an aquarium or nearby pond for snails, aquarium net, scissors along with a plastic cup.
Level of effort
Easy. If you're lucky enough to get possess a snail-free aquarium, you will need to collect some from a pond or ask another aquarist for a few. Pond collection is easy. Take a look at shoreline vegetation and algae clumps for snails. Take only the thing you need. Most fish can't break with the tough shell so a little help is necessary. If making use of your fingers isn't an option, try tweezers. Remove any uneaten snails to avoid fouling your aquarium water.
Mealworms
These creatures are in fact insects instead of worms. Mealworms really are a wonderful food that require absolutely no effort to culture. Those are the “plug-and-play” of fresh fish food. The worm is actually a larva, which morphs right into a white pupae and ultimately becomes a black beetle. Newly hatched larvae are ideal for smaller fish, while larger larvae are well-suited for bigger fish, reptiles and birds.
Equipment
A 1-quart plastic tub, wheat germ, cracked flaxseed, carrots, potato and starter culture.
Level of effort
Easy. It's almost unbelievable how easy mealworms will be to propagate. Obtain a starter culture of six to 10 worms from another aquarist or purchase some in a store. Take 1/2 cup of cracked flaxseed and 1/2 cup of wheat germ, mix them and add to the 1-quart plastic tub. Place a bit of carrot along with a 1/8-thick slice of potato in the container and then incorperate your starter culture.
Put a screen cover around the tub and keep the culture out of sunlight, preferably inside a dim area. Keep the culture at 80 degrees watching the worms (larvae) first morph into white pupa then black beetles. The beetles lay eggs and begin the cycle again.
A few weeks following the beetle stage, take a magnifying glass to check out movement and a large number of tiny worms is going to be visible. These newly hatched larvae will grow to some period of about 1 1/2 inches during a period of many weeks.
White worms
These worms grow to around 3/4 to 1 inch in length and therefore are eagerly accepted by fish.
Equipment
A 1-foot by 8-inch-wide plastic storage box with perforated (small holes) cover, spray mister, tweezers, fine-mesh fishnet, compost, sterilized planting medium, wheat germ, instant potatoes along with a starter culture.
Level of effort
Easy. Fill the container about half filled with planting medium and compost mixture. Gently kneed in about a 1/2 cup of moistened wheat germ and instant potatoes. Add the starter culture of worms and canopy it. Make sure to put the box inside a dim area that is in the very low 60 degree temperature range.
Check your culture to make sure it does not dry up. I haven't tried this, but I've read putting a sheet of wax paper over the culture helps retain moisture. Use a spray mister to keep the culture moist. Use tweezers to harvest your culture. Another method would be to scoop a cupful of culture soil and put it into a fine-mesh fishnet and rinse under water.
Earthworms
They are located just about everywhere, especially after it rains. They make a fantastic food and therefore are eagerly accepted by fish.
Equipment
A plastic cup half full of sterilized potting soil, scissors and tweezers.
Level of effort
Easy. Absolutely avoid areas which have been given pesticides or herbicides. That usually means you should stay away from the soil in manicured lawns. Try looking in wooded areas or in meadows after an extended rain. Stick to the cultivation techniques described above for white worms.
I don't culture earthworms. I favor instead to seasonally collect them. Usually they need to be reduce small pieces because most tropical fish cannot eat such a large object. For people who're squeamish, place the worm in a freezer for some minutes after which snip it into small pieces. It's unlikely there will be any uneaten portions, but when you will find take them off in a timely manner.
Crickets
These insects can be purchased at just about any pet or bait shop making a great component to a well-rounded diet. They are able to be also collected in the wild.
Equipment
You may need a cricket cage (for temporary holding), a sizable collection net (1-foot opening), vitamin and mineral gel cricket food, 20-gallon tall aquarium (to avoid escapes), under-cage reptile heater, tight-fitting fine-mesh top, plant potting mix (unfertilized), ceramic coffee cup dish, cardboard egg carton, fruit and lettuce.
Level of effort
Easy. Go for a walk inside a meadow and look for crickets on the stalks of grasses along with other vegetation. Capture only what you could use in a day or two. Keep the cricket cage inside a dim section of your garage. Should you chose to propagate crickets, get it done inside your garage or outside during warm months to preclude escapees from driving you nuts at night with non-stop chirping.
Install the under-tank heater and set the 20-gallon tank on a stand. Keep your tank temperature at about 85 degrees. Add about 2 inches of plant potting mix and place the coffee dish in a corner. Place about 10 gel food cubes within the dish. Keep your gel food fresh as well as provide small chunks of fruit and lettuce. Give a starter culture of about 24 crickets, wait about one week then take away the adult crickets and employ them for feed.
Feeder fish
“Feeder” is a generic name for any smaller fish that is fed to some larger fish. Pet stores sell goldfish along with other inexpensive catch this purpose. But use caution when choosing feeder fish. Luckily, most suppliers and breeders take extraordinary steps to deliver disease-free, healthy feeder fish.
Some stores sell diseased fish because they pack thousands of feeder fish into disgustingly filthy tanks. Try to see if you're able to get the fish to simply accept alternative foods before investing time and energy into using feeder fish.
Equipment
A well-established 10-gallon quarantine aquarium and feeder fish.
Level of effort
Easy. Locate a good pet store that maintains feeder fish in clean conditions, and always quarantine feeder fish for two weeks just before introduction as a food. An alternative choice to purchasing feeder fish would be to propagate them yourself. I use two methods based upon me.
For tanks with smaller tropical fish, simply introduce guppies. Four female and 2 male guppies will provide a continuing stream of offspring. If you keep larger fish like cichlid fish, you will have to raise your feeders inside a separate tank. Make use of a 10-gallon, well-planted tank for propagating guppies.
Other Options
There are some alternatives for hobbyists who're not able to propagate their very own fresh live foods. Many pet stores sell mealworms, crickets, newly hatched brine shrimp and other live foods. Frozen foods provide another excellent choice. Most pet stores carry some frozen foods.
A tremendous supply of frozen foods is by catalog shopping. Look into the pages of this issue of FAMA for advertisers carrying frozen foods. Another supply of fresh foods is the kitchen. I feed our turtles plus some fish basically what we eat. Uncooked fruits, vegetables and fat-free meats are superb fresh produce. Just chop them up to the right size.
The advantages of supplementing a flake food diet with fresh and frozen foods are significant. Your fish will appear prettier, grow faster and probably live longer. As aquarists, we tend to concentrate on water quality and general environmental conditions, yet we very often disregard the need to provide our fish having a balanced diet. By providing them with food fresh produce, you will fix that lousy room service problem, and your guests will never wish to take a look at!
Posted By: Chewy Editorial
