collecting live food: tips and advice

[belleora]

Haven't been culturing live food recently, but I stumbled upon some mozzie larvae and what I think might be bloodworms (or are they?) in a bucket of sand I was about to rinse that had collected rainwater.

I've seen bloodworms in my pond before, but I don't collect food from there since there are some unwanted critters and my goldfish might eat them too. These ones, though, are more segmented and caterpillar-like, with a brownish hue rather than red. The fish love them, and they seem harmless, so I'm happy to feed them.

There were plenty of mozzie larvae, plus a sneaky adult mozzie that I caught when I brought the bucket in. My main concern is about these green egg things - some are huge, and I'm not sure what they belong to. They're not plant-related, and they don't look like dragon or damselfly eggs. I also found a mix of intact and empty egg cases.

I sifted out the worst of the debris, netted the worms, mozzie larvae, and the eggs I couldn't avoid, and added them to the tanks with fish that would take care of them. I skipped the tanks with shrimp or fry, just in case. But, my plecos gobbled them up like treats.

My long fin green dragons and white bristlenose went crazy for them, and the pygmy cories and mixed tank got a live food treat too.

[belleora]

I've been struggling to find a more efficient method for sifting out the live food I want to collect - it always seems to come with a fair amount of dirt and detritus, even after I've netted, rinsed, and re-netted it to remove the worst of the muck and check for any mini predators. Still, it's worth the extra effort, as the fish absolutely love it.

The next day, I did have to give all the tanks a quick sweep with the gravel vac to pick up any leftover muck that the filters hadn't caught. It was also Levi's first time trying live food - he's always been a fan of frozen bloodworms, but he's never really paid attention to frozen mozzie larvae. Since he's gotten used to coming to me for food when I touch the water with my fingertip, I thought it'd be fun to hand-feed him live food instead of just feeding the whole tank.

I ended up using tweezers to drop a worm or mozzie larvae in for him one at a time - a bit tricky, but it was nice to see what he likes best and to let him feed from the surface and mid-water. He still enjoys his Bug Bites and treats of frozen bloodworms, but there's something special about being able to give him live food whenever I can.

[belleora]

Speaking of dragonfly and damselfly larvae, I had an encounter with one of these guys when I was clearing excess plant from the pond - I accidentally scooped him up, and I figured, why not take some photos in the wild birds' water bath while I had him. He's a great example of just how big these little predators can get, and why they're a risk to shrimp, fry, and tiny fish - they're quite the formidable hunters.

I released him back into the pond afterwards, no harm done. I don't want them in my tanks, but they're a natural part of the pond ecosystem.

[graye]

I've always had a thing for dragonflies, and yesterday was no exception. I lugged two kayaks down to the lake's edge, but my lower back was having none of it, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the view while my wife and her friend took to the water. The Canadian diaphanous killies were a nice bonus, but the real stars of the show were the big, red-brown dragonflies. They're just incredible creatures.

In the wild, they're amazing, but in my tanks, they've never been much of a concern. From what I've seen, they mostly feed on micro-organisms, and I've never lost any adult fish to them, or even many fry for that matter. Of course, @belleora's experiences might be different, given the vastly different environment and local wildlife.

I've always been a bit laid-back when it comes to live foods. I try not to overdo it with the mosquitoes, since those larvae can grow up to be a real nuisance if they make it to adulthood. I steer clear of collecting from pools with fish, though - that's just asking for trouble, disease-wise.

It's interesting to think about how different our environments must be, @belleora. I can only imagine the unique challenges and opportunities that come with collecting live foods in Australia. It's a good reminder that we've got to be mindful of the local wildlife and learn about the creatures that live in our waters.

[infold]

I've always had a thing for dragonflies, and yesterday was no exception. I lugged two kayaks down to the lake's edge, but my lower back was having none of it, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the view while my wife and her friend took to the water. The Canadian diaphanous killies were a nice bonus, but the real stars of the show were the big, red-brown dragonflies. They're just incredible creatures.

In the wild, they're amazing, but in my tanks, they've never been much of a concern. From what I've seen, they mostly feed on micro-organisms, and I've never lost any adult fish to them, or even many fry for that matter. Of course, @belleora's experiences might be different, given the vastly different environment and local wildlife.

I've always been a bit laid-back when it comes to live foods. I try not to overdo it with the mosquitoes, since those larvae can grow up to be a real nuisance if they make it to adulthood. I steer clear of collecting from pools with fish, though - that's just asking for trouble, disease-wise.

It's interesting to think about how different our environments must be, @belleora. I can only imagine the unique challenges and opportunities that come with collecting live foods in Australia. It's a good reminder that we've got to be mindful of the local wildlife and learn about the creatures that live in our waters.

I'm still skeptical about this mosquito larvae turning on you thing. I've heard it before, but I just can't buy into the idea that some would survive in an aquarium, make it to adulthood, and then start biting you. It sounds far-fetched to me.

[graye]

I've always had a thing for dragonflies, and yesterday was no exception. I lugged two kayaks down to the lake's edge, but my lower back was having none of it, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the view while my wife and her friend took to the water. The Canadian diaphanous killies were a nice bonus, but the real stars of the show were the big, red-brown dragonflies. They're just incredible creatures.

In the wild, they're amazing, but in my tanks, they've never been much of a concern. From what I've seen, they mostly feed on micro-organisms, and I've never lost any adult fish to them, or even many fry for that matter. Of course, @belleora's experiences might be different, given the vastly different environment and local wildlife.

I've always been a bit laid-back when it comes to live foods. I try not to overdo it with the mosquitoes, since those larvae can grow up to be a real nuisance if they make it to adulthood. I steer clear of collecting from pools with fish, though - that's just asking for trouble, disease-wise.

It's interesting to think about how different our environments must be, @belleora. I can only imagine the unique challenges and opportunities that come with collecting live foods in Australia. It's a good reminder that we've got to be mindful of the local wildlife and learn about the creatures that live in our waters.

I'm still skeptical about this mosquito larvae turning on you thing. I've heard it before, but I just can't buy into the idea that some would survive in an aquarium, make it to adulthood, and then start biting you. It sounds far-fetched to me.

Meet me at my fishroom tomorrow evening, but don't forget the citronella and a swatter. I've had the misfortune of witnessing it twice this year – those sneaky mosquito larvae somehow made it to adulthood in my tanks, the same ones where my fry thrive, surrounded by floating plants and duckweed. I strolled into the fishroom, and suddenly, I was under attack.

[WildFins]

Haven't been culturing live food recently, but I stumbled upon some mozzie larvae and what I think might be bloodworms (or are they?) in a bucket of sand I was about to rinse that had collected rainwater.

I've seen bloodworms in my pond before, but I don't collect food from there since there are some unwanted critters and my goldfish might eat them too. These ones, though, are more segmented and caterpillar-like, with a brownish hue rather than red. The fish love them, and they seem harmless, so I'm happy to feed them.

There were plenty of mozzie larvae, plus a sneaky adult mozzie that I caught when I brought the bucket in. My main concern is about these green egg things - some are huge, and I'm not sure what they belong to. They're not plant-related, and they don't look like dragon or damselfly eggs. I also found a mix of intact and empty egg cases.

I sifted out the worst of the debris, netted the worms, mozzie larvae, and the eggs I couldn't avoid, and added them to the tanks with fish that would take care of them. I skipped the tanks with shrimp or fry, just in case. But, my plecos gobbled them up like treats.

My long fin green dragons and white bristlenose went crazy for them, and the pygmy cories and mixed tank got a live food treat too.

I've been experimenting with collecting live food, and while it's a bit of a process, I've found a method that works for me. My collection bins tend to get pretty dirty - lots of algae, leaves, sticks, dead bugs, and even the occasional slug.

I use a large brine shrimp net to swish around in the water and then rinse it in a separate bucket of clean water. Of course, that net picks up a lot of debris, so I repeat the process a few times to try and get as much of the unwanted stuff out.

After that, I use a turkey baster to carefully catch the mosquito larvae and bloodworms, separating them from the dirty water and transferring them to a clean container. When I'm all done, I get rid of the dirty water by pouring it onto the driveway - just in case I missed any larvae.