I have gouramis, tetras, danios, cories and ottos. what would be a good live food to possibly feed them? Would brine shrimp be good? and if so, would the frozen brine be better, or would actually live brine shrimp be good? I have heard that feeding your fish live foods once in a while is very good for them so I am really interested in finding out what some of the people here feed these types of fish (gouramis, tetras, danios, cories, ottos). Thanks in advance for any info.
what kind of live foods are good?
- Thread starter jujubee
- Start date
I'm a big believer in live foods- people, fish, dogs...
That being said you need to use foods that you are relatively certain are not fouled or full of parasites. Hatching your own brine shrimp is a very good idea- the newly hatched shrimp are especially nutritious. After they have been alive a few days they consume their own yolk sac and are less nutritious- most people "gut load" them before feeding them to their fish. This just means you feed the brine shrimp full up on something really good so their tummies are full of goodness when they get eaten
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I also use and recommend California Blackworms from Aquatic Foods. These are farmed worms are are extremely clean and economical. I buy a pound a month and all my fish get them- tetras, discus, marine fish and inverts, and even young goldfish get a few each month.
I've also purchased all sorts of food cultures from The Aquaculture Store, and Florida Pets - I'm sure there are many others.
Aside from live I personally use mainly frozen foods. Most LFS have a good variety, they store well, and the fishies love 'em. Variety is important in nutrition so feeding lots of different types is the way to go.
Good luck- and thanks for caring about nutrition- it is mostly overlooked when we discuss husbandry.
That being said you need to use foods that you are relatively certain are not fouled or full of parasites. Hatching your own brine shrimp is a very good idea- the newly hatched shrimp are especially nutritious. After they have been alive a few days they consume their own yolk sac and are less nutritious- most people "gut load" them before feeding them to their fish. This just means you feed the brine shrimp full up on something really good so their tummies are full of goodness when they get eaten
.I also use and recommend California Blackworms from Aquatic Foods. These are farmed worms are are extremely clean and economical. I buy a pound a month and all my fish get them- tetras, discus, marine fish and inverts, and even young goldfish get a few each month.
I've also purchased all sorts of food cultures from The Aquaculture Store, and Florida Pets - I'm sure there are many others.
Aside from live I personally use mainly frozen foods. Most LFS have a good variety, they store well, and the fishies love 'em. Variety is important in nutrition so feeding lots of different types is the way to go.
Good luck- and thanks for caring about nutrition- it is mostly overlooked when we discuss husbandry.
thanks for all the info. I was reading in a magazine that feeding live foods is very good for the fish so I want to try it. I think I have to stick with the frozen food since I still live at home with my parents and my mom wouldn't appreciate any worms and such in the house, and I already have 2 tanks set up so I can't get another to make into a brine hatchery. What if I found a pet store that sold brine shrimp, would that work? Thanks again for the info.
You wouldn't need another tank to hatch the brine shrimp in. Just a 2 liter bottle. there's probably an article in www.thekrib.com
I'll look and post a url if I can find one.
[edit] here it is-- far more information than prudent
http://www.thekrib.com/Food/brine-shrimp.html
I'll look and post a url if I can find one.
[edit] here it is-- far more information than prudent
http://www.thekrib.com/Food/brine-shrimp.html
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I have Cardinal tetras and Rummy nose tetras and they love to be fed live brine shrimp. My LFS gets a fresh supply every Thursday, and that's when I buy them. I only have them a couple of days because they love them so much.
Fish do much better on live foods than on a flake diet. One of the very best id Daphnia, but the only thing is that you cannot collect it out of the wild like they did in the "old days" of the aquarium hobby. The water were they live is almost always polluted not so they are hard to get a hold of. but they are grow commercially and sold live by some LSFs. Another good choice is blood worms, fish love to eat these wriggle little beggers! My fish prefer live blood worms to another food that I give them. Also another GREAT live fish food is earthworms! these guys are often overlooked as a valuable food source for fish, mine love'em(even herbavorus fish will eat them)! if your fish are not big enough to take a whole chunck just cut them up, they are a good, easy, and costless method of live feeding your fish. Also another great live food is mosquito larvae, they are very easy to get a hold of, all you need to do is put a bucket(ice cream buckets work well) in a shaded, grassy corner of your yard or something, and they'll show up! The one thing you have to be careful of with these guys is not to put too many in your tank at a time, or you will have a house full of mosquitos! If you can't do any of these things LFSs usually have a great selection of frozen foods for your fish.
With your fish - largely community - you can feed them frozen brine or bloodworms. For live food, anything more than live brine shrimp is a waste of money. You can do it, but you only have Tetras.
Q: what kind of live foods are good?
A: Have you ever read "A Modest Proposal?"
Just kidding
Fish fry make excellent live food. For smaller fish, if you keep a small bunch of guppies they'll breed nearly constantly and the young are good food for small-ish fish.
A: Have you ever read "A Modest Proposal?"
Just kidding
Fish fry make excellent live food. For smaller fish, if you keep a small bunch of guppies they'll breed nearly constantly and the young are good food for small-ish fish.
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