Spiders as food?

K

kwl718

AC Members
Feb 2, 2007
25
0
0
63
I've got a 15 gallon going for my four year old, it was fishless cycled and we've had five little danios of various kinds (zebra, leopard, Glofish...) for three weeks and they've been doing great.

We feed them tropical flakes and the occasional bloodworm treat.

Well, my husband told me today that he's been throwing spiders in the tank when he finds them around the house and that the fish have been eating them.

I'm not sure what kind of spiders they are, little brown ones.

Is it OK for the fish to be eating these? He's been doing it for about a week (unbeknownst to me) and so far they seem OK.
 
probably fine. i do it too.
 
Personally, I wouldn't feed the fish random bugs found around the house only because you don't know what chemicals or other harmful substances could be on them that might affect your fish negatively.
 
Ruben Tolon said:
Personally, I wouldn't feed the fish random bugs found around the house only because you don't know what chemicals or other harmful substances could be on them that might affect your fish negatively.
Click to expand...

I agree. It is always exciting to find a new natural food source for your fish but more harm than good could be done here.
 
i would think that spiders and other invertabrates are more sensitive than fish to any kind of chemicals that may be lying around the house. feeding dead insects would be a bad idea, but live ones should theoretically be chemical free. think about the surface area of a little house spider's body - the minute amount of chemicals that could even be present on the insect without killing it is nothing compared to all the residues on our own hands - soaps, perfumes, hair products, etc. . .
 
wataugachicken said:
i would think that spiders and other invertabrates are more sensitive than fish to any kind of chemicals that may be lying around the house. feeding dead insects would be a bad idea, but live ones should theoretically be chemical free. think about the surface area of a little house spider's body - the minute amount of chemicals that could even be present on the insect without killing it is nothing compared to all the residues on our own hands - soaps, perfumes, hair products, etc. . .
Click to expand...

Yes, but those chemicals are not so directly ingested as those found in or on insects. Keep in mind that some toxins are designed to poison slowly (like ant poisons that are designed to be carried back into the hive to poison the whole anthill) and just because it's not toxic to the spider or corrosive to its hard exoskeleton doesn't mean it won't be to your fish's delicate insides.

And as far as size goes, feeding a spider to your fish... depending on what size your fish are... is like a grown person eating a ham sandwich with bug repellant all over it. Or popping a piece of candy that's been sitting next to a leaking battery. Of course that depends on what chemical could be on said critter. But just because a tiny spider or ant is minute to us doesn't mean that the proportions would be minute to a 2-4 inch fish.

Yes, I'm discussing extreme circumstances here... and personally, I had been known to toss flies, ants, and spiders in my own tanks when I was younger. But it's good to understand that there is a risk involved, especially if the tank in question were to pop up with a few mysterious fish illnesses or deaths. It would be something to take into consideration with such a circumstance. That's all.
 
just be careful...back in my Physics class in college the professor was doing an experiment with the radioactive particle beam. a spider happened to pass thru the beam. it then bit my friend Peter, who then left rather urgently as he wasn't feeling very well.... I wonder whatever happened to ol' Pete?
 
:laugh:

OK, if the fish start scaling walls and shooting webs from their fins...I'll get really worried.

I'm not very concerned about chemicals. We don't use any insecticides around the house or yard...kids and dog and cat and indiscriminate use of poisons don't mix. We're not clean freaks either, so there's no beach, ammonia and other noxious cleaners all over every surface. Mostly what there is some dirt (from lack frantic of scrubbing) and bugs (from lack of insecticide).

As long as a little spider once and a while won't choke the fish or make them sick, I won't have to yell at my husband about this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom