Breeding live bait

dsaavedra

wild fish keeper
Dec 27, 2008
213
0
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does anyone here breed live bait like worms, crickets, or minnows for their carnivorous fish? how do you get started?
 
Several types of terrestrial and aquatic worms can be easily grown; look up 'worm farm' to find plenty of information on cultivating earthworms. White worms and black worms can also be grown indoors.

Many insects with aquatic larvae, such as mosquitos, chironomid midges (bloodworms), and chaoborid midges (glassworms), will lay eggs in a bucket of water placed outside. Crush up a handful or two of grass clippings or other vegetable matter in the bucket; this encourages the growth of the protozoans on which the insect larvae feed. Somewhat similar methods can be used with the terrestrial black soldier flies ('phoenix worms) and fruit flies.

As mentioned, livebearers are an excellent source of fry. Some egg-layers such as convict cichlids and fathead minnows are also prolific and easy to breed.

Some kinds of shrimp, such as red cherry shrimp, are reliable breeders. Other easy-to-raise crustaceans include amphipods (scuds) and daphnia.

Crickets aren't too hard, but they do tend to be smelly and noisy. Tropical roaches are easier, silent, and odorless.
 
You can add daphnia to the list of easy fish food to keep. I have a culture going in a 10 gallon that produces quite a bit of food regularly. It started from a small culture I picked up at a club meeting. I figured that for what I paid, I could just feed what I got and come out even compared to buying live food. Now that I have them growing and reproducing, they give me lots of daphnia to feed every couple of days and they don't die if they don't get eaten. They continue to feed the fish until they all get eaten. Adult daphnia live for over a month in plain tank water so if you see any in your tank, don't feed the fish that day and there won't be any the next day.
 
Notopthalmus is dead on.

Mary Apelhof wrote a little book called "Worms Eat My Garbage" a long time ago and this got me into raising Red Worms for my Fish. Great food and easy to do plus there are other benefits. I do not know if the book is still available but the NET should make it even easier and less expensive, just Google it.
 
Just get a compost and pile all your food and paper towels etc, and eventually ou open up the bottom and you find a huge colony of worms, thats what I do.
 
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