Live foods that can live in an aquarium

[fishandting]

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I was wondering about which critters or live food sources could be 'seeded' into an aquarium before adding any fish, to establish a big enough colony to act as a food source. Not necessarily the main food source, but at least an extra snack for the fish maybe....

Due to an extremely unfortunate heater malfunction, I now have an established and planted 34 litre tank with a soil and sand substrate, with no fish in it, only cherry shrimp, amano shrimp and snails.

My idea would be to introduce some critters and allow them a bit of time to establish a colony for a week or two before buying more fish.

I previously had scarlet badis and found them only took frozen or live food, which got me to thinking of a food source within the tank.

Does anyone have any experience or ideas on this front?

Thanks in advance

 

[tam]

Generally the fish will just gobble anything up much faster than it can reproduce, particularly in a small tank. Baby cherry shrimp and amano larva will act as a food source already. Separate cultures would work better if you want a reliable supply of live food - grindel worms are my favourite.

 

[fishandting]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I did wonder whether they would stand a chance at survival!
I might give grindal worms a go, just wanted to maybe add a few more critters too to add some variety

 

[Glass Box Diaries]

Depends on the size of the fish you plan to keep but other than what you already have in there:

• Water Lice (Asellus Aquaticus)
• Scuds (Gammarus pulex)
• Seed Shrimp

The first two species are native to the UK too so dont need a heater.

I have all three in my room temperature 29 gallon and they seem to be doing well so far.

 

[dw1305]

Duplicate post

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

• Water Lice (Asellus Aquaticus)

I'm an <"Asellus fan as well">, they are a really good tank janitor. It is a shame they aren't a bit <"prettier">.

• Scuds (Gammarus pulex) .... I have all three in my room temperature 29 gallon and they seem to be doing well so far.

They may be <"Crangonyx pseudogracilis">, these look like Gammarus spp., but are much more tolerant of high temperatures and low oxygen levels - <"https://www.reabic.net/journals/mbi/2014/3/MBI_2014_MacNeil.pdf">.

If you bought them? They are likely to be <"Hyalella azteca">, all three Amphipods look superficially similar.

Bugs you might encounter in your aquarium

• Seed Shrimp

I have all three in my room temperature 29 gallon and they seem to be doing well so far.

I like Ostracods as well, although they tend to <"boom and bust"> a bit in the tank.

Cheers Darrel

 

[mort]

I have asellus persist in my tanks (non heated) but I think that's mostly because I have some pebble piles which they can use as a refuge. I haven't had any fish in that tank for quite some time and they were at it like rabbits all summer, so have quite the population.

 

[Little]

I put some black worms into my filter sponges and occasionally see a tiny white micro worm pop through the filter outlet. The Betta noms them up as they stay stuck in the water column for a good while. Won’t put a dent in his feeding requirements but it’s a bit of enrichment for him.