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.

 

[fishandting]

Thanks to all for the replies.

I'm thinking I'll try a few different things at the same time...

• black worms in the tank to see if they'll take to the substrate or filter
• a separate culture of worms (grindal, white or maybe vinegar...)
• try to get hold of some asellus or gammarus type bugs and see how well they multiply/survive

The only fish in the tank will probably be 3 tiger dario or scarlet badis. Possibly some chilli rasbora but not sure

 

[RickyV]

I would consider using an HOB breeding box with a live food of choice. I think blackworms or microfex/dero worms are a good option, here is a post with some information on Learning about Blackworms. I have found the care of the microfex to be the same as the blackworms, but they reproduce much much faster. This way you will have worms come out of the box on occasion to give the fish a treat.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

try to get hold of some asellus or gammarus type bugs and see how well they multiply/survive

Give me a PM when you are ready, I will have spare.

a separate culture of worms

Because you intend to keep small fish, I'd <"definitely culture"> Micro, Walter or Banana Worms (Panagrellus spp.) You only need one of the three options.

cheers Darrel

 

[Ratvan]

Thanks to all for the replies.

I'm thinking I'll try a few different things at the same time...

• black worms in the tank to see if they'll take to the substrate or filter
• a separate culture of worms (grindal, white or maybe vinegar...)
• try to get hold of some asellus or gammarus type bugs and see how well they multiply/survive

The only fish in the tank will probably be 3 tiger dario or scarlet badis. Possibly some chilli rasbora but not sure

I can vouch for the janitors packs that @dw1305 is offering. I have a couple of windowsill jars with some Frog Bit that these colonise, every now and again I turkey baste up a section of the population and feed my fish with them.

I have also found that they have populated the filter sponge in the rear section of my Fluval Evo so I have introduced bath scrunchies into these sections so i can swish these and the associated Gammarus into the display.

It also might be worth looking into a Copepod Hotel (was the rage when I was reefing) i DIY'd one myself with sections of corrugated plastic stuck together instead of spending money on something just as ugly. The idea is that this can be hidden in the display and provides shelter for the Copepods to populate the tank and not get decimated instantly