One of the best ways to provide your fish with a healthy diet is to purchase live foods. The right live foods can help you to get even hard-to-feed species to feed, and they can also be used to populate refugiums with microcrustaceans. Live foods are especially good for filter-feeding invertebrates and larval marine fish. Read on for more information about the best live foods available for your tropical fish.
Contents
Dero worms
The kings of live tropical fish food have come and gone in the past decade or so. Tubifex and Daphnia both fell from favor as they contained harmful parasites. But now, a new king has risen: the Dero worm. Also known as the Microfex worm or Dero digitata, the Dero worm is foolproof, nutritious, and an environmentally friendly source of live tropical fish food.
The Dero worm is quite a large, green, and thin worm for adult fish, but is not so big that it is not edible to fry. You can culture these worms with Daphnia or other fish, as their waste is a favorable environment for the proliferation of infusoria. Also, you won’t have to maintain multiple large aquariums with green water, and you won’t need to invest in 24 hour lighting.
Fruit fly colonies
Buying fruit fly colonies is the cheapest way to add the insects to your aquarium. They are easy to cultivate and are a great treat for your fish. Fruit flies are larvae and will soon start to crawl around your tank. After a few days, they will change into pupae. The exact time required for the development depends on the temperature of your tank, but the entire process should take no more than two weeks.
The first thing to do when you buy fruit fly colonies for your fish is to select a suitable container for the larvae. A one-quart or a one-litre fruit jar works perfectly, although a glass container is recommended since you can boil it prior to use. A clean cloth will also come in handy during the culture process. Keeping the larvae alive requires a little care, but they are worth it!
Mosquito larvae
When you’re looking to add some excitement to your aquarium, you might consider buying mosquito larvae for your fish. This type of food is easy to raise yourself, but it’s expensive. First, you must separate males from females. Female mosquitofish will quickly give birth to numerous fry. If there is a threat to the fry’s well-being, the female may delay delivery. However, she’ll often ignore the fry and avoid fighting.
Once the larvae hatch, it’s unlikely that your fish will eat the dead ones. Mosquito larvae are known as “wrigglers” because they come to the surface frequently to breathe. As they grow, they shed skin. However, fish won’t eat dead larvae; if you discard them, you’ll be left with a pile of algae. Also, mosquito larvae look like they have antennae, but these are siphon tubes for breathing.
Vinegar eels
You can buy vinegar eels online for less than PS6 a piece. These fish are completely harmless to humans and can be safely fed to a variety of aquarium inhabitants. The only requirement for them is to be kept at room temperature or slightly cooler. It is a good idea to start more than one culture, as you can alternate the two as the population grows. These fish can also be fed to fry, which are not yet fully grown.
When buying a starter culture, choose one that is easy to keep. A 2 quart jar will be sufficient for a colony of vinegar eels. Mix one part apple cider vinegar and one part de-chlorinated water. The jar should be kept at room temperature or on a shelf away from direct sunlight. The wine bottle contains the primary culture and the larger container contains the backup culture. Once the primary culture has reached a stable population, the aquarium can be left without feedings for up to two years. The backup culture should still contain enough vinegar eels for a new start.
Sea monkeys
You can keep a sea monkey in an aquarium by following the package directions. While they don’t require a lot of food, they do prefer a temperature between 75 and 81 degrees. Although they can survive outside of this range, they prefer a slightly warmer water temperature for hatching. It’s also not advisable to keep a tank full of carbonated water. It may contain fluoride and minerals.
The sea monkeys’ preferred food includes flakes, pellets, and small organisms. You can purchase live foods from a pet store. If you cannot find live foods, you can also feed the sea monkeys with pellets and flakes. These food sources are available at local pet stores. Sea monkeys are very clean creatures. They will not poop or leave waste behind in the aquarium. If you notice any sign of foul odor, it’s time to clean the tank.
Tubifex worms
If you’re looking for the best tropical fish food for your tank, then you should purchase Tubifex worms. These worms are larvae of a type of fly. They can be purchased as live Bloodworms at most pet stores. They’re high in protein and can be fed to your tropical fish as a staple diet or as a treat. You can also buy freeze-dried Tubifex worms.
If you’re a beginner to tropical fish care, it’s best to start out small and add several types of live foods to your tank. These worms are great for planted aquariums because they colonize substrate and spread nutrients among the plants’ roots. In addition, guppies can reproduce in planted tanks, but be sure to give them space to hide from predatory fish. Once they’ve been colonized, your tank will be full of healthy and happy fish.
