# Live insects from my lawn, good or bad??



## ciachopoker (Sep 9, 2008)

I was doing some live food hunting in my yard, and have found some millipedes, pill bugs (rolly pollys), ants, flys, and other things, and I was wondering if it is safe to feed these to my cichlids on occasion as a treat. I read somewhere on about.com that seaching for worms and insects are good for omnivorous fish. Do these animals have any disesases or parasites I have to watch out for?

I have some sunshine peacock trio, yellow lab trio, convict trio, and a metriaclima zebra in my tank. Also how much should I be giving them if I want to feed them some of these insects/bugs? just a little or a lot?

Thanks


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Unless you can guarantee that the lawn has never had fertilizer, weed killer, or insect treatment and that no lawn around you has either (bugs move around) then I would say it is a bad idea.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

Really quick answer, no... it's not safe to go tossing random bugs into your cichlid tank. There are plenty of insects that could be used as food, and about as many that should not be. Since it's absolutely not necessary to feed "treats" like bugs, I'm going to oversimplify on this one and just say no.

If you'd like to feed a "treat" then squeeze some frozen peas until the shll pops off and put the insides of the peas in... the cichlids love em.


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## dogofwar (Apr 5, 2004)

I feed random moths, spiders, flies and other bugs to my cichlids as I find them (usually on our porch).

Ants and roly-polies don't taste good (acid/sour taste) to most fish, in my experience.

We don't use insecticide or weed killer on our yard.

In addition to the found bugs, I feed cut up super worms (giant mealworms), red wigglers (like smaller, more heat tolerant earthworms) a total of a couple of times per week. The staple food is Kensfish flakes and pellets (2-3X per day).

Bugs and red/earth worms are a much safer alternative than feeders or (live) aquatic worms, in my experience.

Too much of this type stuff can cause mbuna to get fat. Peacocks can eat a little more. Big haps like livingstoni and venustus and frontosa do great on it. A lot of central and south american as well. It's a great conditioner for breeding.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I would also advise against doing this, unless you can be 100% confident that the insect was NEVER exposed to any chemicals. If you don't raise the insects in a controlled environment specifically for this purpose then you can't be certain.

Not to mention that you might find yourself dealing with bloat or other gastrointestinal issues somewhere down the road by doing this... :thumb:


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