# live food?



## mamospreng

What kind of live foods can I feed me cichlids? I have a jd a jewel and a convict. I think the feeding if live food is cool because it is natural. I know about brine shrimp but what else? Would they east small crickets of the to of the water? Would it be safe to try? Any other ideas?


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## lucid_eye

I would suggest not doing live fish, in my experience the feeder fish you buy at the store are infested with diseases.


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## mamospreng

*** heard that. Not necessarily live fish just something?


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## Chromedome52

Smaller cichlids will also eat redworms, which are a great source of protein. Really fun to watch them go after worms, and if you get a tug of war going it can be hilarious. Readily available at bait stores, or you can culture your own. White worms and Grindal worms have to be cultured, can be a bit tricky, but they are great for Apistos and other Dwarf Cichlids. High fat content, which for some reason encourages egg production in females.

Some Cichlids will go to the surface and eat small insects, but with the group you have I wouldn't use them.


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## mamospreng

ok just thought that would be cool i'm also a fisherman and live to see fish eat off the top of the water.guys I stuck with the worms then...if nobody has Amy other crazy ideas?

What does everyone else do for live food? Or am I the only one who thinks its cool?


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## lucid_eye

I love to watch them devour live food, but there just aren't many options.


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## 13razorbackfan

I feed my peacocks/haps fresh dug earthworms in the spring/fall/summertime. I feed it to them once a week and they LOVE....I mean LOVE it.


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## mamospreng

I have done that its great to watch them tug at both ends. Only seen it twice but a sight to see.


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## 13razorbackfan

mamospreng said:


> I have done that its great to watch them tug at both ends. Only seen it twice but a sight to see.


Yep...


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## zanardi

I used to have larger mouthed fish like Tin Foil Barbs and Silver Dollars. I would routinely feed them freshly killed common house flies and live brown ants on occasion. They seemed to enjoy both and both were a readily available treat during the summer season.


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## mamospreng

I couldn't stand it. At the per store and picked up the crickets. Everyone loved them they couldn't get enough! I have never seen them hit the top of the water so hard. Don't think I'll do out very often but maybe once in a while to show off :dancing:


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## chadott

You could always grab a small tank and grow your own feeder fish. That way you would know they aren't full of disease. (and another tank to watch :thumb: )

They also sell (and you may have to find these online) flightless fruit fly cultures. They are small, but would be a nice treat for your fish once in a while. Or the crickets!

I'm sure you can find all sorts of worms, small insects, ants, etc. around when it warms up. Just make sure you are collecting from a pesticide free spot. Collecting anything "wild" to put in your tank should be done with caution.

Have fun!!


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## BillD

there are any number of aquatic insect larvae such as mosquito larvae, bloodworms, glassworms, as well as daphnia which can be cultured. Even though some of these may seem small, larger fish will still eat them. It depends on where you are and time of year as to the availability of them. Small earthworms are also excellent and redworms are easily cultured at home, being fed vegetable scraps. I culture daphnia on my winter swimming pool cover, and feed vast quantities of them as well as all the bloodworms and whatever else turns up.


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## chadott

BillD said:


> I culture daphnia on my winter swimming pool cover, and feed vast quantities of them as well as all the bloodworms and whatever else turns up.


OK, do you mean you culture them over the winter on the cover outdoors? Or do you mean you set it up in the summer when you are not using it to cover the pool?

Will cichlids such as the ones he mentioned eat microworms? If he's breeding them, I would suggest a culture of those. They are easy to keep, easy to feed, and work great for any kind of small fish. I don't know why a jewel wouldn't eat them! And of course, the obvious brine shrimp is always enjoyed by just about any fish!


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## mambee

I have a plastic trash container on my fire escape that I was using to soak a piece of driftwood. I got a summer's worth of mosquito larvae, bloodworms, and daphnia.


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## BillD

chadott said:


> BillD said:
> 
> 
> 
> I culture daphnia on my winter swimming pool cover, and feed vast quantities of them as well as all the bloodworms and whatever else turns up.
> 
> 
> 
> OK, do you mean you culture them over the winter on the cover outdoors? Or do you mean you set it up in the summer when you are not using it to cover the pool?
> !
Click to expand...

As soon as the ice melts, which be a week or so, the culture will start on the cover, and will last until I open the pool. I originally seeded the cover in the spring of 1995, with daphnia, and have had them every spring since. The insect larvae are from natural production of the various insects, which may lay eggs in the fall or spring. I get enough daphnia to keep them in front of the fish 24/7 until I have to open the pool. I usually freeze up about a half dozen small freezer bags as well. I believe that most winter pool covers will harbor a variety of insect larvae such as mosquito larvae and bloodworms as well as several other varieties of similar aquatic insect larvae. i deliver them to the basement via siphon to the floor drain and screen them off.


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## muffinman10938

I am culturing micro worms for my fry and white worms for my bigger cichlids. I am also about to start a culture of scuds to feed my bigger cichlids. I am able to harvest the scuds in a nearby creek.


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## Fish Jerk

They like just about any bug or fish, I've even seen them snap flies and mosquitoes out of the air once or twice (even saw a tetra do it once).


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