Alternatives to commercial fish food

[Hamish]

I could not find a thread like this in the forum so thought I would start one. Moderators - please combine with another thread if there is one that I did not see :)


Ok - I will kick off by listing what I have caught wind of people using.


Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Larvae - (see specific thread on this subject)
Lupins (hulled seed)
Duck weed (see specific thread on this subject)
Lettuce/silverbeat/other leafy greens
Moringa
Feeder roaches


I am using growing BSF Larvae and duckweed. My fish love the duck weed but they are too small to eat the BSF Larvae unless I cut them up which is messy.


I have purchased a couple of twigs that are suppose to be moringa - lets see if they grow some leaves for the fish to eat! Suppose to be good protein and vitamin source.


My fish are also too small for the leafy greens. Lupins are suppose to be a very good source of protein - and cheap by the sack.


I am also feeding comercial pellet.

[Murray]

Worm farm
UV electronic insect catcher hung over the tank.

[GaryD]

.....or just a low wattage light hung over the tank. The insects beat themselves to death on the light and fall straight into the fish tank.

.
.....but they are too small to eat the BSF Larvae unless I cut them up which is messy.
Try freezing them first......they are easier to cut up and they hold their shape better when they hit the water.

Gary

[Hamish]

I am wondering if these wax worms are in Australia - and if anyone has tried breeding them for fish food?

http://www.wormman.com/pd_lesser.cfm

[Hamish]

Here is an interesting article on a meal worm breeding system using simple plastic boxes and bran http://www.finchsociety.org/cfa/livefood/mealies.htm

[Murray]

I have a small meal worm system which was given to me by Jonty.

It produces a steady supply, but would be a lot of work to produce a heap of them for a couple of hundred fish for example.
Not self harvesting like BSF.

[echidna]

I am wondering if these wax worms are in Australia - and if anyone has tried breeding them for fish food?

http://www.wormman.com/pd_lesser.cfm

Those "worms" are the larvae of the wax moth and would be devastating to the Australian bee and honey industry. Not the best thing to breed. I suspect that AQIS and DPI would lock you up for a long time if you tried to import them.

[Hamish]

I would never import anything living to Australia - I will only ever grow what I can buy locally.

[Hamish]

Check this out - complicated version of the light under the water trick but I bet it kills a lot of bugs!

http://www.cleanponds.com/buglite.htm

[Dufflight]

Has anyone tried blending up different plants and fish and pouring it out on a tray to dry and make flakes out of. Some of the fish food I get from stores looks home made. Could make a mix of worm and veggie scraps. And they wood store better dried as a flake or a pellet.

[Hamish]

Sometimes I find dried worms on the path that have perished in the sun. The fish love them if break them up and drop them in the tank.

[Hamish]

Wonder if these solar bug zappers would be any good suspended over the fish tank to provide suplemental feed to the fish?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Solar-Power-Insect-Killer-Mosquito-Mozzy-Fly-Bug-Zapper_W0QQitemZ320289346879QQihZ011QQcategoryZ149252QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZVie wItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

[Dufflight]

I think a solar powered light over the water would have the same effect. Plus if the insect is alive when it hits the water the fish can find it easier. And less bits.:D Also it is good to get the insects into the water before they find your GB's.

[GaryD]

Hi,



Wonder if these solar bug zappers would be any good suspended over the fish tank to provide suplemental feed to the fish?



Bug zappers virtually incinerate most insects......the light over (or in) the tank is the better way to go.

Gary

[Eri B]

Hey guys,

i was just wondering will meal worms hold their nutritional value if they were
frozen??? I ask because my understanding is that they will only reproduce in warmer temperatures and unless I used a heater of some kind I cannot see myself getting a year round supply. So I was thinking of growing them over summer and then freezing them for winter use?? similar to the BSF larvae??

Also will native fish ie. silvers eat brine shrimp?? I have raised brine shrimp for my tropical fish in the past and while they are very small the fish seem to thrive on them.

And again does anyone know how to breed blood worms??? i have seen that people on here use them as a suppliment but I was interested in possibly breeding my own. Although it may be too hard....

Also what kinds of foods do native fish eat that you could suppliment their food with? are things like chicken or shrimp or other fish and veggies able to be used if they are in small enough portions or blended before being made into pellet form?

Or are they really mainly fed on manufactured ingredients with long winded names???

Again i'm new so i really don't know a lot past my experience with indoor aquarium fish.

Thanx erica

[Murray]

Hi Eri B,
A long time ago I tried Chiken, kangaroo meat amd minced beef. The fish did eat it but not with any great gusto. I feel that commercial pellets that contain only fish meal, soy meal and wheat meal such as those produced by GroBest are the easist way to go.
Pellets are easy, but perhaps not the ideal.
Black Soldier fly is also excellent. Search the forum for that....Gary has a long thread on that subject.
Insects have some value.
Worms are excellent, but a bit of work.
Jade and Silver perch and particularly Jade perch love lettuce leaves and the like.

[gtpratt]

Hi,



Bug zappers virtually incinerate most insects......the light over (or in) the tank is the better way to go.

Gary

I agree with you Gary, also from experience bug zappers require quite a lot of power to attract insects over any real distance and the solar powered ones have almost definately had the picture touched up to make it look more bright than it really is.

Look at the solar cell, lets presume it is a 1-2 watt panel the sun hits it and charges the batteries for a full 12 hours with losses in conversion of power etc it is unlikely that there would be any real zap in it.

I would invest in a LED light bulb over the water and run it for a few years very effectively before you come even close to the cost of the solar zapper.

Sorry we used to have a solar powered house and I can tell you it was many thousands of dollars in basic equipment to get a reasonable supply of light and basic power. So please forgive my skepticism.

I did see a mozzie drowner that had a light behing a small down draught which caused the insects to be pushed into a bowl of soapy water, could replace the soapy water with a fish pond and this would give some excellent food.


Kindest regards.

Gra.

:)

[Hamish]

Not a bad idea Gra.

[J3ffG1ll]

Eri B,

Did you find an answer to your question on MealWorms? I'm curious because it seems like a reasonable alternative to commercial fish food.

They grow well and can be cultured pretty easily.

Thanks,

[GaryD]

Hi J3ff,

I've tried mealworms and my experience suggests that there are much easier ways to get animal protein for your fish or other microlivestock.

I found that breeding mealworms produced little in the way of larvae and a stinking mess whereas BSF larvae are without parallel when it comes to bio-conversion of manure, plant residues and food scraps into clean animal protein. The larvicast (which retains 50% of its original protein level) can be used to grow out worms which means you get two crops of animal protein for the same lot of manure or food waste feedstock......and you get the worm castings as an additional bonus.

Depending on the species you keep, duckweed should also be on your list of DIY fish ration ingredients.

Gary

[J3ffG1ll]

Excellent, thanks for the info Gary (and quick response!),

I'm a little hesitant on the BSF, because I'm actually thinking of setting up my system in the basement. Won't I be introducing flies into the house?

[whubbard]

Hi All
I have just received some organic fish food from
Dr Michael Evans
Technical Director/Principal Nutritionist
Applied Nutrition Pty. Ltd.
Mob: +61 (0)418 659 423
Tel: +61 (0)7 3206 2568
Fax: +61 (0)7 3206 2756

He made it for the perceived market of mainly aquaponics and has not been able to sell it.
Because it has no preservatives it has now become weevil infested so he is unable to sell it.
He offered a 20kg box to me for free as long as I picked it up and the fish love it.
I think the weevils add to the flavor.
In talking to him at length he is quite passionate about our system and the development of sustainable and organic food production.
I spoke with him regarding specialized diets and he is happy to make new batches of 1/2 ton so If the group wants to put a register together and get commitments to produce another lot then it could be a great and simple answer to the whole organic thing.
I suggested that another proposition might be producing an organic dry base that once mixed with BSF could be run through a mincer and then dried in a cheap dryer to produce a proper balanced diet for our fish.
He was very excited and though this a great idea.
Given that the BSF has a lot of moisture it would solve a rendering problem for the BSF growers.
It would also seem more stable to provide small lots of powder than large lots for produced feed.
He suspects this could be very simple given the BSF composition of a lot of the right amino acids already..
Up for discussion so over and out
Wayne

[aussieap]

Hi whubbard.
I bought a shipment off Michael some time ago and managed to move most of it and used the rest. I would add my support to the products he produces. Fish do well on it and they like the flavour.

[Moby]

Hi all,

I set up a very small system on the weekend. My first attempt. I am wondering if the gold fish can be fed Wandering Jew? Will it posion them?

Any help is appreciated.

Moby

[froggo]

Hi everyone,

has anyone tried brine shrimp?

God bless froggo.