Live Foods for Fish, Birds and Reptiles
Crickets
Blackworms
Woodies
White worms
Earthworms
Mealworms
Brine shrimp
Microworms
Fly pupae
Crickets
Suitable for birds, lizards, turtles, larger fish, frogs, small snakes.
Crickets contain the protein and roughage that these animals would naturally obtain in the wild, and are usually more nutritious than the soft-bodied live foods in this respect.
Crickets can be kept in the containers in which they are sold for a couple of weeks, provided that a fresh piece of carrot is supplied every couple of days. This provides the moisture needed to keep them alive. In addition, crickets will need to be ‘gut-loaded’ before feeding to your animals. To do this, place a teaspoon of CRICKETFOOD in with the crickets every few days to make sure that the nutrient levels remain high within the crickets themselves. If you fail to do this, it means that you are essentially feeding just the shell of the cricket to your animals.
If you need to keep your crickets for longer than about 10 days, then place them in a small container with a close fitting lid with ventilation (a small plastic tank with lid is ideal). Place vermiculite on the bottom of the tank, along with a small container of water. It is a good idea to put a small piece of a green scourer in the water dish so that the crickets do not drown. Keep a small amount of food in the container.
To feed, just place the container in the fridge for about 10 minutes to slow the crickets down before opening the lid.
Blackworms
Suitable for small to medium fish.
Blackworms are a highly nutritious food to feed all types of fish (except African cichlids, which should not eat ‘red’ meat). They improve growth rates in fish, improve colour, and may stimulate breeding by improving the condition of the fish. Blackworms are commonly mistaken for tubifex worms, which can be a vector for disease. However, our blackworms are disease free and cannot pass any diseases on to your fish. But best of all, live blackworms are the cheapest and most economical live food with which to feed your fish.
Blackworms need to be kept in the fridge, in a margarine-sized container, with just enough cold water to cover them. It is important to leave the lid off as they need plenty of airflow (don’t worry – if kept cold, your worms will not climb out of their container). The water should be changed every day or two – just pour on more cold water, let the worms settle to the bottom, then pour off as much water as you can. Providing you follow these steps, blackworms will live for about 2 weeks in the fridge.
The best way to feed blackworms to fish is by using a worm cone feeder. This prevents the worms from sinking to the bottom of the tank too quickly. However, any worms that do make it to the bottom will live in the gravel and catfish in the tank will generally eat them.
Woodies
Suitable for fish, frogs, lizards and insectivorous birds.
Woodies are native cockroaches that in nature are found under dead wood or tree bark. They do not carry diseases, and they are not a pest species. They are one of the best larger live foods available, especially for lizards. They are ideal to feed to lizards that are fussy eaters.
Woodies will remain alive in the supplied container for quite a length of time as long as a piece of carrot is supplied every couple of days to provide moisture and food. It is also a good ideal to place some CRICKET FOOD in the container every couple of days to make sure that the nutrient levels remain high within the woodies.
When feeding woodies to animals, it is best to slow them down by placing the container in the fridge for about 10 minutes before taking the lid off.
White Worms
Suitable for small fish, frogs, and small turtles.
White worms (Enchytraenus albidus) are a high protein food, especially suitable for feeding young fish. It has been found that by feeding fish white worms, the digestive system of the fish is stimulated to better utilise dried flake food.
White worms should be stored in the fridge. The container is designed to be stored upside down. To feed, remove the container from the fridge and turn right side up. There should be a number of white worms attached to the lid. This can be rinsed in the tank, or placed in the vivarium with the lizards. Replace the lid when finished, and return the worms to the fridge. By repeating this, a tub will yield about 10 feeds. Higher yields can be obtained by taping over the air hole after 8 to 10 feeds and ensuring that the container is opened daily.
Earthworms
Suitable for larger fish, frogs, reptiles and axolotyls.
Earthworm tubs contain a mixture of red and tiger worms and African night crawlers of different sizes.
Store Earthworms in a cool, dark location, and as long as the soil remains moist, they will last for weeks. When ready to feed, place the earthworm container in a brightly lit area (not direct sun light), and the earthworms will move to the centre of the container, thus making them easier to locate.
Mealworms
Suitable for birds, lizards, larger fish.
Mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) are the larval form of the Tenebrio beetle. They are an excellent food for many animals, being easy to feed and to keep. Mealworms are available in two different sizes – regular mealworms (approx. 2 cm long), which are suitable for most animals, and mini mealworms (approx. 1 cm long), which are ideal for finches and other small birds or reptiles.
Mealworms are packed in bran flakes, and will live for a long time if stored in the fridge. Replace the bran flakes as needed. If stored at room temperature, they will only last about a week before metamorphosing to the beetle. To get the most out of your mealworms, it is a good idea to mix some CRICKET FOOD in with the bran flakes so that the nutrient levels remain high.
You can feed mealworms to birds and lizards by transferring them to a glass or crockery bowl with 5 cm slippery sides to prevent their escape.
As mealworms have a chitinous exoskeleton, excessive feeding of mealworms can cause blockages of the intestinal tract. Thus, feeding a few times a week is usually sufficient.
Brine Shrimp
Suitable for fish and aquatic reptiles.
Brine shrimp (Artemia sp.) are a salt lake shrimp. Live brine shrimp are much more nutritious than frozen brine shrimp, and much more enjoyable for the fish.
If feeding brine shrimp to marine fish, just place the shrimp into the tank. What the fish don’t eat straight away will live in the tank until they get eaten. If you have a powerful filter, it may be a good idea to turn it off for about ½ hour so that the shrimp do not get sucked up into the filter.
Brine shrimp will not live very long in freshwater (although they will usually be eaten by the fish before having a chance to die!). If feeding for freshwater fish, set up a container with sea water and an airstone, and place the brine shrimp in there. If you change the sea water every 4 days, they will live for 1-2 weeks. You can then just scoop out a small amount for your fish.
If you have baby fish, you can also hatch your own brine shrimp. This is an extremely nutritious food for baby fish, and will almost guarantee a fast growth rate.
To hatch brine shrimp, fill a 1 litre glass bottle with water, add a tablespoon of aquarium salt, a pinch of pH up, and a small quantity of brine shrimp eggs. Put an airstone in and leave for 24 hours. After this time, take the airstone out, and place in a well lit position, preferable with a strong light source shining into the middle of the bottle (such as a desk light). The empty egg shells will float to the top of the bottle, and the brine shrimp babies will become attracted to the light. The babies can then be siphoned out into a very fine mesh sieve, and fed to the fish. Often a bottle of hatching brine shrimp will last for a day or two, depending on the number of fish being fed.
Microworms
Suitable for feeding small fish and raising fry.
Microworms are an extremely small worm that is an ideal food for feeding any fish fry, as well as smaller aquarium fish.
Culturing them is very easy. You will need a small plastic container with a lid (such as a margarine container). Punch some holes in the lid for ventilation. Then add some baby cereal and water to the container, and make to about the consistency of breakfast oatmeal. Sprinkle a little pinch of yeast on the top, then add the starter culture of microworms.
If you keep the worms at a reasonable room temperature, in about 3-4 days the worms will start to crawl up the sides of the container. To feed to your fish, simply wipe your finger around the sides of the container then wash your finger off in the aquarium.
When the culture begins to slow down, sprinkle a pinch more yeast on the top and add a bit more cereal. However, sooner or later you will need to start a new culture.
Fly Pupae
Suitable for frogs.
Live fly pupae makes feeding frogs easy. Just put some of the pupae in a container in the frog enclosure, and then let the pupae hatch out into the fly. The frogs will just love trying to catch the flies as they hatch.
Any remaining fly pupae can be kept in the fridge until you wish to use it.
Other live foods often available....
Vinegar Eels, Infusoria Cultures, Silkworms
There is also a wide variety of frozen foods available to suit all sizes of fish, as well as reptiles and some species of birds. Ask us what may be best for your animals.