For healthy growth and active life of aquarium fish, it is necessary not only to monitor the purity of water and its chemical parameters, but also to organize proper nutrition for them. Fish, like people, prefer a varied menu, but, unlike humans, they cannot find any food on their own, especially when they are in the limited conditions of a closed ecosystem. Thus, the owner of the aquarium will have to organize a balanced diet for aquatic inhabitants.
Basically, aquarists give fish ready-made dry mixtures, presented in a large assortment in specialized pet stores. But in addition to such a product, fish also need to be given live food created by nature.
In the article, we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of live feed for aquarium fish, what types of feed are best to use, how to feed fry and adult fish, how to store live feed.
Is it worth feeding aquarium fish with live food?
This type of feed product combines various invertebrate microorganisms living in natural reservoirs. They contain useful vitamins and easily digestible protein. They can be served in their natural form – alive, moving. They are hunted by fish, which allows them to preserve their natural instincts and receive a tasty and useful delicacy as a reward. Live microorganisms are also available in dried and frozen form.
Pluses
Live food is an excellent food product for aquatic inhabitants of a closed ecosystem.
Let's highlight its main advantages:
nutritional composition;
with proper use, it does not pollute water as much as a dry product;
supports the natural instincts of floating inhabitants of a closed reservoir;
helps fish to give healthy offspring.
Cons
However, there are some disadvantages that novice aquarists should be aware of. If you choose low-quality live food, there is a risk of fish poisoning. This is due to the fact that its composition may contain harmful and toxic substances, carriers of infections, etc. The greatest danger is live food caught in reservoirs located within the city limits and in environmentally polluted areas.
Who needs live food?
Such food is an integral part of the diet of aquarium fish, which belong to predatory breeds.
It is also necessary for fry, since they perceive only moving objects as food.
Popular types of live food for aquarium fish: names and descriptions
Live food is a whole group of living microorganisms that are obtained as the main food by fish in their natural habitat. Some types of such food are also used to feed fish living in an aquarium.
Moth
These are mosquito larvae containing more than 60% protein. They are small bright red larvae with a size of 5 to 20 mm. Such a product ensures rapid growth and healthy development of aquarium fish. It is the most popular type of live feed used as a supplement for fish.
Important! The moth may be stale or infected with parasites. When choosing such food, pay attention to the mobility of the larvae and their color. When touched, they twist into rings.
How to determine the freshness of a moth by color:
bright red indicates that you have an exceptionally fresh product;
light red indicates the immaturity of the feed, such a moth can quickly die and become unsuitable for feeding fish;
a dark cherry shade appears in old larvae, which are clearly not suitable for feeding fish, as they can cause severe poisoning.
So, if a fresh moth has already been purchased, it must be properly prepared before treating the floating inhabitants of the aquarium.
How to do it:
rinse well under water;
stay at home for three days;
prepared feed is given to fish in small portions;
stock of live feed can be stored in the refrigerator, previously wrapped in a damp cloth;
Before feeding the fish, the frozen food is washed under cold water.
Make sure that the larvae do not get stuck in the soil. Fish will not be able to get it there, which will lead to decomposition and rapid water pollution.
Coretra
Aquarium fish can be fed transparent mosquito larvae – koretra. However, such feed is not always available for sale.
Features of koretra as live feed:
it is considered absolutely safe food, as it is not a carrier of infections and toxins;
contains only 40% protein, so it can be used as a supplement, but not as the main feed (supplement to the diet).
Specialists do not advise feeding live koretra if there are fry in the aquarium. Transparent larvae eat fry of some species.
Trumpeter
A fairly common fodder product. It is a small filamentous red worm. They are caught in silty soils of natural reservoirs.
It can be purchased in a ready-made form at a pet store. Before the sale, it is placed in an 8-day quarantine. During this period, the intestines of worms are completely emptied of their contents, which makes it the most safe and useful food product.
You can store the tuber in the refrigerator for several weeks. The feed is very nutritious, but with frequent feeding and overfeeding, it causes obesity in fish.
Important! You can’t feed live tuber fish to fish if it hasn’t passed quarantine. Due to the remains of the contents in the intestines, it becomes highly toxic and can cause severe poisoning.
Daphnia
Daphnia is an excellent feed for fish. This is a small freshwater crustacean that feeds on algae and various microorganisms in its natural habitat. It contains about 50% protein. Excellent for feeding fry.
Pros and cons:
it is possible to store in a refrigerator for two weeks, placing the living mass in a jar with water;
feed caught in natural conditions may contain dangerous parasites and infectious agents that cause disease in fish.
Such food should be chosen very carefully in order to exclude any risk of infected aquatic inhabitants. Give daphnia fish exclusively of proven quality from reliable suppliers.
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