# Moths a healthy snack?



## Critter1990 (Mar 22, 2012)

A moth flew into my tank tonight and before I could get it out my two young JD destroyed it! Should I be nervous about this? Are my fish going to get sick? I did notice right after eating the moth one of my JD took a red poo? Anyone with information or suggestions please help!


----------



## hanky (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm sure in the wild they eat what ever they can get, probably a nice little protein filled snack for them.


----------



## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

fish eat bugs naturally. I'm planning on introducing mine to live food like that soon


----------



## Critter1990 (Mar 22, 2012)

Thanks guys!! About how old do you think it is ok to introduce live foods such as criketts or worms to JD? They seemed to really enjoy that moth!!


----------



## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

We feed ours flies, earthworms, mealworms, crayfish and minnows. They love live food.


----------



## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

Sounds like your JD was in the right place at the right time! I am currently feeding all the inchworm caterpillars I can find to my angels, etc. They seem to like riding in on my clothes when I return home. It's a one way trip.


----------



## Critter1990 (Mar 22, 2012)

z1200 How old and what size are your JD?


----------



## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Some say you shouldn't feed live food because it might introduce disease while it may true to some extent fresh food likely has more vitamins etc which can lead to better health and in turn, resistance to disease. After all you can imagine it being recommendable for a human to eat a diet made up of only processed food? It may be better to avoid fish sold as 'feeder fish' which are kept in very poor conditions and often disease carriers. Breeding your own or catching wild food is a better option. Frozen food like blood worms are also good. Just remember that meaty foods will always make more mess and are harder to provide a balanced diet with so it is usually advisable to stick with pellet or flake food as the base and give live or frozen food as a supplement.


----------



## smileyjoe (Sep 16, 2012)

I had a 55 gallon community tank for about five years. It was next to my desk and i saw a moth fly in through the gap in the filter one day. After that a few danios pecked at it before i could remove it. After that my fish started rapidly dying one after anotherand water changes or medication didn't help. I have been terrified of moths since then.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I feed all manner of bugs to my fish. It brings them into spawning condition. They weren't invented in fishtanks, they were caught in the wild and are still adapted to their wild diet.
What no fish adapts to is insecticides. I use none in my gardens or on my lawn, and have no farms close to where I live. If an insectide carrying bug stumbled into your tank, you could lose a fish, but that's unlikely. 

I had guppies in an outside pond all summer. I fed them twice. When I brought them in 2 weeks ago, their colours had to be seen to be believed. They were big, healthy, stunning and in larger numbers than I put out in the Spring. All bug fed, and wonderful for it.


----------



## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Many breeders start their young fry on live foods as soon as they are old enough to eat. Bettas as one example are not very easy to raise without microworms baby brine shrimp grindal and daphnid cultures as first foods.


----------



## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

majerah1 said:


> Many breeders start their young fry on live foods as soon as they are old enough to eat. Bettas as one example are not very easy to raise without microworms baby brine shrimp grindal and daphnid cultures as first foods.


Sometimes I think I get a bigger kick out of growing Micro worms than the frye I feed them to.


----------



## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

:fish10::betta::betta::betta:


majerah1 said:


> Many breeders start their young fry on live foods as soon as they are old enough to eat. Bettas as one example are not very easy to raise without microworms baby brine shrimp grindal and daphnid cultures as first foods.


Sometimes I think I get a bigger kick out of growing Micro worms than the frye I feed them to.


----------



## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I've known aquarists to culture mealworms, ants, whiteworms, grindal worms, wingless fruit flies (from labs), crickets, redworms, earthworms, vinegar worms, live artemia, daphnia, mosquito larvae, bloodworms, microworms and other fish for their pets. I've known people who set up bug zappers to collect food for their fish.
People collect aquatic bugs, flying bugs, all kinds of bugs for fish to eat.
Almost every one of them has had a lot more success than people who bought processed fishfood. I use a lot of flake, but I love feeding live food to my fish. They flourish with natural foods. That moth was a treat for your fish.


----------

