Cultivation of some common live food

Earthworms are some of the most complete sources of food in nature. These worms are
full of vitamins, roughage and calcium. They have rich supplies of proteins too. Fish that
are fed on earthworms grow at a very fast rate. Large fish like the Cichlids will eat the
adult earthworm in whole, while medium size fish will eat worms that are an inch or less
in length. The very small fish species will need the worms chopped or shredded.
Earthworms are blind, but light sensitive. They will burrow into the soil to avoid light.
They are also temperature sensitive, and will drown if their home is flooded. Earthworms
prefer a rich, clay free soil. You can feed them with decaying vegetables and eggshells.
Do not over-feed the worms, as this will turn the soil sour. The simplest way to culture a
small quantity of worms is to gather some very heavy sacking on the ground. This should
be in a shady spot. The area should be kept moist. Some scraps of vegetables should be
placed in between the sack and the ground to encourage the growth of the worms. When
you need the worms, just lift up the sack and remove the worms that cling to the sack.
Microworms are fairly easy to cultivate too once you get a fresh starter. Transfer your
starter culture to a large container. Maintain a temperature between 65-75 degrees. Prick
small holes into the lid for air exchange. Any cereal-based media, including cornmeal or
oatmeal or even baby food, can be used for the microworms. Mix about one spoon of
brewers yeast to the culture. The yeast should be mixed in slightly warm water. In 3-5
days, you will see that the worms have filled the surface of the medium and will start
climbing over. These can then be collected using an ice cream stick. Rinse the worms,
and then feed the worms to the fish using a baby eyedropper. One excellent side benefit
of culturing your own microworms is that you can add liquid vitamins to the culture.
Whatever you feed the worms will go directly to the fish too.
The larvae and adult specimens of fruit flies are another hot favorite among fish. You
should not use the maggots supplied by your nearest fishing store. The reason being that
these larvae are specially bred to be bait; they will have toughened skins as well as
chemicals in them. Cultivation of maggots is best suited for the summer months. Make a
few holes in a plastic container. These holes should be big enough for the flies to enter.
Make some smaller holes at the bottom of the container, and place a small piece of fish or
meat within the container. Place this in a large container and put it in a shady part of your
garden. Within a few hors, flies will start visiting your container and would have laid
their eggs on your bait. After a few days the larvae will start coming out of the inner
container. These can then be collected and fed to your fish.
Water fleas or daphnia are an excellent supplementary food. They can be given once
every week to the fish. They are a rich source of fiber. A starter culture of Daphnia can be
store-bought or captured from the wild. Take a shallow container, clean it thoroughly and
fill it with alkaline water. The container should receive plenty of sunlight, but not left
exposed to the sun all day. Now, add the fleas. Various substances like rotting lettuce,
green water or yeast can be used as food. Do not add too much of food, since the water
will foul up and the fleas will die due to a lack of oxygen. Gram flour is one of the best
substances for food. Mix the flour well with half a liter of water. Add this mixture to theculture. The culture will look cloudy now, but the bottom of the container will still be
seen. Within a week, the container will be filled with fleas that can be netted and fed to
the fish. Daphnia are sensitive to the presence of other life forms in their water, and even
algae should therefore be kept out of the medium while culturing Daphnia.
Brine shrimp is another excellent food for fish. They are available in 3 forms: live, frozen
or freeze-dried. The eggs of the brine shrimp are easily available for home cultivation.
The shrimp that come out of them are excellent food for fry, while adult Brine shrimp can
be fed to adult fish (and to very large fry). The exoskeletons of the Brine shrimp are
excellent sources of fiber.
Cyclops is another tiny animal that can be cultivated at home and that is a good food for
large fry and small fish. Cyclops cannot be used as food for small fry as they attack the
fry.
Insect larvae of Bloodworms, White and Black Mosquitoes, and Meal Worms are also
good fish food. The larvae of black mosquitoes are especially good as they are full of
vitamins. In some fish species, these seem to trigger the spawning process. Mosquitoes
can easily be bred in standing water, and their larvae can be caught and fed to the fish.
Flies, Crickets, Back swimmers and Beetles can also be caught easily and fed to your
larger fish. Several types of mollusks, including snails, can be used as food for larger fish
like the Puffer fish. Goldfish and guppies are widely used as feeder fish. Larger species
relish these, but feeder fish can be carriers of diseases or infection. Proper care should be
taken before using them as food.
Frozen food can be made at home using some of the vegetables and meat from the
refrigerator. Here is a favorite recipe: Mix 1 tablespoon each of parsley, carrot shaving,
green peas and oatmeal cereal with 5 oz. of shrimp and fish filet. Add 2 tablespoons of
brewers yeast, 3 drops anise extract and keep 3 packets of gelatin ready for use. Puree
everything except the gelatin in a blender. Dissolve gelatin in warm water and add this to
the pureed mixture. Let the mixture sit for a minute or two, before pouring it into bags.
Lay the bags in the fridge to chill for a day. After a day in the fridge, move this to the
freezer. Cut the food into chunks and feed the fish.