Can fish eat ants?

[theotheragentm]

I ask, because I am new to fish, and I also happen to have an ant problem. No, I'm not trying to figure out if I can get away without buying fish food, but it seems like fish will taste any floating object around, including their own waste. If they eat the fry, why wouldn't they eat ants? I'm curious.

 

[Ryna]

I don't think it's been tried. I would assume it's ok. Ants aren't poisonous or anything. They may bite however

 

[Esra]

Should be fine if the ants are dead.
If the fish swallows the ant live then the ant could bite inside the fish which could cause problems.
Ants inject acid when they bite so i'd maybe put the ants in the freezer for a while before feeding them to the fish.

 

[theotheragentm]

Interesting. Perhaps I will put one in just to see. Too bad you can't get ants to just walk into thte water. Automatic feeder.

 

[tropicalfish]

Well don't use red ants... try teeny black ants.

 

[Puriti]

My fish have attempted to eat ants in the past that have fallen into the water or were on the edge trying to drink from it. IME they either didn't eat them or didn't have any problems. They were carpenter ants...the big black ones @__@

 

[Lonewolfblue]

A friend of mine fed larger ants to his Oscar, and you could hear the oscar crunching on the ants, lol.

 

[7Enigma]

I would be worried of constipation from the exoskeleton of the ants. Several species are also poisonous. I would probably not put ants in the tank IMO. "Softer" animals such as baby crickets/worms/flys are a better choice as they will be easier on the digestion and probably offer similar nutritional value.

During the spring/fall we get very small baby crickets after I'm done mowing the lawn and I'll catch a couple. My tiger barbs go NUTS over them!

 

[Guest]

In the summer, I throw ants in the tank all the time. The black Ohio kind(I dont know their scientific name). I never had a problem and I think the fish appreciate it. I also throw in crickets or small worms, the fish fight over them, running around the tank with a worm while the other fish chase it and try to steal it. It is in a fishes nature to eat insects and live food is good for them. Totally natural.