Just woundering on something!

[zao]

Hey people,

I was just woundering on something, I read that some people like to use Mosquito Larvae as a free natural food source for fish. So my question is that is that a good idea? I would be afarid that there might be some kind of bug on it, I would hate to see it harm the fish.

 

[TankGirl]

If you propagate your own mosquito larvae they are wonderful, but you have to be very careful not to be propagating dragonfly larvae - they are dangerous in your tank. You just need to research what the larvae look like and cull the nasties. It is actually a very effective way to control mosquitoes in your yard during the warm months, since all the adults will want to lay eggs in your container, but none of the babies will make it to adulthood, assuming you feed them regularly.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Yesterday I went to the LFS and asked them where I could purchase live or frozen mosquito larvae. I was told to put a bucket full of water in my backyard during the warm season and I would harvest my own. He then informed me that I would have to risk the west nile virus. There are at least 5 people and many animal's that are killed in our area every year because of the WNV. Is it really safe to harvest your own?

 

[bound_for_obx]

Check with your local laws concerning leaving stagnant water laying around. More and more localities are starting to have issues with it. Locally they run radio spots in the summer telling people to empty the water out of old tires and other places where water might collect.

 

[TankGirl]

If you are collecting the larvae every day, you are going to help control mosquitoes. It only becomes a hazard if you forget.

However, there are so many nutritious foods available out there, live, frozen and processed, that it might not be worth the trouble.

 

[BrianNY]

Sometimes the risk out weighs the reward. I've collected earthworms for larger cichlids, but I wouldn't collect any other live food for my fish. The probablity of introducing other unwanted chemicals or pathogens is just too great. JMO

 

[zao]

Yeah see that is what I was woundering on that, would it really be safe just in case they have some kind of bug on them, that could harm the fish. I current, use nightcrawlers and bloodworms at night for my fish. I just thought that it be would a little nice treat and some vitetory for them durning the summer months. So in my opinion I think that there is a little too much risk to try that. But on the other hand you are still controling the mosquitoes population.

 

[zao]

hehe, a little side note, I got my fire eel trained where he will meet me at the top, to get a night crawler, that I dangle a little bit of it in the water, and grabs it out of my hand!

I think that is the most coolest thing in the world. That you can train a fish like that, to be able to know that it is feeding time, and be able to kind of take it out of your hands.

 

[FishLover14]

I wouldnt do it just buy bloodworms, shrimp or tubifex worms.

Dan

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Zao- I just purchased freeze dried blood worms from the LFS. They are pretty cheap and the fish absolutely love them. I bought a half ounce container of Balance Blood Worms for $1.99

 

[millipede]

harvesting your own mosquito larva is completely safe. The only thing I would be careful of is, like mentioned above, remember to keep havesting them so you're not releasing a bunch into your neighborhood and when you do collect them try to collect them a time of day when mosquitos aren't that active.
Basically, as far as west nile is concerned... Mosquitos don't carry the virus until they've bitten something already infected such as a bird. The disease is not passed onto their offspring so baby mosquitos from an infected adult will not pose any risk. The chances of being bitten by an infected mosquito are low enough and only 1 out of 150 infected people show severe symptoms. It's possible many people here have been bitten and will never know it. On top of that it is believed that once infected you can develop an immunity to the disease.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/transmission.htm just some info on it. browse the entire site or do a search on the site. There is tons more info there. Like I said, babies don't carry the disease. The reason they want to eliminate breeding grounds is because the more adult mosquitos there are, the higher the risk of being bitten by an infected adult. anyway, the news likes to scare people. I say go for it. I use to harvest my own for my frogs. I'd put a container with larva in their tank and they'd turn into adults in the tank which the frogs loved but I couldn't open the tank until they were all gone That's the only reason I stopped doing that. All that said... GO for it.