Fish Folk Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Just pulled my trash cans back away from the curb. Noticed some maggots in the bottom of one can… I’m looking for a straw poll: would you feed these to your mid-sized / large aquarium fish _occassionally_? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 If I was intentionally raising maggots on good food, yeah. I'd feed them to my fish. I'd be nervous about them from the bottom of a trash can though. It's possible there was something there that they've come in contact with (weed killer for example) that doesn't kill the maggots but could be harmful to the fish. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 @Fish Folk I wouldn’t feed those maggots for fear of potential for pathogenic bacterial or noxious chemical exposure, but like @gardenman, I absolutely would feed maggots that were raised clean with no risk of chemical exposure. I don’t actually know how, or if it can affect fish, but ducks and geese often have problems with botulism paralysis from eating maggots that were eating rotten meat (like a carcass from something that died in or near a pond). So I would avoid unknown maggots like this. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSH OUTDOORS Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Like mentioned above I would worry about what they were eating. I am looking forward to Ice fishing season around here so I can feed my extra wax worms to my fish. Wax worms are the larval stage of the Greater Wax Moth (Galleria Mellonella). They are between a quarter inch and 3/8 inch long and depending on the development about an 1/8 of an inch around. They are kept in saw dust and as long as you keep them below 60 degrees in a dry place they will keep for over a month. I can imagine my Angles and a few of the larger shellies going crazy for them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 (edited) @Fish FolkId give it a shot from my barrel there hasn't been a chemical in our trash bin since we swapped to the local company in 2019. I wouldn't go searching street barrels though 🙂 . I would assume nearly all fish will eat maggots if they come across them in the wild but I would probably test each batch of "appropriated from the wild foods" out on a cull tank to see how it went before I tossed them in to any of my breeding projects. An extra level of insulation from risks cant hurt. Raising clean larvae/maggots is essentially what I am now doing with the peanut beetle larvae. I just got them going so not many larvae yet. They have been EXTREMELY popular with the limited amount of consumers I have surveyed in the fishroom ( African Butterflyfish group and multicolor victorae mouthbrooders). Edited July 27, 2021 by mountaintoppufferkeeper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Like @mountaintoppufferkeeper said if there hasn't been any chemical waste in your trash I would pick them up, gut load them and let my fish pick at them. But even so much as an empty febreeze bottle or windex thrown away within the last year I'd steer clear. I said yes, but my yes has an asterisk 😋 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 back when i kept game fish, i fed sunfish and crappies maggots (name brand euro larvae. eurolarvae were fed clean dyed meat to give the maggies color for fishing attractant). i would however not feed maggots from the bottom of a garbage can. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 @Biotope Biologist yes with an * here as well. @Fish FolkIt wouldn't make you many friends but I bet its possible to toss some meat in a clean bucket and get plenty of maggots with known provenance if so inclined. I don't think I could do it here, pretty sure that would be the biggest Mrs Mountaintop veto possible on that one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 I wouldn't put the rotting stuff that maggots eat in my aquarium, but I bet maggots are fine as long as they haven't eaten something that is actually toxic. Do maggots do that? I don't know what the likelihood of that is. Does the maggot process the rotting stuff somehow so that it is no longer harmful? There might be some science I need to learn. I guess I wouldn't bet my fish on it without knowing more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 I read an article entitled "I Accidentally Ate Maggots, Now What?" It was about humans eating maggots. Sounds like its not a good idea. Another article, "Maggots for Aquarium Fish," says feeding fish maggots you buy from bait shops is OK. Not sure what the bait shops feed their maggots. All this brings back memories of drill sergeants calling me a maggot! I am literally shaking! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Yes, and I have done so in the past. The fish loved them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 On 7/27/2021 at 10:24 AM, HH Morant said: I read an article entitled "I Accidentally Ate Maggots, Now What?" It was about humans eating maggots. Sounds like its not a good idea. Another article, "Maggots for Aquarium Fish," says feeding fish maggots you buy from bait shops is OK. Not sure what the bait shops feed their maggots. All this brings back memories of drill sergeants calling me a maggot! I am literally shaking! having fed them, and worked in a bait shop for a few summers when i was young, i also knew the 2 guys mostly responsible for bringing maggots to the fishing market. maggots sold for fishing are raised in a clean environment, fed clean meat that is dyed to add color to the maggots. if i recall correctly (been a few years, well more than a few), at the time the maggots were imported from england. dave here is one of the guys, also a family friend, former neighbor, and i worked for him once upon a time. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountaintoppufferkeeper Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 @lefty o imported fancy maggots. Interesting that they are the number one selling bait and are used for fish people often consume themselves. Must be good stuff with the right food on the fly egg end 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 On 7/27/2021 at 12:10 PM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said: @lefty o imported fancy maggots. Interesting that they are the number one selling bait and are used for fish people often consume themselves. Must be good stuff with the right food on the fly egg end panfish love 'em, whether fishing or feeding the ones in your tank. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan W Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 On 7/27/2021 at 1:11 PM, lefty o said: panfish love 'em, whether fishing or feeding the ones in your tank. Came to say the same thing. Spikes are my all time favorite winter bait for panfish. I wouldn’t feed trashcan maggots to my aquarium fish but I have fed bait spikes to my tiger barbs before to see if they’d eat them. It was hit or miss…. You wouldn’t happen to be the same “Lefty” that frequents IceShanty would you? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Those look a lot better than some of the things crawling on the ground I had to eat while I was deployed in South America. What? Just sayin!🤷♂️ 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 I chose “yes” based on how clean the bottom of your trash can looks! 😀 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH Morant Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 OK, so maggots from Fish Folks' clean trash can look yummy compared to what ArmyVet ate in South America. Sounds good enough for my fish! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Some of the things I saw....Those bugs could carry you away kicking and screaming! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 Remember that what fish eat everyday in the wild isn't always pure and clean. Here is one of my favorite fishing spots for the tiny blue spotted sunfish: The Elassoma I fish for come from can come from some swampy, stinky waters full of all kinds crawly stuff. Not everything is a trout stream. 🙂 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 On 7/27/2021 at 12:36 PM, Ryan W said: Came to say the same thing. Spikes are my all time favorite winter bait for panfish. I wouldn’t feed trashcan maggots to my aquarium fish but I have fed bait spikes to my tiger barbs before to see if they’d eat them. It was hit or miss…. You wouldn’t happen to be the same “Lefty” that frequents IceShanty would you? nope, not me. i may have built a few hundred of the original Fish Trap's back in the day, ice fishing is not my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 If you rinse them off in cold water for a few minutes to get any chemical (If any) residue off of them, I see no reason why you couldn't feed them to Jack Dempsey's, large Angelfish, Discus, or Oscar's. Live maggots are best. The largest Bluegill I ever caught in my life was in FL, in a swamp, on a maggot that I had plucked off of some dead animal that morning ( I washed my hands). The Bluegill weighed 2.75 pounds, three pounds shy of the world record caught in S.C., but it's still my personal record. I agree with Daniel, not every great fishing hole is a Trout stream, a Salmon river, or a frozen over lake. Sincerely Gator 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 I’d feed these if someone else collected them for me! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 So yesterday was garbage day and when I retrieved the can I saw the thing just crawling with maggots. The bottom was a brown liquid oozie goo. The smell was so retched I promptly whipped up a cleaning concoction of fish soap and bleach. I guess I vote no on garbage can maggots.🤮 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted July 28, 2021 Share Posted July 28, 2021 On 7/27/2021 at 11:52 AM, lefty o said: at the time the maggots were imported from england You and your fancy imported maggots! Us regular folks have to scrounge our garbage cans for them, like @Fish Folk. Get them off the road kill. Regular domestic maggots are good enough for me, Mr. Upper-Crust. I don't need any of those hoity-toity, Euro-trash maggots. Nope. Not me. 😜 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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