Mealworms as food?

[Smiling Paul]

Hi all,

I have a culture of mealworms that I use to feed my Yellow bellied slider as a treat. Are there any fish that I could also feed with them?

Thanks 🙂

[Rube_Goldfish]

Considering that bloodworms are also insect larvae, and that earthworms are also a favored treat of some fish, I imagine any omnivorous or carnivorous fish big enough to swallow one would likely love mealworms. I assume the mealworms would drown pretty quickly if they weren't eaten right away, so I'd start my experimenting very small at first and be prepared to scoop dead, unbeaten mealworms out if it doesn't work.

If you try it, do please report back here, I'd love to know your results!

[Guppysnail]

I wouldn’t see why not. Though I never had this problem with my reptiles or amphibians when I fed meal worms, I have heard the chitin (exoskeleton) can cause some blockage in them when fed these to heavily. For this reason I would not overfeed those to fish. I can also verify they drown fast. So a one at a time removing any that got missed quickly so it does not foul the water. 
I’m tagging @Odd Duck and @Biotope Biologist for thoughts on feeding these and the possibility of the exoskeleton causing issues since it much crunchier than things like scuds and shrimp. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Odd Duck]

I think if they’re not overfed and only given as part of a varied diet, you’d be fine feeding them as a treat, or no more than a couple times a week for insectivores or omnivores. If only fed to fish large enough, the heads shouldn’t cause an obstruction, but select worms wisely.  They should easily fit in the fishes mouth whole.  If the fish has to chew it to get it down, the heads could be higher risk for obstruction if not chewed enough.  You can grab freshly molted larvae so the chitin is less of an issue.  You can always pluck out smaller larvae for smaller fish.  I agree with @Rube_Goldfishand @Guppysnail about feeding one at a time and quickly removing any not eaten.

[Biotope Biologist]

@Odd Duck thats smart. Definitely the white ones with a not fully formed exoskeleton! Just for ease of cleaning. I know even my beardie had trouble digesting mealworms. Some whole segments would be left in his feces.

 

As for fish I assume it’s fine. I used to train oscars with crickets, a beloved meal for them. They will do ANYTHING for a cricket. So a mealworm would likely be fine. 
 

Some fish prefer terrestrial insects over aquatic ones, my trout have definitely nabbed a few flies and spiders that tried to go for a swim.

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 12/31/2022 at 7:16 AM, Guppysnail said:

I have heard the chitin (exoskeleton) can cause some blockage in them when fed these to heavily. For this reason I would not overfeed those to fish.

That's interesting, because (I think) I remember having heard that the indigestability (that's a word, right?) of chitin makes it act like insoluble fiber would in our human digestive system and help, uh, push things out.

On 12/31/2022 at 12:05 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

...my trout have definitely nabbed a few flies and spiders that tried to go for a swim.

You keep trout?!

[Biotope Biologist]

On 12/31/2022 at 2:03 PM, Rube_Goldfish said:

You keep trout?!

Well orange fin hill trout. They are closer related to minnow and Danio than a true salmonid. But they do act very similar to brooke trout, probably where they derived their common name. That and the side markings are what you see on juvenile salmonids.

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Biotope Biologist

[Smiling Paul]

Thanks to everyone's input. I didn't think there would be a problem but wondered if anyone actually has/does use them as they are really really easy to keep and would make another brilliant culture

[Rube_Goldfish]

The other thing I thought of was that I've heard of people chopping up earthworms for fish that would otherwise be too small to eat them, but I just don't have it in me to pull out a cutting board and knife and chop up worms. There are so many other feeding options that are far less gross! But if you've a stronger stomach than me that might work on mealworms, too.

[Katherine]

@Smiling Paul Did you end up doing this? We are about to start raising mealworms so my kids can observe their lifecycle, and I was thinking about trying to feed the tiny baby ones to my fish.