gardenman Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I recently stumbled upon an electric bug zapper on a site that has a mesh basket to catch the dead bugs. The thought occurred to me that the zapped bugs could be a handy food source for fish. The bugs were healthy enough to fly to the bug zapper and therefore likely not poisoned by insecticides. While not technically a "live" food they'd be a recently alive food. It could be the world's easiest source of recently live food for fish. Just go out everyday, unscrew the container and dump it into the tank. For smaller fish you might even be able to blend them up. If you had a surplus you could toss them into a bag and put it in your freezer for use over the winter when bugs aren't around to be zapped. I've never heard of anyone doing it though. There's probably a reason no one does it, but I'm not sure what it would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 The one I had, years ago... I mostly killed mouths. I place a tray under it. I got mostly dust. Dust and some wings. I think there are a lot easier and possible better sources for our fish..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDukeAnumber1 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maggie Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Lol, I got ads for a bunch of different Fluval Bug Bites on this topic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 5 hours ago, gardenman said: I recently stumbled upon an electric bug zapper on a site that has a mesh basket to catch the dead bugs. The thought occurred to me that the zapped bugs could be a handy food source for fish. The bugs were healthy enough to fly to the bug zapper and therefore likely not poisoned by insecticides. While not technically a "live" food they'd be a recently alive food. It could be the world's easiest source of recently live food for fish. Just go out everyday, unscrew the container and dump it into the tank. For smaller fish you might even be able to blend them up. If you had a surplus you could toss them into a bag and put it in your freezer for use over the winter when bugs aren't around to be zapped. I've never heard of anyone doing it though. There's probably a reason no one does it, but I'm not sure what it would be. I wouldn’t do it just because of risk of Parasites and the zappers I have and most other ones the bugs are basically dust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 There’s a hand-held zapper that looks like a tennis racket. I wouldn’t hesitate to feed bugs I killed with that to my fish, especially because it often stuns the bug rather than killing it. If you don’t follow up with a smush, you haven’t necessarily achieved your goal. Though I don’t know if fish would find big hairy houseflies very tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I raised fruit flies and have never had fish go so crazy over a certain food. It's like a shark feeding frenzy. They are easy to raise, but it does take a little knack. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Fruit flies seem soft and juicy. Do you raise the wingless variety @Philip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 2 hours ago, Hobbit said: Fruit flies seem soft and juicy. Do you raise the wingless variety @Philip? Hobbit, I have not had any in a year as I redo my fish room. Only a few tanks right now. I raised the flightless ones Drosophila melanogaster and also the hydei. Depends on the size of your fish. The melanogaster are pretty small. Don't let the fact that they can't fly fool you, they are lightning fast and if you are not accustomed to handling them, when you open the lid they will get everywhere. A little shaky-shaky on the surface of the water and it's amazing. The maggots are also a very tasty treat. For the fish, not me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 I was in charge of the fruit fly cultures in an entomology lab for a year, so I got a lot of practice at the pound-and-flip. They are definitely fast little things! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 I like the idea of stringing some strings across the top of a tank with archerfish in it and having a reservoir of wingless fruit flies that exit onto the string and then sitting back and watching the archers at work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 On 3/13/2021 at 7:23 AM, Philip said: I raised the flightless ones Drosophila melanogaster and also the hydei. Don't let the fact that they can't fly fool you, they are lightning fast and if you are not accustomed to handling them, when you open the lid they will get everywhere. A little shaky-shaky on the surface of the water and it's amazing. The maggots are also a very tasty treat. For the fish, not me. On 3/13/2021 at 7:27 AM, Hobbit said: I was in charge of the fruit fly cultures in an entomology lab for a year, so I got a lot of practice at the pound-and-flip. They are definitely fast little things! Greetings fellow fly wranglers! 🥰 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Please share anything related to archerfish. I think I may have to live vicariously for this species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 13 minutes ago, Streetwise said: Please share anything related to archerfish. I think I may have to live vicariously for this species. ORD 💜 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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