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I love nothing more than a free live food. I even culture meal worms to feed my hens as a treat every day. If I'm late they nag me!
I grow a consistent supply all summer long. I have 4 cultures going at different stages of development so when I want them, which is all the time, they are there? The fish go crazy for them. When I used to buy live black worms I believed that the fish actually preferred the mosquito larvae.
Back in Australia in the 90's I was going out a bunch of different cichlid fry...I had bath tub in our side garden that grew tons of mosquito larvae...i harvested every week and my fry grew like weeds...I also had a great compost area that supplied tons of earth worms every week as well...live home grown live foods! :thumbsup:
Would this be safe though? Given what mosquitos can carry?
This is not a scientific comment but I think mosquitoes get what they carry from the blood of the animals they feed one. In the larval stage I reckon they're clean...again, not a scientific explanation, but mine were raised in clean water with some decaying leaf matter in the bottom of the tub...in Brissy where I lived when in Australia I do not believe there is any mossie borne disease...
Biologically speaking raising mosquitoes for fish food is really a bad idea. They vector too many diseases that can make a person extremely sick or can kill them. There is also a growing trend thanks to global warming and climate change that many of these diseases are spreading.
I would suggest reading up on mosquitoes and diseaese... see here....
https://www.worldmosquitoprogram.org...borne-diseases
In CT we monitor mosquito populations for Eastern Equine Encephalitis....it only affects a few people with symptoms. I would not want to get infected with it though.
Theres some seriously bad stuff that biting bugs can spread to us.
Not worth the risk.
Al
Danny I wish this were the case but its not.Transovarian transmission of diseases from mosquitos to their eggs is very well documented..Meaning that adults pass viruses to their eggs.The eggs hatch and you have mosquitoes carrying the disease to their first meal....us in many cases.Quote:
Originally Posted by danotaylor
Al
Wow, Al thanks much, googling transovarian transmission is quite revealing. I was taught (in error turns out) that the epidemiology of vector borne diseases always required an intermediate host, never passed generationally in the vector. Given that mosquitoes rarely/ever prey on fish it is unlikely that they carry any pathogens of significance to fish but the possibility that a few adults carrying EEE or Dengue, etc. escaped your home breeding pool and are flying around the house is scary.
Thanks Al, that is certainly enlightening information!
It's is enlightening. I culture mine in sweater boxes. I have 4 going, all with the skeeters in different stages of development from the raft like egg cluster they lay to just short of when them are starting to transform into live skeeters. I have never had any that got that far in development because I'm out there with my net twice a day. It's hard for me to wait until they get large enough for me to scoop up.
We have skeeters down here in southeast Mississippi. They will find a spot to lay somewhere because it rains a lot during mosquito season. If they lay their little raft of eggs in my cultures they are much less likely to escape me and get to flying stage than they would if they found a place in the swamp or the woods. I will keep doing what I do. They make a great fish food and they don't cost a cent.
Liz I was definitely not trying to tell you what to do. Just point out to others that raising mosquitoes has alot of risk associated with it for people . I didnt even mention that the heartworms that cats and dogs get is transmitted by mosquitoes.
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinar...rtworm-disease
It should also be noted that mosquitoes can carry parasites that can infect your fish as well.
I know they are a "free" food and one that Aquarium fish like but they are definitely not a safe food in many regards and I think people need to understand the risks before they decide to start raising and collecting mosquitoes.
Ive tried it in the long ago past and no matter how much my fish liked them.. they always missed some and the fishroom was a blood bath with my blood. Given what I have learned since theres no way I would feed mosquitoes now...its just too risky in many ways.
Al
The only problems I've had in my fish room so far is an explosion of tadpoles in the tanks without much water flow. It's no fun when they get into a tank with a bunch of jet black ram fry. Oh, and once last year I had fly larvae I can't remember the name of get into one of my shrimp tanks that was eating my shrimp!
The dragon fly nymph...I remember Liz!
Yeah, that's what it was. It looked like a monster and it was!