mozzie wrigglers

[lpiasente]

I gave my fishies a good feed of mozzie wrigglers yesterday and I have never ever seen my fish dive on food like that A friend of mine has a clean bucket of water under a tree to attract these little critters and she also gets blood worm just checking that these are fine to feed out ( I know I should have checked before feeding).

[Mr Wild]

I have used them too.

[kristina]

I tried that myself but ended up tipping all the water out and not feeding any of it to my fish as I found that there was a few too many exotic bugs reproducing in there... :( I wasn't too sure what some of them were, let alone whether I should feed them to the fish so figured it was best to leave the whole thing alone.

[lpiasente]

I put them into a clear container and when they came to the top I scooped them out with a siev, dipped it in clean water and then put them into the tank.

[swampy1972]

A LFS near my place does this throughout the warmer months with a clean broccoli box. He gets them by the hundreds.
Then he sells them - 100% profit for 0% effort!
It pays to know what you're looking at.

[kristina]

Agreed swampy. I don't know what I'm looking for and so it makes me nervous to feed things to my fish if Im not even sure they're mozzie wrigglers...

Anybody with good pictures or descriptions would be of much help...

[Hollowman]

I have fed frozen Black Mosquito Lavae before, but these have been irradiated, so can be safe. Just one thing to remember is that 'generally' mossies lay eggs in stagnant waters, so parasites can be present in live foods. A risk for sure, but with healthy stock you may get away with it. :)

[swampy1972]

I have fed frozen Black Mosquito Lavae before, but these have been irradiated, so can be safe. Just one thing to remember is that 'generally' mossies lay eggs in stagnant waters, so parasites can be present in live foods. A risk for sure, but with healthy stock you may get away with it. :)

Agreed.
I'd only feed them to mine if done as described, in water that you control. The good thing I found with using the styrofoam box is that it's cleanliness (or otherwise) is immediately apparant so you know if there's any visible nasties.
You can small versions (about half size) of these boxes at some green grocers if you ask around.

[kristina]

I haven't seen frozen mosquito larvae around but I'll keep my eyes pealed for it.

I still don't really understand how to do the whole thing... Just put a box of water out and hope they come do their thing? I've left a styrofoam box out with aged tap and a whole bunch of wood in it but haven't seen anything in there for weeks, then after 2 months had a whole bunch of different things in there and not too sure about it... Looked a bit gross so I tipped it.

[rex82]

and then there is one other thing to think about.......breeding mosquitoes intentionally is illegal!

[kristina]

hahahahahahaha. That is pretty funny if you think about it. I mean I can understand they are a pest and are the source of many blood transferred health problems, but more so in other countries... not really here in Aus. Illegal to breed mozzies?? hahahaha. So please please a really simple "How to for idiots" for me??

[rex82]

how to? water in a holding container of sorts.....you know...... the bucket with no hole? aint rocket science.....but is illegal

[kristina]

Aha ahahahaa... I had figured it wasn't rocket science but after taking a stab at it and getting more than just mozzies I'm starting to think it's a tad too difficult for me. Maybe if I put a sign up saying, "mosquito breeding only..." I'll have better luck.

No what I had hoped for a bit more information on was positioning of the box (sun, shade, under a tree etc.) or if it doesn't matter. How long to predictably leave it out for in different seasons. Tell tale signs that you really should not feed them to your fish... A few more finer details as I haven't successfully done it before and haven't got any friends (close by) who have.

[lpiasente]

put a bucket of fresh tank water under a bushy tree and leave it there. I only use the wrigglers that sit on the top. Funny I ahve to sneak up on them and quickly scoop them up off the top other wise they all swim to the bottom and there was some messy bits down there and I didn't want anything else in my tank than the mozzies. Downfall is if any are missed they hatch very quickly and eat you alive. All my kids were complaining about their bites

[kristina]

Thanks for the reply :) I don't need to breed mozzies to get bitten where we are so I get the complaints either way. How long do you leave the water out until you get the wrigglers? Are we talking overnight or a matter of multiple days or weeks?

Also does it really matter what type of mozzies you get? I've seen some bizarre looking insects around these parts.

[Tommo]

Just fill a bucket of water in the warmer months and leave it for a few weeks :)