Live Foods from the Wild Part IV

1
Live Foods from the WildPart IV Types of Wild
Foods

• A presentation for
• The Angelfish Society
• March 20, 2010
• by Tamar Stephens

2
About this presentation

• This is Part IV in a series of presentations on
  live foods from the wild.
• Previous presentations in this series
• Part I Nutritional value of wild foods. (Sept.
  19, 2010)
• Part II Where to find wild foods. (Oct. 17, 2010)
• Part III How to Collect Wild Foods (Feb. 11,
  2011)
• (Previous presentations can be found at
  http//www.theangelfishsociety.org/PresentationsTA
  SNew.html)
• The rest of this series will cover
• Part V How to culture wild foods

3
In this presentation

• Daphnia and other small crustaceans
• Brine shrimp and larger crustaceans
• Microworms
• Earthworms
• Aquatic insects
• Terrestrial insects

4
Daphnia and other small crustaceans
Photo from Wikipedia commons
5
Daphnia aka water fleas

• Daphnia are among a group of small crustaceans
  commonly called water fleas because they move
  in short jerky movements, reminiscent of the
  jerky jumps of fleas. Their body shape is also
  similar to that of a flea.
• Daphnia and other water fleas are not insects.
  They breath through gills.
• Size varies with species, ranging from 1/50 of an
  inch up to about 1/5 inch in length.
• They have no swim bladder and are denser than
  water, so need to constantly move their branched
  swimming arms to keep from sinking.

6
Branched swimming arms are in constant motion
to keep daphnia an other water fleas from
sinking.
From Wikipedia commons
7
Where can you find daphnia?

• Daphnia eggs can lie dormant in the mud over
  winter, and hatch in the spring.
• Daphnia are present in most freshwater aquatic
  habitats, but large concentrations are most
  likely to appear under these conditions
• Water temperature between 65 75 F
• Calm water, such as pools, ponds, swamps
• Decomposing organic matter (produces bacteria
  that Daphnia feed on)
• Absence of fish as predators
• They seem to be attracted to light so will come
  near the surface on sunny days.

8
Brine shrimp and other large crustaceans
9
The most common larger crustaceans are

• Brine shrimp (Artemia)
• Amphipods
• Fairy shrimp (Eubranchipus)

10
Brine Shrimp (Artemia)

• Newly hatched brine shrimp are widely used for
  feeding angelfish fry, and fry of other tropical
  fish species.
• Brine shrimp are found in the wild in salt water
  lakes worldwide, but not in oceans.
• Adults grow to be about 1/2 inch long.

From Wikipedia commons
11
Amphipods

• Sometimes called freshwater shrimp
• Very active, swim backward and upside down
• Usually found in the bottom of streams, ponds, or
  swamps, where they may hide in the gravel

From Wikipedia commons
12
Fairy Shrimp (Eubranchipus)

• Close relatives of brine shrimp, but live in
  fresh water.
• Adults are 1/4 to 1 inch long.
• Usually found in seasonal freshwater ponds that
  dry up at some time during the year. They can be
  found under the ice in late winter and early
  spring.
• Defenseless, so they dont appear in ponds with
  carnivorous insects or with fish.
• Very nutritious excellent food for adult
  angelfish.

From Wikipedia commons
13
Microworms
14
Microworms (nematodes)

• Microworms, sometimes called threadworms, are
  nematodes. They are tiny, colorless, cylindrical
  worms. Some species are aquatic and some are
  terrestrial.
• They make an excellent food for fry.
• Aquatic species can be found in the bottom of
  freshwater bodies where heavy growths of aquatic
  vegetation and soil are present.
• Terrestrial species are often cultured by
  aquarists for feeding newly-hatched fry.

Panagrellus redivivus from Wikipedia commons
15
Earthworms and Relatives
16
Earthworms

• Earthworms are segmented worms.
• Feed in humus-rich soil.
• Burrow deep to avoid the cold.
• Light sensitive, so will be found at the surface
  during warm nights, where they come to feed on
  decaying vegetation
• One way to collect is to lay a burlap bag in a
  shaded moist place and cover it with tea leaves,
  coffee grounds, and other bits of organic garbage
  to attract earthworms.

From Wikipedia commons
17
White Worms (Enchytraeidae)

• White worms are a relative of the earthworm.
  They are smaller, growing to a little under to a
  little over an inch in length, depending on
  species.
• Usually found in moist soil feeding on remains of
  vegetation.
• Easy to culture, so it is probably easier to buy
  a starter culture than to try to collect from the
  wild.

From http//www.springhalen.dk/enky.JPG
18
Aquatic insects, insect larvae, and related

• Springtails
• Mayflies
• Caddisflies
• Bloodworms
• Mosquitos

19
Springtails

• Springtails get their name from their ability to
  leap into the air several inches to either escape
  predation or simply move to another location.
• They are very small, from 1/100 to 2/5 of an inch
  long.
• They live on the top of the water and can be
  found on the surface of ponds from temperate to
  arctic climates.
• They contain more digestible material per body
  weight than daphnia.
• Have been reclassified no longer classified as
  an insect.

From Wikipedia commons
20
Mayflies

• Mayfly nymphs or naiads live on stream bottoms
  under rocks, decaying vegetation, or in sediment.
  They mold several times as they grow, and are in
  the nymph stage for 6 months to a year. Adults
  only live a few hours long enough to mate and
  lay eggs.
• The adults are eaten extensively by fish in the
  wild, especially trout, but the nymphs are more
  useful for aquarists as fish food.

Adult mayfly from Wikipedia commons
21
Caddisflies

• Caddisfly larvae live on the bottom of moving
  waters. Concentrations may be found underneath
  flat stones.
• Caddisfly larvae construct cases that they live
  in. In some species the cases are in fixed
  locations, but many species have movable cases
  that they live in. Cases are constructed from
  various materials such as leaves, bits of
  vegetation, sticks, stones, etc.
• They need to be dislodged from their cases to
  feed to tropical fish.

Caddisfly larvae emerging from its case. From
Wikipedia commons
22
Bloodworms

• Bloodworms are not really worms. They are
  larvae of midges (Chironomidae) and are usually
  bright red in color, hence the name bloodworms.
• The larvae are often referred to as chironomids.
• They can be found extensively in freshwater
  habitats in almost all kinds of water. They are
  most abundant on or in the mud bottoms of lakes,
  ponds, pool, or streams.
• They are a very nutritious food for angelfish.

An adult midge resemble a small mosquito in
appearance. Photo from Wikipedia commons.
23
Mosquitos

• Mosquito larvae make an excellent food for
  angelfish.
• Mosquit0 larvae can be found in calm waters
  throughout the world.
• Egg rafts can also be collected and the larvae
  hatched.

From http//www.mosquitobarrier.com/larvae.html
24
Many more insects

• Many more insects and insect larvae can make
  excellent nutritious supplements to the diet of
  your angelfish. Maybe this presentation will
  inspire you to research this topic more fully.
• Just a caution not all live insects or insect
  larvae are safe for your aquarium fish, so get a
  good guide to identifying insects, and research
  them a little before adding an unknown to your
  aquarium.

25
I hope you enjoyed this presentation!

• Please return to the chat room for discussion.