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Mosquito Larvae as Fish Food

6K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  James 
#1 ·
Okay, I'm planning on a return to fish keeping after an eighteen year hiatus and I've been doing a huge amount of reading... quite a few things have changed since 1989. Anyway, I live in an area--along the Delaware River in NJ--where if I put out so much as a teaspoon of water out mosquitoes will begin breeding. Consequently, during the warmer parts of the year I have easy access to literally scads of mosquito larvae (or mosquitoes if I'm not too swift :wink: ). I've read from time to time that some people use the larvae as food, while sometimes there is some worry that they could be injurious to fish. Is there a 'final word' on this? Does it depend on the type of tank/fish?

Many thanks!
 
#2 ·
I think the worry about injury is mostly the risk of introducing other critters along with the mosquitoes, particularly dragonfly larvae. You can combat this by freezing it first if you want. I believe it to be a very good, nutritious (and free!) source of food, provided you do it right.
 
#3 ·
Okeedokee, that sounds peachy. So what then is the correct way to, umm, 'harvest and serve' my little mosquitolings? Just strain and freeze, then thaw and serve? I was planning on serving them live sans water (strained)--it would seem like a bit of entertainment for the fish since the larvae tend to bob and weave a bit--but I want to take necessary precautions when I get setup. Oh, what type of strainer or other device should I use?

Many thanks!!
 
#6 ·
hmm, cause i found some thing living in my hot tub (empty except for rain water at the moment) and i had seen mosquito larvae but i wasn't sure what this was. I'm going to try and find a camera so i can show you what i have here. but otherwise I'm just going to let it go.
 
#7 ·
Little-Fizz said:
Dragon fly larva will eat small enough fish. I thought they were harmless too, before a quick google image search proved otherwise.
True, but most of them live as larvae for a long time and grow quite slowly. So their chances of reaching that age in a fishtank are quite slim. It is impossible not to see the difference between a mosquito larvae and a dragonfly larva of a dangerous size. Feed small portions to make sure the fish catch everything. This is generally good advice when it comes to feeding mosquito larvae. ;)
 
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