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Why are insects/worms so expensive?

3K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  krish 
#1 ·
Alright, I know it is harder to grow these stuff, but they're exorbitantly priced..:-( I want to feed my fish these, but to buy them, and a variety of foods, It costs so much! I only have a 29 gallon tank, so breeding my own insects probably won't save me much, right? I haven't gone to one yet, but do LFS's sell them cheaper? I'll take any thing I can get my hands on....I live in bay ARea, does anyone know any stores that sell these stuff cheaper, or in bulk?
 
#3 ·
But then you gotta deal with the adult mosquitoes flying around, and some aren't very friendly and can carry parasites or disease...

Where in california? I would imagine you can trap some yourself if you really want. In NJ, i leave my window open and i put a lamp behind my screen, the smaller insects get through and i just net them up in a fine mesh net and feed them to my fish as treats.
 
#12 ·
Thats why the bucket stays outside. There were already adult mosquitoes out there anyway. If your feeding the larva too the fish you should in theory be reducing the number of adult mosquitoes. I live in Wisconsin and its like trying to notice the difference of a few mosquitoes amongst hundreds lol.

Risk with feeding adult insects you catch is you don't know where they have been and what they have gotten into. Especially if anyone near you sprays or fogs.
 
#4 ·
krish, you're probably not going to find a LFS with live insects for fish food but they probably sell live worms and brine shrimp. The problem with any kind of bulk quantity, however, is keeping them alive long enough, and you end up being a worm keeper as well as a fish keeper. Have you considered frozen foods? I use frozen brine shrimp and frozen bloodworms as an additional food besides flakes and fish love them.
 
#5 ·
not necessarily live...

Hi, sorry if I was unclear. Even frozen, freeze dried and/or dried stuff is fine, just I want to feed insects to them. However, it still costs a bunch. Is Petco/Petsmart any cheaper than LFS's or is it the other way around? Once again, I will take anything, dead or alive.;-)
 
#10 ·
Hi, sorry if I was unclear. Even frozen, freeze dried and/or dried stuff is fine, just I want to feed insects to them. However, it still costs a bunch. Is Petco/Petsmart any cheaper than LFS's or is it the other way around? Once again, I will take anything, dead or alive.;-)
Ah, the Jesse James approach huh... wanted dead or alive.

To be honest, I have never been much of a price watcher, at gas stations, grocery stores or anywhere else. I'm more about convenience, which I'm sure is less economical. I buy from a LFS that I drive right past on my way home from work, but I'd be willing to bet that the pet store chains are cheaper. I don't know about insects though, just critters that live in water.

If I see any bug bargains, I'll let ya know.
 
#7 ·
Here I can get the same brand of frozen foods for $4.00 cheaper at petsmart than I can get it at the small LFS. I would pay $1-2.00 more to help out the small store but $4.00 is a bit much.
 
#8 ·
Thanks you guys, almost done...

Alright, I understand how this stuff works. So what is the cheapest stuff I can feed my fish without getting them sick? I just think all these stuff, frozen or freeze dried, or whatever still costs too much, IMO. thanks!
 
#13 ·
Alright, I understand how this stuff works. So what is the cheapest stuff I can feed my fish without getting them sick? I just think all these stuff, frozen or freeze dried, or whatever still costs too much, IMO. thanks!
Aquarium's are large glass boxes of water that we throw money into.(Author,unknown):lol:
 
#9 ·
A good flake food like Omni and then I get a frozen that has a variety in it each bubble pack is different. It has bloodworm, daphnie, brine shrimp, and I can't remember what the other is right now and I am to tired to go get it out of the fridge. LOL The good thing is even though its expensive you don't have to buy it often because it last a while.
 
#11 ·
once you are able to go to your fridge, could you please tell me the brand of your variety pack, Calmwaters? :mrgreen:
 
#16 ·
Your best solution will probably be to use live food. Several foods are easy to keep, and you can even sell cultures to other hobbyists once they're thriving... Yes, you can make profit selling them, and get free fish food.

Some of the easiest to grow (and most profitable) foods are
daphnia (feed green-water, or a mixture of tea made from spirulina powder and egg yolk)
White worms/Grinal worms (feed tiny amounts of oatmeal)
Blackworms (can be raised in a fishless aquarium easily, will eat fish food..)
flightless fruit flies

Some information can be found here- The Bug Farm - your source for live food culture information.
As for the blackworms, here's a link-
Black Worms: Keeping and Breeding

But, I advise a more natural approach..Start with a rubbermaid container or small aquarium.Add a tiny bit of soil (round tablespoon) and a cup of water to about an inch of gravel from an established aquarium. Cover with clean gravel (from your aquarium)l- Fill with aquarium water to a depth of 6 inches. Add some plants for filtration (or a sponge filter), and you shouldn't ever have to restart the culture as long as you give them water changes when you do your fish.
 
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