# Can I feed wild caught mosquito larvae



## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

I'm wondering if I can catch mosquito larvae in my pond\with stream and feed them to my betta's instead of spending a bunch of money on them online. I would net them into clean eater a few times before feeding them. I am assuming it would be OK? I have seen people in warmer climates then I am in have there betta in a pond in the summer and it eats the larvae. Just thought I'd ask. I would be nice if I could go that route LOL!! Also how many larvae can I feed a day and how often?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Yes you can. Rinse several times and, if you want, soak in anti bacterial meds before feeding (to be safer). 

Bettas fed wild caught foods since very young should have better immune systems compared to those constantly kept in "bacteria free" environments. 

Not sure how many it takes to satisfy their nutrinional needs. Just feed until their bellies begin to plump.


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## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

indjo said:


> Yes you can. Rinse several times and, if you want, soak in anti bacterial meds before feeding (to be safer).
> 
> Bettas fed wild caught foods since very young should have better immune systems compared to those constantly kept in "bacteria free" environments.
> 
> Not sure how many it takes to satisfy their nutrinional needs. Just feed until their bellies begin to plump.


Can that be a main food source? With a few good quality pellets? Mine are young yet.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Yes it can. 
In my area many do not feed an assorted food. Most stick to daphnia as main food since mosq larvae are harder to obtain regularly and is risky for humans (dengue mosq).


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## Lexi's Mom (Apr 16, 2021)

I live in Florida and it's always easy to find standing water somewhere. Once summer starts up so do the mosquitos. Since it's OK to feed them to bettas would they also be suitable for guppies and corys ?


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## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

Lexi's Mom said:


> I live in Florida and it's always easy to find standing water somewhere. Once summer starts up so do the mosquitos. Since it's OK to feed them to bettas would they also be suitable for guppies and corys ?


I feed online bought mosquito larvae to my guppies, platies, molies, fiddler crabs, betta's, and I do have 6 bronz corys in the tank. I dono if they eat them but I have seen them chowing on blood worms so I assume so!


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## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

I'm going put this morning to catch some so ill let you know how it goes LOL!


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## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

The corys huddled into the corner I was feeding in and searched through the substrate so I am assuming they ate some. I have only fed a couple of larvae at a time before so feeding 20 to a betta and watching him chase around and eat them was really cool to watch. I will definitely do again. Can I catch a whole bunch of them and freeze them with some conditioned water after they have been cleaned in ice cube trays? I caught enough in like 2 minutes to fill a cube. I would of caught more but had a whole in the net lol! I just used a butterfly net so I could catch more at a time. I probably literally caught 1,000!


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Basically, you can. And it should be safer - most bacteria should die if frozen. However some fussy individuals will not take dead mosq larvae.


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## Mr. B (Nov 6, 2020)

Mother Of Fish said:


> The corys huddled into the corner I was feeding in and searched through the substrate so I am assuming they ate some. I have only fed a couple of larvae at a time before so feeding 20 to a betta and watching him chase around and eat them was really cool to watch. I will definitely do again. Can I catch a whole bunch of them and freeze them with some conditioned water after they have been cleaned in ice cube trays? I caught enough in like 2 minutes to fill a cube. I would of caught more but had a whole in the net lol! I just used a butterfly net so I could catch more at a time. I probably literally caught 1,000!


That sounds cool! You can put pans of water outside in the shade and whate for them to lay there eggs in it, and then feed!


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## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

Mr. B said:


> That sounds cool! You can put pans of water outside in the shade and whate for them to lay there eggs in it, and then feed!


Ok cool!


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## Mother Of Fish (Feb 11, 2021)

I have Cleaned them and got them freezing in an ice cube tray. Each cube is 1\4 full of pure larvae and 3\4 water. There is also some little duckweed in there to lol! Ill put them in a bag when they are done freezing.


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