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Ants
Ants is the name for a large group of insects, all with a similar structure. In size the species can vary from 3 mm to 3 cm. They occur worldwide and are found in many different habitats, dry, wet, hot and cold. One of the species found frequently in the Northeastern United states is Formica exsectoides, the Allegheny mound-builders.
For
some fish, ants are a natural food. Betta brownorum is one of the fish that has
ants on the menu in it's natural habitat. Many other fish will eat ants as well.
Ants can be found in the forest, where they usually build large, easily recogisable nests, but also closer to home. Often nests can be found underneath stones or logs.
Ant eggs, which can be found in the nests, can be fed directly to the fish. In the fridge they can be kept fresh for several weeks.
Growing your own, although not recommended, can be done in so-called ant farms, or on a bigger scale in old unused aquaria, which should be sealed of completely, or otherwise the ants will inhabit the entire house. The colony can be fed with apple, sugar, bananas, and some meat(eartworms, mosquito larvae, caterpillars).
Fully grown ants can also be fed to fish, but not all fish will eat them, and when stressed the ants will release an acid. Suspect ants, ants which may have been in contact with anti-ant poisons, should never be fed.
References: Masters, C. O.(1975): Encyclopedia of live foods. T.F.H. publications, Inc., Ltd.
| Comment | Dear
Aquaworld folks, I used to live in Austin, Texas, where everyone hates the wicked, stinging Fire Ants! But I found a lovely revenge in feeding their larvae to my fish. Fire ants leave small mounds of dirt above the grass, and usually this mound contains larvae brought up to escape the heat or too-moist ground. I used to scoop up the dirt mound with my trowel (the white larvae are easy to see) and dump all into a 5 glln bucket of water. The dirt sinks immediately, leaving only the larvae and ants floating. Then scoop up the larvae with a spoon, using a small stick to knock off any ants. The collected white larvae are delicious fish food, and all my fish were crazy happy to eat them! D. Nishimura |