I just gave them a try anyways, the fish DO eat them but their not too enthusiastic about them the way they are crickets. Plus ants are better at escaping the tank than crickets.
Edited by FirstChAoS, 11 June 2010 - 02:51 AM.
feeding ants to fish
Started by
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
, Jun 11 2010 02:16 AM
10 replies to this topic
#1
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
Guest_FirstChAoS_*
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Posted 11 June 2010 - 02:16 AM
big carpenter ants found their way into my cricket cage. The crickets of course are fish food. Will the ants serve as good food too?
I just gave them a try anyways, the fish DO eat them but their not too enthusiastic about them the way they are crickets. Plus ants are better at escaping the tank than crickets.
I just gave them a try anyways, the fish DO eat them but their not too enthusiastic about them the way they are crickets. Plus ants are better at escaping the tank than crickets.
#3
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 11 June 2010 - 07:29 AM
Fish certainly eat ants in the wild, but there are some strikes against ants as feeders:
1) Ants are mostly indigestible chitinous exoskeleton, with little nutritional value
2) Ants have a lot of chemical defenses; they are generally not terribly poisonous, but can be distasteful and deliver painful stings
3) Ants can bite hard, and the jaws remain locked shut even after the ant is dead. This can be a big problem for predators that don't chew their food.
In some tropical countries, soldier ants of larger species are used as stitches for cuts. An ant is placed near the cut and allowed to bite down, then the body is torn away and the head left in place. Now imagine this happening in your fish's mouth and upper digestive system...
Now ant larvae and pupae, on the other hand, are just little bundles of delicious, defenseless fat and protein.
1) Ants are mostly indigestible chitinous exoskeleton, with little nutritional value
2) Ants have a lot of chemical defenses; they are generally not terribly poisonous, but can be distasteful and deliver painful stings
3) Ants can bite hard, and the jaws remain locked shut even after the ant is dead. This can be a big problem for predators that don't chew their food.
In some tropical countries, soldier ants of larger species are used as stitches for cuts. An ant is placed near the cut and allowed to bite down, then the body is torn away and the head left in place. Now imagine this happening in your fish's mouth and upper digestive system...
Now ant larvae and pupae, on the other hand, are just little bundles of delicious, defenseless fat and protein.
#6
Guest_threegoldfish_*
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Posted 13 June 2010 - 08:40 PM
Ants have been known to eat their way out of fishes' stomachs. Go chew on that!
Is there any actual documentation on that one? I ask because you run across people on tropical forums saying the exact same thing about food like mealworms and that one's been debunked.
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