Ornamental fish food
As ornamental fish (often inaccurate as fish food ) refers to food which in aquariums and ponds held ornamental fish is offered on nutrition. In hunting -Handel dried, frozen and live food is available.
dried animal food
Dry food is offered in the form of flakes, granules and food tablets. The composition is very different and tailored to the needs of different fish species.
Special food tablets that quickly sink to the bottom are available for bottom fish such as catfish and for freshwater shrimp , which is now popular in aquaristics . It is available in purely vegetarian versions for herbivorous fish species or enriched with molluscs and crustaceans .
Frozen food
Frozen or frozen food is available pressed into cubes that thaws very quickly. Similar to dry food, there is also frozen food in different compositions. It can contain mosquito larvae , water fleas , small shrimp, pieces of mussel or plankton .
Food from the kitchen
Aquarium fish take a number of plant-based foods as feed, which also play a role in the human diet. Herbivores like to take lettuce or spinach leaves , carrot and cucumber slices are grated from catfish, while potato and zucchini slices should be scalded before they are offered to the fish. Peas should be pressed down a little before being introduced into the aquarium so that the soft interior is more accessible for the fish.
Small pieces of fresh fish can also be offered. However, the remains must be removed after feeding so that the aquarium water is not too heavily polluted. However, aquarists have had different experiences with feeding raw beef heart.
Live food
Even when the first aquariums were maintained in the 19th century, catching mosquito larvae and water fleas from pools was a typical occupation for aquarists. Live food is a great and important addition to the menu of aquarium fish. It contains important fiber and can also increase or even trigger the willingness to spawn in some fish species. However, most aquarists have abandoned their own catch of live food. On the one hand, catching is only allowed in unprotected ponds and ponds. In addition, the “fish food animals” and most of the surface waters are subject to fishing law. There is also the risk that diseases and unwanted organisms are introduced into the aquarium. In particular for Tubifex (also known as river tube worms ) it has been proven that they can transmit diseases. For this reason, most aquarists only feed them frozen or freeze-dried .
The pet trade offers live feed from rearing. Brine shrimp , whose eggs can be purchased and which you can breed yourself, are also particularly suitable .
The following can be fed:
- Mosquito larvae
- Artemia salina
- Krill
- Water fleas
- Cyclops
- Tubifex
- Small fruit fly - Drosophila melanogaster
- Large fruit fly - Drosophila hydei
- Vinegar bowls
- Paramecium - paramecia
- Mexican flea shrimp - Hyalella azteca
- River Flea Shrimp - Gammarus pulex
- Enchytraeen - Enchytraeus albidus
- Micro-worms
literature
- Stephan Dreyer: Feeding ornamental fish properly . Bede Verlag, Ruhmannsfelden 1995, ISBN 3-927997-46-3 .