Maybe blanching the bugs before freezing them could help to. That's what you do with vegetables to preserve them better. Before you stick them in the freezer you put them in boiling water first. You get the water boiling then stick them in it for abou 15-30 secs take out and feeze. I don't know if this will work but if your going to experiment you might as well try it. If you do try it let me know how it works. The trick will be getting the critters in the water. Maybe wrap them in cheese cloth or pantie hose to prevent them from jumping out of the water?
Catching/Freezing Bugs
- Thread starter boisblancboy
- Start date
You could always try blanching them before you freeze them. Use the same technique used to freeze veggies. Get water boiling and drop the critter in for 15-30 secs. It's helps preserve it before you freeze it. I've never done it with an insect but it's worth a try. As far as getting the insects from jumping out of the water you could always put them in a net or cheese cloth and then dip them in. then put them in the freezer right away.
I don't really see the point in freezing or boiling them... since it would leech them out of nutrient. Why not breed your own?
i really would not feed any outside bugs/insects ..they carry a whole host of things that could harm your oscar.. just buy some from LFS and breed your own.. worms are the only fairly safe feeder because they filter out impurities.. but i would not even chance them.. plus in general you could be bringing different things into the tank water.... just not a good thing to take a chance with/
Blanching could help kill some of the parasites plus they're not in the water long enough to lose any nutrients. In general, freezing an item does not cause it to lose any nutriental value which is why it is so prefered for foods. Blanching also helps the external skeleton to stay intact. Like I said it's worth a try.
I am not going to breed my own when catching them is a much simpler way to do it for me, so thats not really an option for me, thanks for the idea though.
Flash freezing is better. Why don't you just feed them to them fresh? During the summer months, there is no reason to even freeze them. There is the issue about pesticides and herbicides though. Dependin on your location, feedin insects isn't such a great idear.
