Is this food?

[Heck]

Noticed this bait cooler at the mini mart near my house. I've never fed live foods before but would be happy to add them to the rotation if these are safe/appropriate - variety is good, right?

Currently feeding:
Hikari algae wafers
Massivore (even my nano fish love it if I crush it up first)
Frozen brine shrimp
Freeze dried bloodworms
Random garbage "catfish pellets" that are probably expired but the fish love them
Random garbage "tropical flakes" that are probably expired but the fish love them

The fish include:
Hara Jerdoni
Dario Dario
CPD
Synodontis Nigriventris
*
Synodontis Eupterus
Labeo Bicolor
Horabagrus Brachysoma
Mystus Leucophasis

The mini mart lady said she only regularly stocks the nightcrawlers and "minicrawlers" (never heard of those, don't know what they are). Are either of those food? It would be super convenient for me if I could buy live food/treats nearby. Or is there anything else on that list that I should ask her to get for me?

 

[esoxlucius]

The top four are fine as food. Worms, whole live and chopped frozen form quite a large % of my fish food stock.

The seafood I'd personally give a miss, especially the anchovies and sardines due to oil content. You'll have a surface oil slick in your aquarium if you feed those.

And don't forget, there's no need really to pay for worms. You can collect them for free from lawns at night or compost heaps.

 

[Heck]

The top four are fine as food. Worms, whole live and chopped frozen form quite a large % of my fish food stock.

The seafood I'd personally give a miss, especially the anchovies and sardines due to oil content. You'll have a surface oil slick in your aquarium if you feed those.

And don't forget, there's no need really to pay for worms. You can collect them for free from lawns at night or compost heaps.

Unfortunately in my climate worms can be harder to find this time of year but that's definitely a good idea when I do find some.

Will check the price on the mini mart worms and give them a try if they're not too expensive. How do I feed them - just chuck em in?

 

[esoxlucius]

How do I feed them - just chuck em in?

It depends on the size of the worms compared to the size of your fish.

I used to target feed my giant gourami with the largest fattest worms from my garden....whole, some 8-10" long!! I just give them a quick rinse under the tap and they were ready.

The smaller worms from my compost heap/wormery, typically 2-5" long can also be fed whole, again just rinsed under the tap.

But my favourite way, which suits smaller fish, is to collect masses of compost worms, chop them up, rinse them, and freeze them in those blister pack things that you get bloodworm and daphnia in from your LFS.

Just plop a frozen cube in and as it thaws the fish go berserk trying to get the titbits breaking away.

It's worth noting that worms you buy will be sourced from a worm farm. They will be completely fish safe. However, worms you collect yourself, depending where you collect them, could have been in contact with chemicals associated with fertilisers and pest control. So you are better collecting them from "safe" areas where you know haven't been subjected to such chemicals, in my case my garden, which is also where my compost heap is.