Most nutritious insects?

[tlindsey]

Brick eats the mealworms fine, problem is getting him to eat something else. I have freeze dried garlic chunks I soak pellets in once a week. But I may go with live mealworms and gutload.

The game goes like this:

Eats tilapia, then doesn't. Spits out the pellets inside and eats the fish.
Eats krill then doesn't.
Eats spirulina wafers then doesn't.
Gulps blackworm/spirulina cubes like crack then doesn't.
Lets pellets rain over his head.
He previously ate nearly 2lbs of mealworms in a month, then didn't and ate pellets instead (when he finally tired of mealworms)
Currently only eats freeze dried mealworms.

Some days I refuse mealworms and only put pellets/wafers in the tank. I think Brick is gulling me. For such a picky fish he sure is staying mighty thick. I've seen him poking at pellets on the bottom when he doesn't know I'm looking.

My chocolate Bobo has started eating pellets after realizing he isn't getting just mealworms either. He was getting as bad as the O with the picky routine. Main difference is he stays near his house all the time...so its either eat what's available or go hungry. Plus the fact the O and BP herd him around when he comes out. He's an opportunistic eater, so it's grab n' go.

Tbh mealworms, Bloodworms should be fed to fish as a treat food not a staple. The outer shell of Mealworms can cause digestive issues.

 

[RD.]

This is what happens when you allow a fish to direct traffic. lol Of course they will pick & choose, because your Oscar is smart enough to know that refusing one food, results in you offering another, until eventually you offer something that HE chooses to eat, at any given time, on any given day. Most fish have enough brain power to figure this out over time. Why eat dry toast, when you can have caviar!

 

[FINWIN]

This is what happens when you allow a fish to direct traffic. lol Of course they will pick & choose, because your Oscar is smart enough to know that refusing one food, results in you offering another, until eventually you offer something that HE chooses to eat, at any given time, on any given day. Most fish have enough brain power to figure this out over time. Why eat dry toast, when you can have caviar!

Yah, this O is running me in circles... even when I tried the 'tough' routine for a week. So its back to the tough routine *sigh* pellets or nothing. Ironically I had some NLS wafers he liked at first (then of course stopped).

Boy is Brick ever smart...he knows to follow a couple of basic hand signals I give him. Clapping loudly means "knock it off."

Maybe I need to get some of his brains, lol. One tactic that seems to be gaining ground is when I wait later in the day to feed him...he's hungrier and less picky.

 

[FINWIN]

Tbh mealworms, Bloodworms should be fed to fish as a treat food not a staple. The outer shell of Mealworms can cause digestive issues.

I normally soak them in Vitachem overnight. Even used olive oil too. But yeah, definitely wanting to get him off just mealworms.

 

[FINWIN]

Update on the foolishness.

Brick gave me performance dances for mealworms. I didn't budge for two days. So, I tried a trick. Normally I go in the room and shake the mealworm bag. This time I took a bag of Hikari Gold and shook it. So Brick comes up and gives me the 'moving chops' like nom nom nom. I toss some in. He eats like no problem. REALLY??? ?

It occurred to me he may no longer like the texture of soaked pellets (he was raised on them). He seems to prefer 'crunchy' stuff now. The others will still eat soaked. So it was a texture thing, more than a pellet thing. AT LEAST FOR NOW.

So all that hoo for nothing. My oscar is a ?.

 

[jjohnwm]

Oscars are the greatest! Just about any cichlid can be trained; Oscars are masters at turning the tables and becoming the trainer! No offense intended, but you are being had. I recognize the unmistakable signs of this role-reversal, because I have been victimized by many a fish in my time in the hobby.

I'm not sure if they are available in your area, or if pollution might be an issue, but when I was younger the area in which I lived had major fish-fly hatches each spring. "Major" in this case refers to multiple vehicular collisions on roads slick with mayfly carcasses, and homes darkened by thick layers of mayflies on window screens. I would collect literally several million each spring and freeze them, using them as fish food throughout the year until the next spring bonanza. If you have a fish that ever turns up its nose at a nice fat floating mayfly, then check that fish over carefully, because it's probably dead. Those types of numbers are a thing of the past now, but there are still enough of these bugs around in some places to allow some stockpiling if you're willing to do the work.

Hint: they stink. It ain't fun. And I would only do it if you have a freezer devoted to fish food, taxidermy projects, frozen feeder mice and other non-human-food items.

 

[Hendre]

Update on the foolishness.

Brick gave me performance dances for mealworms. I didn't budge for two days. So, I tried a trick. Normally I go in the room and shake the mealworm bag. This time I took a bag of Hikari Gold and shook it. So Brick comes up and gives me the 'moving chops' like nom nom nom. I toss some in. He eats like no problem. REALLY??? ?

It occurred to me he may no longer like the texture of soaked pellets (he was raised on them). He seems to prefer 'crunchy' stuff now. The others will still eat soaked. So it was a texture thing, more than a pellet thing. AT LEAST FOR NOW.

So all that hoo for nothing. My oscar is a ?.

Happy to hear!

Hint: they stink. It ain't fun. And I would only do it if you have a freezer devoted to fish food, taxidermy projects, frozen feeder mice and other non-human-food items.

My mother purchased a new freezer for two reasons:

• We needed more freezer space
• There was an ice cream tub with pinkies for our new snakes

Good to have that freezer

 

[FINWIN]

LOL it was true, my overly brainy O was giving me the runaround...but the trick worked. Now he races to the top again hoping for food, none of that "nonchalant" stuff.

I've still got a bag of mealworms, though...? guh.

Think I'll pass on the mayflies...I've had my fill of 'unwanted guests' lately. It's wild kingdom out here as it is.

 

[jjohnwm]

Got bird feeders? Birds love meal worms.

They're pretty much junk food, compared to most insects. Fat, chitin, not much else. I wouldn't use them as a major component of a diet for anything... but if I had a bunch I'd dole them out as occasional variety treats.

 

[MatteoTheEnder22]

What about springtails instead they are cheap they breed a lot and depending on the species they can be big enough to satisfy an oscar