Window bug feeder idea

[spiff44]

I keep having this idea that if I had an upstairs tank anymore, that it would be cool to move it in front of a window and then paint the back of the tank to keep algae from going nuts. Then, the idea is to build an enclosure that includes the window and tank hood so that in warm months you can turn on a light to attract insects and basically have a free feeding frenzy every night.


If anyone has a tank already by a window I would love to see this in action.

 

[MN_Rebel]

It will attract unwanted animals...

 

[spiff44]

Like what? You would still have the option to close the window so you can do this while monitoring. In my area, the fish would be fed in about 15 minutes with a bright light and the open window, then you close the window again if worried about Wilo wisps flying in.

 

[MN_Rebel]

Like what? You would still have the option to close the window so you can do this while monitoring. In my area, the fish would be fed in about 15 minutes with a bright light and the open window, then you close the window again if worried about Wilo wisps flying in.

Mosquitoes, spiders, dragonflies, wasps and other unwanted insects. Or worse, a bat, cat or raccoon might will stop by.

 

[Betta132]

Fish will jump at the bugs and potentially jump right out of the window.
Also, you'd be attracting other predators to those bugs, things like spiders that might end up hurting your fish. You'd also have to keep a close eye on things to be sure a cat, opossum, or raccoon didn't turn up and have a snack.

 

[spiff44]

There are no insects that I would worry about a fish eating and getting hurt.. and if you do the hood correctly nothing would get into the house. Any "pests" the fish would just eat. Also, if the aquarium is in front of the window, I'm picturing the top part of the window being used, not the bottom.. couldn't see large animals having access on a normal house as it would be too high.

 

[jamntoast]

I think its a cool idea, seems like its too much work though. I have this vision of a hood being built into the window, would you have to go outside to close the screen? it all seems very complicated. also even if there are no deadly insects or spiders, I might be wrong but, the insects your fish eat could have parasites or something that could make your fish sick. that point aside what you could do if you want to do this is maybe get a jar and leave some old meat in there and attract a bunch of flies and wait for maggots, then cap the jar and wait for them to grow up. you could make a special hood on your tank with a hole in it roughly the same size as the jar and then you could open the jar against the tank. I'm not sure of the details of how you would do all that without flies getting out. but at least you would have some visual control of what bugs are going in your tank

 

[MN_Rebel]

There are no insects that I would worry about a fish eating and getting hurt.. and if you do the hood correctly nothing would get into the house. Any "pests" the fish would just eat. Also, if the aquarium is in front of the window, I'm picturing the top part of the window being used, not the bottom.. couldn't see large animals having access on a normal house as it would be too high.

Never underestimate raccoons and cats with their climbing ability. And there are plenty of insects that actually prey on fishes, especially giant water bugs which are attract to lights at night.

 

[spiff44]

They actually do that to feed chickens.. that in turn people eat. They basically put roadkill or similar nastiness in a bucket with holes drilled into the bottom.. and hang the bucket from something. The bucket will drip maggots for the next week or two depending on the size of the thing inside. This is apparently good enough for people to still eat the chickens. I wouldn't want to smell a dead animal to make this work indoors though.

To be honest I think people are way too worried about their fish catching parasites from insects... so you never feed them bugs? I don't think I have ever heard of fish catching something from a land/sky dwelling insect...though I suppose water bugs could transfer something. But then again anything you buy could be infected too.. live crickets.. worms, even frozen food could potentially harbor something. The biggest threat I think there is, is the fish eating too much chitin and getting "backed" up... would just have to modulate.

But yeah, its just an idea... if the hood had doors on each side you could either close the rear door and leave the window always open, or reach through to open the window. Nothing fancy.. just a wooden frame with doors on each side. I used to feed my fish the cleanings from a bug zapper.. they loved it. It just had me thinking how cool it would be if the bugs just landed right into the water.

Just throwing ideas around while bored at work.. don't mind me.

 

[spiff44]

Never underestimate raccoons and cats with their climbing ability. And there are plenty of insects that actually prey on fishes, especially giant water bugs which are attract to lights at night.

I guess I'm thinking of fish big enough to not be threatened by insects. If it was me I would only open the window while actually feeding the fish and then close it again once they're fed. Where I live I bet a gram of insects would land in the water every 15 minutes... it wouldn't take long. But it would fun as hell to watch.