Category: GCKA – Foods and Feeding

By Donna M. Recktenwalt         We all know that live foods for our killifish can improve health and vigor, intensify color, and boost both egg production and the viability of the resulting fry. But how can the average killikeeper feed live foods without raising them himself? Brine shrimp are available at some aquarium stores, but…

  It has long been known among killikeepers that one of the best foods for killifish is mosquito larvae. With the season imminent, it seems a good time for discussion.         Mosquito larvae are generally found in standing, shallow water. Look in out of the way placesponds, puddles, and ditches, deep tire tracks, inside old…

 One of the simplest live foods aquarists can raise to feed small fish and fry are vinegar eels. These are small worms, about a millimeter long as adults, about the same size as microworms. They tend to swim suspended in the culture liquid, with the greatest concentration visible as a cloudiness in the upper layers.…

Puttin’ Live Food By or Carryin’ That Summer Bounty Into Fall         Fall is here, and with it the eventual end of the bounty of live foods that we have been able to collect and/or culture outdoors through the warmer months. Some of these cultures can be brought inside for the winter and continue to produce…

Every aquarist has his or her own “recipe” for successfully feeding his/her fish, although almost all agree that variety in the diet will improve overall vigor, color, and health. Most successful aquarists rely on a combination of foods, including fresh or live foods, frozen foods, flake foods, and in some cases, paste foods.         Fresh…

Aquarists know that dietary variety, including live foods, is important for inducing spawning condition and growing out strong, healthy fry.         One of the fishfood ingredients that has proven of great benefit is spirulina, a type of seaweed used in the formulation of many commercial fishfood products. It has been shown to help increase yellow…

Those who breed fish and raise fry are always interested in finding another food that can get those youngsters off to a good start. Rick Borstein, Editor of GCCA Cichlid Chatter, newsletter of the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association, writing in the July 1999 issue, recommends a new product. Cyclop-Eeze is powdered cyclops, a small rotifer. The…

Grindal worms (Panagrellus species) are one of the “old standby” live foods that can be easily cultured in the amateur fishroom. They are fairly small, thus suitable for many of the smaller fish such as dwarf cichlids, killifish, and fry.         Unlike whiteworms, which prefer cooler temperatures, grindal worms do best at about 70°F. Overall, they…

Fruit Flies – Drosophila melanogaster         We all know that live food on at least an occasional basis is one of the best things we can do to foster good health, good growth, and regular spawning in our killifish. But what live foods can we feed during the “off” seasons, when mosquito larvae aren’t available, and…

By Donna M. Recktenwalt           One of the complaints often heard about killifish is that they won’t eat dry food.        Not true. In fact, the staple food for many killikeepers is commercially produced dry foods. These are of various types, including flakes, freeze-dried, and pelleted forms. Of course, all fish will do better if they…