# Maggots



## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

There have been a couple of threads here about feeding worms to fish.

Has anybody ever fed their fish MAGGOTS? I know that fishing shops sell live tubs of them as bait - but would they be suitable for feeding?

And would they have any nutritional value?


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## rogerlee (Dec 31, 2006)

hi kateyoup personally i would not feed my fish with them as i use them to go fishing but i have used squats which are like a maggot only smaller and i have only gave them to my goldfish and a little tench what i found in my net from a fishing trip. but you look at the size of a maggot and a guppy and start wondering how it will fit into its mouth. but like i said thats my personal opinon hpe its some use


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Thanks Rogerlee.


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## jb92 (Mar 11, 2007)

i have fed my fish maggots , i just cut some of their body with scissors so the juices come out and then the tetras and my guppies seem to enjoy picking off them.


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## Sleepy (Feb 5, 2007)

:shock: I could never touch a maggot. :shock:


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## unlimitedx (Mar 20, 2007)

maggots are different from mealworms... right?


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

I'm not too sure. I think perhaps maggots are bluebottle larvae (and are larger) and mealworms are beetle larvae. Somebody correct if I'm wrong.


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## leifthebunny (Mar 13, 2007)

From what I remember, Maggots are flies where Mealworms are beetles.


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## rogerlee (Dec 31, 2006)

meal worms are beetle larvae and maggots are from the blubottle fly and squats are from little flys called midges and they are very small maggots


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

> Sleepy Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 5:01 pm :
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> I could never touch a maggot.


i have to agree! i cant even feed frozen blocks of bloodworm. my fish only get bloodworm when my boyfriend is up to open the "freezer compartment from hell" and feed accordingly where i will leave the room until the ordeal is over!!!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Sleepy said:


> :shock: I could never touch a maggot. :shock:


Same here.:blink:

I had enough memories of maggots crawling over one of our cars when we tried to bring the garbage to the dumps.:shock: I would be more morose if I find maggots again in a food tub. I had a food tub filled with maggots ages ago because I forgot where I placed a food container and I barely remember that.:evil:

I used flies though.:lol: Penguin tetras along with the green aro love them.


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Although I don't like creepie crawlies, I don't mind maggots too much.

I used to go fishing with my dad quite often, and we used them as bait. I wouldn't fancy cutting one in half though ... that's just a bit too gross!


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

I am NOT a maggot person, but the only danger I can see with getting them from a tackle shop is that some are dyed. So the contents of the dye maybe damaging and also what they are fed upon may arise some concern, but that's just my opinion.


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

mealworms are beetle larva that are a pest in grain stores there very hard shelled so only feed them to fish with teeth
big maggots are bred on animal carcass waste there nutritional and soft bodied i personally wouldn't stick my hands in a tub of them they come in many different sizes due to species ranging from tiny fruit fly maggots up to the large horse fly type the dyed types are not harmful as the dyes are food type dyes that are commercial safe


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

As long as the maggots are washed well. I have fed fruit fly maggots to my fish in the past and they love them. I wouldn't feed them too often thought because they can be very fatty and will make your fish overweight. 

Mealworms are the larva of the darkling beetle. Their scientific name is Tenebrio molitor and there are a couple others species, king mealworms and confused flour beetles. The kings are huge and the confused flour beetle is the smallest and easiest to raise and feed to your fish. Most fish will not eat the beetle unless you have a large oscar or arowana. Pond goldfish will eat them from what I have heard. 

Fruit fly larva are easy to culture and will be high in vitamins depending on what you use for media to culture them. 

The only thing I can see being a potential problem is the fact that bottle fly maggots are most often cultured in manure and it could contaminate the aquarium over time. Muska domestica is the common house fly and can be cultured the same as fruit flies although much less productive.


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll stick to the more conventional methods of feeding.


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