Live Food Guide

Why Live Food?

• Fry: Best first food for most species
• Breeding conditioning: High protein/fat
• Fussy eaters: Will snap up live prey
• Enrichment: Mental stimulation from hunting

1. Brine Shrimp (Artemia)

The most popular live fish food. Highly nutritious nauplii.

How to Hatch

1. Get cysts (₹200-500 for 50g — lasts months)
2. 2L bottle with air tube through cap
3. Mix: 1 tbsp non-iodised salt per litre
4. Add 1-2 tsp cysts per litre
5. Aerate heavily, incubate 24-36h at 26-30°C
6. Harvest: shells float, nauplii sink. Drain into sieve, rinse.

Feed immediately — nutritional value drops fast. Hatch daily.

2. Daphnia (Water Fleas)

High in protein and fiber. Fish love them.

1. Get starter culture (₹100-300)
2. 10-20L tub with aged water
3. Feed with green water or baker's yeast (pinch every other day)
4. Gentle aeration

3. Microworms

Tiny white worms. Easy to culture in oatmeal/yeast paste. Great for small fry.

4. Vinegar Eels

Microscopic nematodes in apple cider vinegar solution. Stay alive in water column longer than BBS. Easy backup food.

5. Grindal Worms

Small white worms on coconut fiber/soil. High protein. Great for conditioning and medium fry.

6. Black Soldier Fly Larvae

Excellent protein source for larger fish and turtles. Available at some pet shops.

Pro Tip: Keep a brine shrimp hatchery running daily during breeding season. It takes 5 minutes to set up and provides the freshest, most nutritious fry food available.