Bender Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 My neighbors Brazilian cherry is in fruit at the moment. It hangs over my fence and the fruits are beautiful, shining red like little jewels in the sun. As attractive as they are to me, they are full of grubs. Some are definitely fruit fly, but I've also seen another little wasp stinging the fruit. So my questions are: Are all little grubs safe for my betta? How many grubs should I feed at any one time? Should they be rinsed off to remove any juice before feeding? Also she is adept at catching her own little insects that crawl through the lid hole on her tank. Most of the time these are those small fly's that hang around lightbulbs, which she kills but spits back out for me to remove later. Last night tho it was a long green lacewing. I heard her attacking it because she bumped against the lid when she knocked it in. I figured it was just another fly, but when I looked later she was tearing pieces off the body to eat. Is it safe to let her continue eating anything that happens to fly in her tank, or should I put a piece of net over the hole to screen them out? Is this just instinctive and fun, or should I be feeding her more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 I think most insects are ok to feed. I'm more concerned about your neighbours fruit fly outbreak. It really should be reported to the Dept of Primary Industries and get them to come around and spray it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghengis Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Didn't you know, B'azzi? The Fruit Fly is the State emblem up here in Queensland...spraying them would be akin to eating Kangaroo and Em...oh. Nevermind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted November 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 LOL! If I remember correctly you have allot of fruit fly free area's down there in victoria. Unfortunately we have our very own native fruit fly up here Queensland Department of Primary industries I think there is still some effort made to reduce the Mediterranean variety that is brought in, your not supposed to transport fruit in and all that, but in general we have learned to share our fruit! Thanks for the clarification tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 Yeah when someone says fruit fly to me it has the same effect as if they pulled a bit of skin off their face and said, "gee my leprosy is playing up again". :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted November 10, 2008 Report Share Posted November 10, 2008 The bugs should be fine providing they haven't been exposed to any pesticides. If your neighbour is spraying the tree, then I'd reconsider, but otherwise I reckon you should let the fishies eat the bugs That would be a perfectly natural diet for them in the wild. I would LOVE to live in a fruit fly free zone. I've lost our plums for the last 3 years to the little devils :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canfeleq Posted November 11, 2008 Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 Yep me too! We don't have any fruit trees but we are having a major problem with fruit fly ATM. The little devils are in the house and I don't know where they are coming from.....it's driving me nuts as I don't like using pesticides and they are so light they don't stick to fly paper. As far as feeding them to your fish, as Callatya said, it's natural. Some really dedicated breeders actually raise fruit fly to feed to their fish.....wingless or vestigal winged varieties of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender Posted November 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2008 LOL! It took me a few years to get used to all the bugs up here, I'd never heard of veggie eating lady bugs for example, until they destroyed my seedlings! My neighbour doesn't believe in spraying, actually its more that she doesn't believe in gardening in general, she just has a lovely jungle of shrubs. Sebastion loves to eat the grubs! They disappear in one gulp like she inhales them. Actually she always seams hungry. I've was following the instructions I had on feeding her, 3 little pellets twice a day, it doesn't seem enough. Is there a way of working out how much I can feed her? Edit: have posted new thread for that last question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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