Ants as a snack?

[TheCheese909]

I haven't been spraying the outside of my house for ants every month like I usually do, I think I only did it in January and have just forgotten every month since. Yesterday/last night one of my cats pointed out to me that I have a slight ant problem in my hallway (thankfully they are black and not red), I went on super cleaning mode last night and was up till 5:30am cleaning up the house (it freaks me out having them inside my home) so that the problem wouldn't spread anywhere else. I haven't yet sprayed outside or sprayed anything inside, I know not to spray anything near the fish or anything like that, no ants as of yet anywhere near them...

(in short)

I was wondering if any squished ones (death by finger lol) would be okay to feed my fish? I know these are not wild Bettas in anyway, but I would think in the wild they indeed would eat an ant or two. I haven't chemically treated any of them (yet) so I figured it would be safe to give them like, one each and it would be okay.
Thoughts?

[LebronTheBetta]

I wouldn't risk it if I were you. And for the Ant Control, keep in mind that Ants leave a Scent Trail for other Ants if they found a Crumb or something.

[TheCheese909]

Yes I know the scent trail, hence the major house cleaning. Thankfully it looks like they just got here they were not going in any specific direction and were rather scattered- I only found about 20(ish) of them.

I haven't fed anyone any still, I was planning on giving everyone their weekly Daphnia and had just wondered about it. I wouldn't mind actually having an ant farm for my fish aside from the fact that I hate ants.

[Oldfishlady]

Ants are a great fish/Betta food as long as they are free of pesticides.....

Also, if you have any potted plants in the house-check them out for ants-often this is one of the places they will build nest.
You can use a diluted vinegar or bleach in a spray bottle to spray areas to kill their scent trail....

[aokashi]

I heard some ants contain some kind of acid ...
I usually leave a pot of water outside my house and feed any stray unfortunate bugs that have landed in there to my fish

[LionCalie]

I wouldn't. Insects caught from the wild often carry parasites. You have no idea what they have walked through or ingested. These are the same reasons people will tell you to avoid feeding wild caught insects to your reptiles. Despite it being a natural food source, we want our captive animals to be parasite free for their overall health and longevity. Again, that is not the only reason. The insects can have pesticides on them or have ingested food with pesticides on it. Even if you don't use chemicals, the insects could have traveled from a neighbor who does.

[Enkil]

Originally Posted by Oldfishlady

Ants are a great fish/Betta food as long as they are free of pesticides.....

Also, if you have any potted plants in the house-check them out for ants-often this is one of the places they will build nest.
You can use a diluted vinegar or bleach in a spray bottle to spray areas to kill their scent trail....

+1


I know that my Freydis has had at least one ant that had the misfortune of investigating their tank. We have sugar ants no matter how clean we keep things. They even get into the dog food. I watched Freydis eat one. No ill effects.

[indjo]

+1 OFL
I sometimes feed mine ant eggs which often has live ants in them (rather large red ant - fire ant (?)). My bettas often eat them.... but the eggs are better food - soft easy to digest and high in protein.

[Olympia]

Starting to feel bad that I eat wild gathered berries and mushrooms. Lol. Don't eat it it's been outside!
Our fish are already full of parasites (farmed fish actually have more than wild fish..) So I'm pretty sure they can handle it. I collect mosquito larvae from our rain barrel.
I think the question is whether or not ants themselves are toxic, which has been answered by people that have experienced this.
Indjo, where on earth do you find ant eggs? D: especially from fire ants.
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[Shadyr]

Not quite ants but....

Ghost likes gnats.