starting a bug farm

[garyatstealth]

hello,
something i have long wanted to do. is to get fish tank going with bugs.
dragons, and mayflies and the like. where can you suggest i begin the search with books to do something like this.
surly gillie seems to have something like this for his photos. so any suggestions will be appreciated.

cheers

[Sonix]

Now this sounds like an interesting idea ... I'm just worried a bit about the stage where the insect in it's "water stage", gets to the point where it transforms into the "flying stage" ... like a dragonfly for example ... I think doing this successfully might be more complicated than one might think...

[Virgildonatifan]

Send me a PM on what you want to know. I have been keeping fish and plants for a couple of years, also kept bugs for a while. Don't know of any books except for those that are about aquarium fish and plants. I can also supply you with a list of beginners specie plants. I got my tank stable enough to do a water change once a month which is quite a minimal effort at upkeep

[Virgildonatifan]

Now this sounds like an interesting idea ... I'm just worried a bit about the stage where the insect in it's "water stage", gets to the point where it transforms into the "flying stage" ... like a dragonfly for example ... I think doing this successfully might be more complicated than one might think...

It's not really that complicated, just keep the water temps low and it can take up to two years for the nymphs to grow into flies

[ArcherFish]

hello,
something i have long wanted to do. is to get fish tank going with bugs.
dragons, and mayflies and the like. where can you suggest i begin the search with books to do something like this.
surly gillie seems to have something like this for his photos. so any suggestions will be appreciated.

cheers

Surly's thing is a temp thing for photo's I think.
The big question is how are you going to feed your bugs?

[Deon TerBlanche]

yawn, yawn, dude may I ask, have you not considered getting a swambo instead, there are better things to do than to watch 600 species of mayfly hatch ....

[Korrie]

HIE HIE HIE LMAO. very sharp.

[Korrie]

yawn, yawn, dude may I ask, have you not considered getting a swambo instead, there are better things to do than to watch 600 species of mayfly hatch ....

What? see how they mate?

[Virgildonatifan]

You can feed tadpoles to the dragonfly nymphs or hatch some sea monkeyes a.k.a. brine shrimp. It's a very easy setup and rich with nutrients. I think you pay about R60 for a little container and it holds about a million eggs if not more. Fish will eat them as well

[poppernel]

hello,
something i have long wanted to do. is to get fish tank going with bugs.
dragons, and mayflies and the like. where can you suggest i begin the search with books to do something like this.
surly gillie seems to have something like this for his photos. so any suggestions will be appreciated.

cheers

Great idea, my ff buddies brother breeds a freshwater shrimp that breeds easy. Just sceptic about releasing it as food into our stillwaters. Doing some homework first.

Snails are also a option, good nourishment for any fish.

DAVE