Grasshopper?

[Bill M.]

Ugh... I caught a baby grasshopper, and threw it in my tank... one of my larger black skirts attacked it and ate it up... heh.. i know.... but i wanted to see if they'd eat it... if I am sure there were no pesticides/insecticides, could any harm be done?? I figure they'd get a few hoppers in the wild.... experience?? Concerns??

[YaYgoldFish]

Well unless anyone near where you got it uses pesticides, and it doesn't have any illness or anything, no worries. I think Lady Hobbs and MAYBE Gm use crickets or grasshopers from outside. I would get them for my turtles but i rather buy them at my lfs, too scared they might be infected with something.

[Bill M.]

Yea, that makes sense. I just looked at my tetra that ate the fish and he looks like he has just accomplished a lifes goal: Hunting and eating a life insect...haha... I am kinda interested in occasionally feeding live baby grasshoppers to my fish... Does anyone know how to raise them, perhaps in a jar or empty 1 gallon octagon tank so that way I know for a fact they are not contaminated with anything????

[YaYgoldFish]

sure, you can look at your lfs to see if they have any grasshopers, if they do get a few and wait till they breed. You could research breeding grasshopers. It could become another whole new hobby!

[Drumachine09]

Throw in a peice of egg carton, an apple slice, a potato slice, and an orange slice.

[Bill M.]

Haha, in that specific order?
How exactly do the grasshoppers get in there????
Geeze Mr. DIY-King....not.... :P

[Drumachine09]

Haha, in that specific order?
How exactly do the grasshoppers get in there????
Geeze Mr. DIY-King....not.... :P


The egg carton gives them structure/relief fromt the light, and the foods gut load them so they are nutritious.

[Bill M.]

ah hah.. sounds good....but how do I breed them so that I know they are not exposed to parasites, poisons etc..

[Drumachine09]

ah hah.. sounds good....but how do I breed them so that I know they are not exposed to parasites, poisons etc..


i have no idea how to breed them. My neighbor used to buy them by the 1000s when he kept beared dragons, and thats how he kept his crickets.

[Nick_Pavlovski]

To catch them in the wild - go to big grassy field where you know they are.
you need to go on a morning when there's plenty of dew. As the sun comes up, they sit on the long grass and catch the sun as they need to be dry before they can fly - so, run through the grass with a big but fine-meshed net.
Shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, that comes from one of my trout fishing books. That's the theory.
We don't have many fields like that here, so I've never done it.

[Algenco]

To catch them in the wild - go to big grassy field where you know they are.
you need to go on a morning when there's plenty of dew. As the sun comes up, they sit on the long grass and catch the sun as they need to be dry before they can fly - so, run through the grass with a big but fine-meshed net.
Shouldn't be a problem.

Anyway, that comes from one of my trout fishing books. That's the theory.
We don't have many fields like that here, so I've never done it.

Nick, that works.
Same technique my Grandfather used ,except we did it on a larger scale.
Drape a minnow seine over the front of a pickup, fasten in place, drive through the field stopping occasionally to remove the hoppers! We needed a thousand or more to bait trotlines

[Drumachine09]

Nick, that works.
Same technique my Grandfather used ,except we did it on a larger scale.
Drape a minnow seine over the front of a pickup, fasten in place, drive through the field stopping occasionally to remove the hoppers! We needed a thousand or more to bait trotlines



Sounds like fun! Never used crickets on a troline before. Usually shad or perch.


The net method is a good one for catching wild ones though.

[Nick_Pavlovski]

Here, we use scrubworms (big, tough earthworms - stay on the hook really well and keep wriggling for hours!) or we use Witchetty Grubs
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
or cicadas...
The Aborigines eat Witchetty Grubs, and some bush restaurants serve them grilled plain. Meant to be very nutty in flavour!
I'd rather let the trout eat it, then catch and eat the trout! :laugh1blue: