Feeding bugs to my fish. Yuck, but hey it's part of the hobby!?

Question

Hello :)

I wanted some advice as how I can become less squirmish towards bugs. I can see them and stand them, but they do scare me a bit. I know they are harmless, but their eyes and legs just freak me out.

I feed blood worms, daphnia, and other stuff to both my Betta's. I think about it as red mush not really worms so I can stomach feeding them this. I understand that fish are carnivorous and need this kind of protein.

I also feed our Family's Oscar Beetles and Crickets, but prefer prawns and crayfish over bugs. I want to like bugs, but don't know how.

I would be sexist if I say females are more prone to this feeling than men, but why is this so?
How can I get over my fear of them?

When I was little we did not have much toys and to boot it my neighbors on both sides were dudes including my older bro so we caught tons and tons of bugs all day; that was our playing time so how can I be scared of them now?
 
I remember that I did not like it, but I did not dislike it either. I hope I can get over this as I plan to keep feeding my fish what they need.

I gave my box turtle, to my current Russian tortoise vet. I could not stomach having to cultivate live foods for her. I found the box turtle on the road and took her in. Then later could not stomach feeding her so I gave her to someone that could. The tortoise does not eat bugs so that is cool with me. lol

Any suggestions? I have taken care of beetles before so I am no so scared of them. Just the jumpy kind of insects. lol

Well thanks for taking the time to help me :)

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

When you have a fear of something to be able to feel more comfortablele about doing what ever your fear is .You have to over come it and that comes in many forms .
There are many ways to face your fear it just depends what would work for you .If that was me then it would be a case of continuing feeding Bugs and eventually i would be able to deal with it with out it worrying me .
But that may not work for you .its more a psychology question your asking rather than a fish question .
I did a psychology course over 3 years and qualified but i think you would get Better answers in the  psychology section .
Good luck

? · Answer

Well the truth is that not all bugs are harmless. Some carry disease. Some are poisonous. Some can sting or bite.

The phobia that people have against bugs may have been a defensive mechanism. If so it would explain the odd situation that the human digestive system resembles that of an insectivore. A hypothetical posit would be that at some time in the distant past, humans did eat bugs, but something happened to the bug food supply that made it dangerous. Perhaps some lethal parasite appeared. Only those humans that developed a fear of bugs survived and passed that fear down either socially or genetically to the remnant humans.

Getting rid of a phobia is a standard procedure. Getting books about insects, especially one with pictures, and reading them can make a big difference. Some of the books below show a lot of appreciation, even love for insects in the text, and lots of photos showing the odd and the beautiful side of insects.

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Feeding bugs to my fish. Yuck, but hey it's part of the hobby!?

2 Answers