• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

jejton

Senior Member
Location
Suffolk
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
Dont bother with Petco ( except in emergencies ) as they sell only vials. You can buy the culture material ( media, containers, etc ) online for pretty cheap. Go to the sponsors on dendroboard. This way you can make larger cultures and keep two or three going at a time in case of crashes (they are prone to it). If you're in my area, I could always set you up with one to get you started. Its very easy - mix equal parts of media ( which is mostly potato flakes, baby food powder and anti-fungal stuff) with warm water ( distilled preferably ), sprinkle little brewer's yeast on top and let it solidify. Add some kind of material for the flies to crawl around on ( mesh, cofee filters, shredded paper ) and presto - within a couple of weeks you have a teeming fruit fly culture. Now make sure not to pull one of my moves - wild flies somehow got to my culture ( if the material on top is thin enough, they can mate through it ) and when I didnt realize there was a crack in the cup, and lots of family was over for that thanksgiving - lets say I almost added to the homeless statistics in this country.
 

jejton

Senior Member
Location
Suffolk
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
oh thats good to know. I rarely see fruit flies in Petco and they are always vials. I wonder if any out here will carry the full sized cultures.
 

jejton

Senior Member
Location
Suffolk
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
Why didnt you order the flightless variety? They are a staple and sold by every vendor in the hobby.
A trick we did in genetics was to use CO2 to knock out the flies but if you dont have that, stick it in the fridge for a couple of minutes. That will slow them down until they warm up but if you leave them in too long, the flies will die.
 

jejton

Senior Member
Location
Suffolk
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
Also note - flightless fruit flies will revert to being able to fly if they are kept at warm enough temp. Wingles flies can never regain the ability. However most lids have mesh thin enough that wild flies can mate with the captive ones through the mesh. If this will happen, the offspring will be wild ( flighted ) type.
 

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
Okay so here's an update: I order 2 mantids the Ghost mantis, the Orchid mantis, and they sent me a mystery mantis.. It was supposed to be unknown... Turns out the mystery mantis is the Violin mantis... These things are the coolest pet I have ever had.. I could seriously give up my reef to breed these things in a 55 gallon tank( well maybe I could give up the reef)... They are the size of the biggest pod you see.. Very small in other words, but grow to be between 2 and 4" between the 3 I have.. These people are really patient and gave me a nice freebie too,,lol.. I will definetly be ordering more.. They seem to be very easy to keep I keep them in the chinese soup containers with a paper towel between the lid and the bugs with a hole cut out in the middle for ventilation on the top of my tank to give them the heat they need.. I feed them about 8 flightless fruit flies that I ordered as a culture for $10 which should last me about 6 months or more.. I mist the containers once a day really good and the heat from my lights raises the humidity the way they like it.. I watched them eat today and wow it's sick the way they catch the flies... Talk about low maintenance I forgot about them almost today..
Smaller pic is the Violin Mantis..
 

Attachments

  • g_gongylodes200.jpg
    g_gongylodes200.jpg
    10.7 KB · Views: 75
  • ghost299F.jpg
    ghost299F.jpg
    15.3 KB · Views: 75

jejton

Senior Member
Location
Suffolk
Rating - 100%
26   0   0
Also, a culture, even the large ones I use wont last more than a few weeks because a.) the media runs dry, gets mold or just eaten up
b.) after a few generations, the flies start reproducing as fast
c.) cultures are prone to crash from mites, bacteria, mold

Try to keep a couple cultures going at a time.
 

Bob 1000

Advanced Reefer
Location
Staten Island
Rating - 100%
122   0   0
How can I keep the cultures going?? Can I take some of the flightless flies and put them into a new container and get them to multiply??? What would I need to put into the container to feed them and keep them in breeding condition?? They have wings but just jump they don't fly...
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top