02-18-2011, 11:25 PM
Some Terms:
Culture or Culture Cup - This is the clear plastic, usually 32oz cup with a vented (holes covered by fabric screening) that contains the insects - Fruit Flies, bean beetles ect. They not only live in the culture cup, but they breed and reproduce in there as well. The word "Culture" is often abbreviated as CX or cx .
Dusting Cup- This is a clean clear plastic cup identical to a culture cup, only it is used to hold superfine powdered supplements- vitamins and calcium. For example, a "Culture Cup" gets opened and the feeder insects inside get tapped out and into the dusting cup to be swirled around and coated with superfine powder (dust) and then fed to frogs so that the frogs can acquire (eat) the powdered supplement.
Powder or Superfine Powder - Using this is referred to as "Dusting" and the powder coats the fruit flies and then the frogs eat the coated flies. This is the commercially available vitamin and calcium powders that are 100% necessary to use for raising and breeding poison dart frogs. Dart frogs absolutely must have it.
What type of fruit flies to buy ? melanogaster is the best choice for beginners. They have a 1 week (roughly) lifecycle (from egg to fly) and are far easier, forgiving of mistakes and predictable to produce than the larger and longer to produce- hydei. Both wingless and flightless flies are fine. Wingless tend to be better for those who worry about escaped flies, since at higher temps the "flightless" flies can, in rare instances, mutate and become "fliers". Flightless flies retain the wings but not the ability to actually fly and hold more vitamin supplement because of the larger surface area of the wings.
Hydei are larger and usually darker colored / black, and will eventually be the staple of larger frogs like auratus, leucomelas, and tinctorius. They take twice as long to cycle to adult, as the melos and their cultures can sometimes smell a little worse (stronger). These flies come in both gold and black morphs as well, which makes no difference for feeding out. These flies are climbers and a little more of “escape artists”.
D. melanogaster lifespan and ideal temperaturesFrom Wikipedia:
The D. melanogaster lifespan is about 30 days at 84 °F.
The developmental period for Drosophila melanogaster varies with temperature, as with many ectothermic species.
The shortest development time (egg to adult), 7 days, is achieved at 82 °F.Development times increase at higher temperatures (11 days at 86 °F) due to heat stress.
Under ideal conditions, the development time at 77 °F is 8.5 days.
At 64 °F it takes 19 days.
At 54 °F it takes over 50 days.
Under crowded conditions, development time increases, while the emerging flies are smaller.Females lay some 400 eggs (embryos), about five at a time, into rotting fruit or other suitable material such as decaying mushrooms and sap fluxes. The eggs, which are about 0.5 millimetres long, hatch after 12–15 hours (at 77 °F).The resulting larvae grow for about 4 days,while molting twice (into 2nd- and 3rd-instar larvae), at about 24 and 48 hours after hatching.During this time, they feed on the microorganisms that decompose the fruit, as well as on the sugar of the fruit itself. Then the larvae encapsulate in the puparium and undergo a four-day-long metamorphosis, after which the adults eclose (emerge).
Where to buy ? Try to buy your Fruit Flies locally and pick-up yourself if you can. This saves shipping costs and you get to meet your valuable local hobbyists. If you must mail order, use a site sponsor or a reputable / recommended fellow forum or board member.As a last resort, Petsmart and Petco have recently started carrying small vials of fruit flies, but the amounts and productions are suspect and the cost is prohibitive for such a small amount.
Media – Buy or Make your own ? I make my own media and I don’t have problems with smell, mold, or mites (other than the normal issues) Most media will produce a substantial amount of flies, and they all consist of pretty much the same main ingredients available at any given grocery store - a powdered confectionery sugar, a protein like brown powdered brewer’s yeast, a “base” of potato flakes, a mold inhibitor and some active yeast. Making your own media is at least 50% less expensive than buying it. When you are new to the hobby, however, you should just purchase ready made Fruit Fly media from an online sponsor / vendor or at a local Reptile show.
A simple recipe is this modified "Carolina" mix.
4 parts dried potato flakes (the base part)
1 part powdered (fluffy) confectionery sugar (the sugar part)
1 part BREWERS yeast (the protein part) available online, or at a nutritional store, like GNC
a dash of cinnamon (some say it helps the culture smell better as well as prevent mold)
Some white vinegar added to hot water (the liquid part). Methyl paraben is the scientific substance (both prevent mold)
This should be mixed with hot water to form a semi-firm mixture (not soupy or runny -think a little more solid than applesauce) then add excelsior (or other similar material like coffee filters) should be added to increase surface area for the flies. Finally add a dash of active baker’s yeast. Flies are then added after the mixture is cool.
Culture Containers / Cups ? glass or plastic containers are fine, some of us use glass (mason jars with the metal lid removed and a coffee filter inserted) while most use plastic 32 oz large "deli-type cups" which can be ordered online. Both can be used and cleaned continually even after many years. I have plastic culture cups and lids that are well over 5 years old. Most glass jars can be obtained free, from different sources or used food items and the popular 32 oz plastic “deli” cups with screen lids only cost @ 50-70 cents apiece. I personally find that the commercial fruit fly 32 oz cups are by far and away easiest to use. The LIDS MUST BE VENTILATED....us the FABRIC coated lids not the lids with the tiny holes that allow mites and other flies to walk right in. The FF and larvae need to breathe.
Culturing tips: when making a new culture pour flies into a small container (like another clean 32oz plastic deli cup) and shake with dust. This will allow you to easily transport the files to a new culture.
Make new CXs (cultures) once a week when the newest flies emerge. (Use these flies)
label your culture lids with dates in sharpie or similar way help prevent mites by keeping old (older than 5-6 weeks) CXs out of the culture/ frog-room area. Mites can decimate even the best cultures. Try to make your new cultures on the same day of the week and do not forget or skip a day. This will allow proper overlap and ensure continued proper production.
When should I make new cultures? This is one of the most important questions to ask. To ensure continual fly production, I find it best to make at least one new culture EVERY WEEK - and more depending upon how many Frogs you are feeding. Pick a day of the week and STICK TO IT. Don't put it off or make excuses or blow it off, as it will come back to hurt you and you will have a "gap" in your FF production. This is referred to as a Culture ROUTINE and it's one of the most important bits of advice I can offer - to go by that routine, no matter what. New cultures should be made from more than one boom from separate cultures. Try to take flies from at least three different booming cultures, and make separate NEW cultures from these - thus maximizing your chances of success with the new culture and production. NEVER mix flies from different cultures. You will breed fliers that way.
How long does the "standard" wingless Melanogaster Fruit Fly live ? - About 30-35 days
Two Kinds of Yeast ?!!?
Yep:
1. Baker's Yeast. The small, off-white-ish grains or sometimes little balls found in little foils packets or small dark coloured glass jars. This yeast is ACTIVE, or alive. It gets sprinkled on top of the freshly made culture and allows for the breakdown of the FF media. The maggots can then consume and process the media more easily, this way. FF that you transfer or "seed" a new culture should also have some active yeast on their legs and this can help the breakdown process as well. I always use some baker's yeast though, and don't fully rely on the FF's to drag some over with them. This is the yeast that you sprinkle a bit on the top of the freshly completed culture.
2. Brewer's Yeast .This is a fine brown powdery substance that adds protein to the culture and is an mixed-in ingredient that should be in every media mixture. It's usually found in health food grocery store aisles and comes in a small tub with a pop top. This is the most expensive ingredient and some people tend to skimp on it, which results in markedly decreased FF production.
Culturing fruit flies is very easy and only takes practice and confidence to master.
Good luck and remember to start culturing before you get your frogs, don’t let them suffer due to your inability to maintain their food properly.
making fly cultures is truly 'mad science' as there are so many variables in play. Impossible to say what works for one person will work for another. You're must gonna hafta roll up your sleeves and keep at it. Too dry? Add more water, ect. I know that's not the cleanest answer.
Some considerations:
in terms of possible importance:
1. Humidity of the CX / interaction with the media. Hard to judge especially by geography and season.
2. Temperature - should be close to 75F
3. Ventilation - Fabri-coted lids best. No pin holes!
4. Composition of the media - When new, def use proven premade until you get the hang of things. ALWAYS use HOT water - like Martha Stewart always says!
5. Seed flies - Amount and correct hatch - best to use melanogaster and not Hydei when new.
6. Mites - 90% infest via contaminated seed flies. also use mite paper and possible D.Earth
Culture or Culture Cup - This is the clear plastic, usually 32oz cup with a vented (holes covered by fabric screening) that contains the insects - Fruit Flies, bean beetles ect. They not only live in the culture cup, but they breed and reproduce in there as well. The word "Culture" is often abbreviated as CX or cx .
Dusting Cup- This is a clean clear plastic cup identical to a culture cup, only it is used to hold superfine powdered supplements- vitamins and calcium. For example, a "Culture Cup" gets opened and the feeder insects inside get tapped out and into the dusting cup to be swirled around and coated with superfine powder (dust) and then fed to frogs so that the frogs can acquire (eat) the powdered supplement.
Powder or Superfine Powder - Using this is referred to as "Dusting" and the powder coats the fruit flies and then the frogs eat the coated flies. This is the commercially available vitamin and calcium powders that are 100% necessary to use for raising and breeding poison dart frogs. Dart frogs absolutely must have it.
What type of fruit flies to buy ? melanogaster is the best choice for beginners. They have a 1 week (roughly) lifecycle (from egg to fly) and are far easier, forgiving of mistakes and predictable to produce than the larger and longer to produce- hydei. Both wingless and flightless flies are fine. Wingless tend to be better for those who worry about escaped flies, since at higher temps the "flightless" flies can, in rare instances, mutate and become "fliers". Flightless flies retain the wings but not the ability to actually fly and hold more vitamin supplement because of the larger surface area of the wings.
Hydei are larger and usually darker colored / black, and will eventually be the staple of larger frogs like auratus, leucomelas, and tinctorius. They take twice as long to cycle to adult, as the melos and their cultures can sometimes smell a little worse (stronger). These flies come in both gold and black morphs as well, which makes no difference for feeding out. These flies are climbers and a little more of “escape artists”.
D. melanogaster lifespan and ideal temperaturesFrom Wikipedia:
The D. melanogaster lifespan is about 30 days at 84 °F.
The developmental period for Drosophila melanogaster varies with temperature, as with many ectothermic species.
The shortest development time (egg to adult), 7 days, is achieved at 82 °F.Development times increase at higher temperatures (11 days at 86 °F) due to heat stress.
Under ideal conditions, the development time at 77 °F is 8.5 days.
At 64 °F it takes 19 days.
At 54 °F it takes over 50 days.
Under crowded conditions, development time increases, while the emerging flies are smaller.Females lay some 400 eggs (embryos), about five at a time, into rotting fruit or other suitable material such as decaying mushrooms and sap fluxes. The eggs, which are about 0.5 millimetres long, hatch after 12–15 hours (at 77 °F).The resulting larvae grow for about 4 days,while molting twice (into 2nd- and 3rd-instar larvae), at about 24 and 48 hours after hatching.During this time, they feed on the microorganisms that decompose the fruit, as well as on the sugar of the fruit itself. Then the larvae encapsulate in the puparium and undergo a four-day-long metamorphosis, after which the adults eclose (emerge).
Where to buy ? Try to buy your Fruit Flies locally and pick-up yourself if you can. This saves shipping costs and you get to meet your valuable local hobbyists. If you must mail order, use a site sponsor or a reputable / recommended fellow forum or board member.As a last resort, Petsmart and Petco have recently started carrying small vials of fruit flies, but the amounts and productions are suspect and the cost is prohibitive for such a small amount.
Media – Buy or Make your own ? I make my own media and I don’t have problems with smell, mold, or mites (other than the normal issues) Most media will produce a substantial amount of flies, and they all consist of pretty much the same main ingredients available at any given grocery store - a powdered confectionery sugar, a protein like brown powdered brewer’s yeast, a “base” of potato flakes, a mold inhibitor and some active yeast. Making your own media is at least 50% less expensive than buying it. When you are new to the hobby, however, you should just purchase ready made Fruit Fly media from an online sponsor / vendor or at a local Reptile show.
A simple recipe is this modified "Carolina" mix.
4 parts dried potato flakes (the base part)
1 part powdered (fluffy) confectionery sugar (the sugar part)
1 part BREWERS yeast (the protein part) available online, or at a nutritional store, like GNC
a dash of cinnamon (some say it helps the culture smell better as well as prevent mold)
Some white vinegar added to hot water (the liquid part). Methyl paraben is the scientific substance (both prevent mold)
This should be mixed with hot water to form a semi-firm mixture (not soupy or runny -think a little more solid than applesauce) then add excelsior (or other similar material like coffee filters) should be added to increase surface area for the flies. Finally add a dash of active baker’s yeast. Flies are then added after the mixture is cool.
Culture Containers / Cups ? glass or plastic containers are fine, some of us use glass (mason jars with the metal lid removed and a coffee filter inserted) while most use plastic 32 oz large "deli-type cups" which can be ordered online. Both can be used and cleaned continually even after many years. I have plastic culture cups and lids that are well over 5 years old. Most glass jars can be obtained free, from different sources or used food items and the popular 32 oz plastic “deli” cups with screen lids only cost @ 50-70 cents apiece. I personally find that the commercial fruit fly 32 oz cups are by far and away easiest to use. The LIDS MUST BE VENTILATED....us the FABRIC coated lids not the lids with the tiny holes that allow mites and other flies to walk right in. The FF and larvae need to breathe.
Culturing tips: when making a new culture pour flies into a small container (like another clean 32oz plastic deli cup) and shake with dust. This will allow you to easily transport the files to a new culture.
Make new CXs (cultures) once a week when the newest flies emerge. (Use these flies)
label your culture lids with dates in sharpie or similar way help prevent mites by keeping old (older than 5-6 weeks) CXs out of the culture/ frog-room area. Mites can decimate even the best cultures. Try to make your new cultures on the same day of the week and do not forget or skip a day. This will allow proper overlap and ensure continued proper production.
When should I make new cultures? This is one of the most important questions to ask. To ensure continual fly production, I find it best to make at least one new culture EVERY WEEK - and more depending upon how many Frogs you are feeding. Pick a day of the week and STICK TO IT. Don't put it off or make excuses or blow it off, as it will come back to hurt you and you will have a "gap" in your FF production. This is referred to as a Culture ROUTINE and it's one of the most important bits of advice I can offer - to go by that routine, no matter what. New cultures should be made from more than one boom from separate cultures. Try to take flies from at least three different booming cultures, and make separate NEW cultures from these - thus maximizing your chances of success with the new culture and production. NEVER mix flies from different cultures. You will breed fliers that way.
How long does the "standard" wingless Melanogaster Fruit Fly live ? - About 30-35 days
Two Kinds of Yeast ?!!?
Yep:
1. Baker's Yeast. The small, off-white-ish grains or sometimes little balls found in little foils packets or small dark coloured glass jars. This yeast is ACTIVE, or alive. It gets sprinkled on top of the freshly made culture and allows for the breakdown of the FF media. The maggots can then consume and process the media more easily, this way. FF that you transfer or "seed" a new culture should also have some active yeast on their legs and this can help the breakdown process as well. I always use some baker's yeast though, and don't fully rely on the FF's to drag some over with them. This is the yeast that you sprinkle a bit on the top of the freshly completed culture.
2. Brewer's Yeast .This is a fine brown powdery substance that adds protein to the culture and is an mixed-in ingredient that should be in every media mixture. It's usually found in health food grocery store aisles and comes in a small tub with a pop top. This is the most expensive ingredient and some people tend to skimp on it, which results in markedly decreased FF production.
Culturing fruit flies is very easy and only takes practice and confidence to master.
Good luck and remember to start culturing before you get your frogs, don’t let them suffer due to your inability to maintain their food properly.
making fly cultures is truly 'mad science' as there are so many variables in play. Impossible to say what works for one person will work for another. You're must gonna hafta roll up your sleeves and keep at it. Too dry? Add more water, ect. I know that's not the cleanest answer.
Some considerations:
in terms of possible importance:
1. Humidity of the CX / interaction with the media. Hard to judge especially by geography and season.
2. Temperature - should be close to 75F
3. Ventilation - Fabri-coted lids best. No pin holes!
4. Composition of the media - When new, def use proven premade until you get the hang of things. ALWAYS use HOT water - like Martha Stewart always says!
5. Seed flies - Amount and correct hatch - best to use melanogaster and not Hydei when new.
6. Mites - 90% infest via contaminated seed flies. also use mite paper and possible D.Earth