Fruit fly culture

[MFloyd87]

Not sure if this is the best place to put this question, but I am new to fruit fly cultures. I’ve used pinhead crickets in the past for my slings. Picked up a culture and stored it in a darker of the house. The media looks brown and liquidy, and when I take the lid off of the flies on the side are moving. I I don’t know enough about them to know if these are still suitable to feed to my tiny slings. I did read some thing about adding potato flakes to firm the media up again, but I wanted to ask opinions first please please help!

 

[viper69]

Fruit flies aren't so nutritious- feed slings diced up pieces of mealworms, they are rich in FAT

 

[cold blood]

I don’t know enough about them to know if these are still suitable to feed to my tiny slings

fruit flies are a terrible feeder option as mentioned...they are nutritionally deficient and are the only feeder I have ever seen that are proven to cause problems with slings...they're fine as an occasional feeder, but you dont want to make them a significant part of their diet. As viper said, diced up mealworms are a healthier option, not to mention 1000 times less annoying to deal with.

 

[MFloyd87]

Fruit flies aren't so nutritious- feed slings diced up pieces of mealworms, they are rich in FAT

Actually works better for me as I have an abundance of those

fruit flies are a terrible feeder option as mentioned...they are nutritionally deficient and are the only feeder I have ever seen that are proven to cause problems with slings...they're fine as an occasional feeder, but you dont want to make them a significant part of their diet. As viper said, diced up mealworms are a healthier option, not to mention 1000 times less annoying to deal with.

I’m good with that
I was scouring the internet trying to see if these things were bad or just dormant and I’m like you know what… there’s a reason nobody likes using these things

 

[viper69]

Actually works better for me as I have an abundance of those

Mealworms? Great

do what is best for the animal whose life depends on your willingness to do the right thing

 

[CutThroat Kid]

That culture sucks... Maybe it's just the species or something, but I'd never buy one if the media was slimey like that. Nope!

I think fruit flies are great if the spiders you're feeding are smaller than a pea. I used them when I was breeding jumping spiders.

The thing about a fruit fly "culture" is that it's supposed to keep producing more flies over time. Look for cultures that look like this one pictured below. The food in the bottom should be a firm waxy substance and have a mesh lid. When done right they don't get gross inside and the fruit flies thrive (maybe a little too well sometimes) until the food runs out or they inbreed so much that the culture crashes.

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

That culture looks like it has been infested by tiny mites! Probably soil mites and their ilk, but they do signal that the culture is ready to be thrown out. I don't see any living pupa and a lot of adult husks. Probably time to throw in the towel.

You could also try cricket drumsticks for slings.