How do you keep a fruit fly colony alive, and multiplying?

[GartenSpinnen]

I got a fruit fly colony a couple weeks ago, and noticed they are diminishing quite rapidly. Any way to keep the numbers up and get them breeding good for me? What should i feed them?

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Generally, there are three main issues you see in fruit flies: temperature issues, bad media, and lack of b vitamins. Temperature will cause deaths if too high, too low, or too inconsistent. If you go with a lab quality medium, it should have antibacterial/antifungal constituents (invertebrate safe, obviously) built right in, which takes care of one of the big problems we see with these guys. The other problem is that most substrates are deficient in B vitamins, which can be supplemented via a few (literally) granules of yeast or a couple of drops of a liquid B vit supplement. You may also want to pull adults as each gen starts dying off and either feed them out or move them to a new vile, as the accumulation of dead flies will sooner or later corrupt the integrity of your media and cause larvae deaths. Overcrowding in general can cause some issues, so if you aren't feeding out at a pretty high rate, I'd consider getting a few vials to disperse the population through - you'll likely have better breeding results if population does not become a limiting factor.

 

[purebloodaddict]

We use instant potato flakes... Use one part of them to one part water and a dash of any type if liquor. Get those suckers drunk!! (It doesn’t hurt to sample the stuff, make sure it is up to par!!!) LOL Just joking, but really it speeds up the fermentation process. We usually have a space heater on in the room and the temp is about 70 average. It does have its ups and downs, because it is only on when we are home. Also start with a really good number. The more you sacrifice in the beginning the more you get in the long run. I started less than a month ago with about 25 flies, now I have them coming out of my ears!!!! Good Luck! PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[Lucille]

Here's a site with info:
http://www.edsflymeat.com/

 

[skips]

I agree that I think the biggest problem is overcrowding. Populations grow exponentially so at some point your populations explode, they poop everywhere and lay eggs all over everything. If that's your problem do as stated above, remove the excess flies and feed them out, use them for a new culture, or kill them. You could have mites or mold. A common thing to do is to use distilled white vinegar (that's what I use) in a 1:1 ratio with the water you use to make the media. this kills almost everything that would hurt your flies and they love it.

If you still need more reading look around on dendroboard.com. It's forum for dart frogs, but since fruit flies are a staple there are an amazing number of discussions of fruit fly care. What species do you have by the way? Also, are you using commerial media? or did you make it yourself?

 

[arachyd]

I used 1 quart mason jars. I made a mix of a couple of bananas, about 1/4 cup of sugar and enough dry oatmeal to firm it up. Mash it all together and put about 1 1/2" in the bottom of a mason jar. Sprinkle brewer's yeast lightly over the surface. Put in something for the flies to climb up on like a picee of plastic mesh (I like to use a handful of excelsior-fine, curly strands of wood used in packing) and push it firmly into the mixture at the bottom so it won't fall out if you tip the jar upside down. Cover the mason jar with its ring and a strong paper towel instead of the original lid for ventilation. Add about 10 adult flightless fruit flies and wait a couple of weeks. They always go up so when you need them turn the jar upside down, remove the ring/paper towel and GENTLY tap some out into the enclosure of whatever you are feeding or another container. Always leave several adults in the jar to repopulate until the jar starts looking used up. If you need a steady supply start your next jar before your first one is used up. The jar should be good for about a month.

 

[LucasDuelin]

i found this recipe on internet it works better than stuff i have bought from dealers in past

(D.hydei is what i use but it should work for melongnaster)
potato flakes - 8 cups
powdered sugar -1 cup
brewer's yeast - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
methyl paraben - 4 teaspoons

mix 1/2 cup of the above with 1/2 cup water and spinkle pinch of baker's yeast on top.

if you don't want to search for ingredients i may be able to sale you some already mixed just make me a deal