# Help!!! Flightless Fruit Fly culture stopped producing



## Mugwump (Oct 2, 2018)

Help... i need to feed my mantis but....the flightless fruit fly (mature) culture i purchased off ebay seems to have stopped producing, there are lots of static lifeless larvae, i've only had the pot 2 weeks, i thought they would last a lot longer, i kept them at 22C but now i have nothing to feed my 2 Egyptian mantis. Will the culture perk up again or is it game over for this pot?

If you see the attached photo i took you can get a better idea of what i mean.





As you can see not much going on.

Is it better to buy these at 'intermediate' level or 'freshly made' as the 'mature' flies only seem to last a couple of weeks?


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## Synapze (Oct 2, 2018)

Game over. I suggest ordering a producing culture. You may want to look at the collection of recipes on the forum and start culturing your own.


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## Mugwump (Oct 3, 2018)

@Synapze Tx, will do...looks like that is the best way forward. ?


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 3, 2018)

Yep, that is a dead culture. Next time you get a culture, make your own medium and make several more cultures form the flies that you have.

- MantisGirl13


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## Mugwump (Oct 3, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Yep, that is a dead culture. Next time you get a culture, make your own medium and make several more cultures form the flies that you have.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


Tx @MantisGirl13... could you point me in the direction of a good step by step guide for making my own medium etc that you can recommend plz?)


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 4, 2018)

I make my own medium. My recipe is very simple.

Take a half of a banana, and mash it up. Mix in a half teaspoon of yeast. Put mashed potato flakes in the mixture with a little bit of water. Mix it, and add more potato flakes if it is too wet,  and more water if it is too dry. Mix it thoroughly, and put it into the culture containers. Sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the medium, and put in the flies. 

I made the recipe myself, and I literally threw random things into the jar and mashed it all together, and my cultures popped and produced for a month and a half before dying. The cinnamon will keep the mold off, and make it smell better.

- MantisGirl13


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## Mugwump (Oct 5, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> I make my own medium. My recipe is very simple.
> 
> Take a half of a banana, and mash it up. Mix in a half teaspoon of yeast. Put mashed potato flakes in the mixture with a little bit of water. Mix it, and add more potato flakes if it is too wet,  and more water if it is too dry. Mix it thoroughly, and put it into the culture containers. Sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the medium, and put in the flies.
> 
> ...


Sounds good, like the mold resistance with cinnamon, do you layer this with wood wool?

...are you able to successfully rotate and keep the cycle going?


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 5, 2018)

Just sprinkle the cinnamon on the top. You can put excelsior in if you want to give the fruit flies more room to crawl. I just made another culture today actually, and the fruit flies continue their cycle as normal. 

- MantisGirl13


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## Mugwump (Oct 6, 2018)

*@MantisGirl13* @Synapze

My first 'flightless fruit fly' culture. I made a banana potato recipe up, bit of a mish of what i had available and added some wood shavings i made. easier than i thought.

I'll wait for the culture to pop and see if i can keep a cycle going. A lot cheaper than buying off ebay . I hope my mantis Chich &amp; Chong like them. Cheers for the advice and help you guys. Much appreciated. ??


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## Synapze (Oct 6, 2018)

Chich &amp; Chong... love it. ?

Suggestion: when you're mixing your culture medium take notes (if you didn't already) of what and how much of each ingredient you put in. You might hit the jackpot and mix up a recipe that's extremely productive then not be able to remember your own recipe. It's also a great way to find ingredients that you can omit or add. I once made a batch which was very productive, but I was never able to duplicate the recipe. ?

Keep us posted!


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## Mugwump (Oct 6, 2018)

Tx, good thinking batman...i will. For the record...

 3 tble spoons Potato flakes, 1/2 Banana, 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Yeast, 1 tsp molasses, approx 100ml Water, topped with hand full of homemade wood shavings ? Oh and.... not forgetting about 30 randy rascal flightless fruit flies.

Now in heated darkened propagation tray with thermostat at 23-24C (75F) ?

Note to self: next culture will add some whey protein if feasible.


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## Mugwump (Oct 6, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> Just sprinkle the cinnamon on the top. You can put excelsior in if you want to give the fruit flies more room to crawl. I just made another culture today actually, and the fruit flies continue their cycle as normal.
> 
> - MantisGirl13


How long does it take for a culture to pop from the start?

and do you keep them in the dark for their life span?


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 6, 2018)

It usually takes a week or less for the culture to pop. I don't keep them dark all of the time; light really doesn't affect them. 

I had to buy an overpriced PetCo culture today because my culture stopped producing a day after my ghost ooth hatched! I had 33 nymphs, and no food except for the flies I had put into my fleshly made culture the day before. 

- MantisGirl13


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## ausar318 (Oct 6, 2018)

@MantisGirl13

Youre lucky that your local petsmart even carries fruit flies. I called three of them by where I live, just out of curiosity, and they’ve all stopped carrying fly cultures. So I’m on my own when it comes to feeding my nymphs! Currently about 25 Creobroter gemmatus nymphs (going up for sale this week), and about 20 Thesprotia graminis nymphs (for sale probably next week). They’re both eating a good amount of flies, but I’ve luckily built up my cultures to be able to sustain them all


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 6, 2018)

ausar318 said:


> @MantisGirl13
> 
> Youre lucky that your local petsmart even carries fruit flies. I called three of them by where I live, just out of curiosity, and they’ve all stopped carrying fly cultures. So I’m on my own when it comes to feeding my nymphs! Currently about 25 Creobroter gemmatus nymphs (going up for sale this week), and about 20 Thesprotia graminis nymphs (for sale probably next week). They’re both eating a good amount of flies, but I’ve luckily built up my cultures to be able to sustain them all


   I am glad you have producing cultures! Both my PetSmart and my PetCo carry fruit flies, and they are both overpriced, though PetCo has better cultures. 

- MantisGirl13


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## Sauromayne (Oct 9, 2018)

MantisGirl13 said:


> I make my own medium. My recipe is very simple.
> 
> Take a half of a banana, and mash it up. Mix in a half teaspoon of yeast. Put mashed potato flakes in the mixture with a little bit of water. Mix it, and add more potato flakes if it is too wet,  and more water if it is too dry. Mix it thoroughly, and put it into the culture containers. Sprinkle cinnamon on the top of the medium, and put in the flies.
> 
> ...


How many flies do you have to put in a fresh culture for it to start producing? I just had my culture crash today and don't want to have to keep buying new ones. Also, do I have to add water to the medium every now and then? It seems like its getting dried out but I'm worried to drown them.


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## MantisGirl13 (Oct 10, 2018)

If you use my medium recipe, you do not need to add water. Depending on the size of the culture, 10-20 flies is enough to make it pop in a few days.

- MantisGirl13


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