How to feed with fruit flies!! NOOB

[bwirth1999]

OK i have done a search, but the list is huge, and so far no answer to my Q. My question is how exactly do i feed the nymphs?? do i just place the fly on the substrate?? If its dark substrate, will the nymphs have trouble seeing the tine fly?? Like my title says i am a noob....

I am planning on lettin my nymphs hatch into a 30 gallon cube aquarium, so it will provide lots of room, but is it too much room??

I have 5 chinese ooths and 5 Euro ooths.... planning on releasing most of them..

OH ALSO NEED the proper way to hang chinese ooths and euro ooths... the guy i got them from ddint give me any sticks with the ooths or at lest not enough of a stick...... i saw a post on this but the pics were gone...

 

[Rick]

I use a funnel to dump fruit flies into the container. The flies will crawl around.

A 30 gallon is pretty large and it depends on how many you have in there. I personally leave all the nymphs together until they are down to a number that is low enough to spit them into smaller containers.

I use hot glue to attach ooths to the lid. There is a line or vent running down the front where the nymphs will emerge. Just make sure you don't make that side the attachment point.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Hot glue is the way to go, just a drop is needed. Like Rick said the front where they will hatch has a zipper like look to it, so glue the back. The 5 of each ooths may give you close to 800 or more mantis. Really to many for any 1 person to handle, u can leave em together and only strongest will survive. This way you will not have to feed them, they will eat each other. Make sure you mist the enclosure so they have water. A lot of people will tell you they do not drink, I disagree. I forgot to mist a newbie one morning and when I remembered, it ran over to the wet nap and drank itself to death, no kiddin! Just watch for the amount you want left and that you can handle, then seperate the container they are in with plexiglass or something. ps any size stick will do, I get mine from the evergreen bushes, even the ones I collect with sticks sometimes fall off and have to be glued.