Petsmart hydei?

[thorhack]

I bought 2 vials of hydei melanogaster from petsmart since i"m kinda broke and cannot afford a larger culture. I asked the woman near the flies if i could start my own from the 2 vials. She said uh no i doubt it. But the label on the back calls it a culture and says it should produce 5 to 7 generations. From my own knowledge I know that pupa start the cycle of the cultures and there seems to be a rather large number inside the vials as of now.

So in conclusion i'm going to start my own culture using cornmeal and honey ( since it's on hand at the moment) and try my luck. Any tips? Do you think it will work?

 

[mantidsaresweet]

It should work as long as there is a medium for the flies to lay their eggs.

I've done the same thing with petsmart hydei and its worked for me. I just put some flies into a new culture and they did the rest lol.

Good Luck!

 

[thorhack]

Yes I have a cornmeal/honey mixture going right now. Oh, and another question. I see maggots in the green goo inside the petsmart vials. However they're not moving, I know It'd be the same if they were in a normal culture, but what I'm curious about is how they don't suffocate?

 

[Rick]

Sometimes the maggots don't move. And yes of course you can start your own cultures with those. All you need to start cultures with is flies. You don't think people buy new, overpriced cultures each time they need flies do ya?

 

[Termite48]

You do need somewhere dry for the maggots (larvae) to crawl to so they can pupate. Some use excelsior for this. You can use coffee filters. A little brewer's yeast would be nice.

Rich

It isn't absolutely necessary. I have cultured for years with nothing added like that and saw no difference. Adding a little excelsior may or may not be helpful, and it can't hurt. Just don't overdo it like many people do. I see some cultures so crammed with that stuff it is insane.

 

[Alejandro Grau]

If you are a member of the chameleon forums, this would be an awesome thread for you to read:

http://www.chameleonforums.com/fruit-fly-culturing-12441/

If not, i'll summarize it for you:

Ingredients

White Vinegar - The cheapest you can find. No need for Heinz here. Bottom shelf, no name.

Hot tap Water

White Sugar

Brewers yeast - other types of yeast just don't cut it. Be sure to use brewers! (check your local bulk foods store)

Instant mashed potato flakes (also bulk foods).

Fleischman's instant yeast

Make a mix of 50/50 water vinegar mixture. Add brewers yeast and sugar. Whisk until dissolved. Add potato flakes until you get a mix of consistency looser then apple sauce

Add into the culturing cup and place either excelsior or coffee filters inside. Place 50-100 flies inside the cup and soon enough you'll have a new culture.

The thread is by Marty from MistKing.