Fruit flies part 4: Regime to maximise fly production

Typical Drosophila vials. Keeping flies over damp paper in a dedicated cabinet helps maintain humidity, and prevents contamination from wild flies.

Why a regime?

Looking after Drosophila is quite easy when you get the hang of it. When cultures crash it's usually because they were left unattended for too long. The life span (just like the development time) is temperature dependent, and does not much exceed 2 weeks as a fly. It is critical to follow a careful regime to allow maximum production. This can take a few minutes each week and that's it. HOWEVER, miss a week and your yield will be drop, miss 2 and you may well loose your cultures! If flies are left too long over old media, they will also starve, and provide a poor snack for the fish. If you can not attend to the flies, its best to keep them cool, slowing down their life cycle (20 deg C) until you can tend to them again.

In general flies should be kept at around 25-28 degrees C. This provides a quick turnover of flies for feeding and allows a weekly regime to be followed. They also like a relatively high humidity; If yours are not kept in a humid room, consider keeping the vials in half a centimeter of water.

So how does the regime work?

The vials that the flies inhabit are separated into 3 categories:

1. The present generation of adult flies - laying eggs for future generations (3-4 vials - top shelf of picture)
2. Vials containing chrysalised larvae, and newly emerged flies. (10-20 vials - middle shelf of picture)
3. Flies or larvae for feeding fish (3-4 vials - bottom shelf of picture).

Once per week newly emerged flies are collected from 2. These are placed in fresh vials, and are designated 1, the present generation. After 3-4 days these flies are moved again, onto new media 3. The old vials (which are loaded with eggs or very young larvae) go back in 2, to make future generations. Once the week has passed, the flies making the present generation can be fed to your fish, and their vials may either go back into 2, or be left for a few days to provide larvae for feeding (see part 5 - feeding fish). Of course a new generation of adult flies is again collected from 2 at the same time.

In hot weather, and if things are going well, you will soon have a lot of flies. On the other hand, you may struggle to breed enough to satisfy your fish. But always avoid feeding newly emerged flies to your fish, even if you have no shortage of flies 'coming through'. Newly collected flies may well be hungry. It's always a good idea to place them over fresh media with added brewers yeast for 24 hours before feeding them to fish, ensuring they are plump and healthy before feeding to your killies.

There are many advantages of keeping to a strict regime such as this:

• Each vial will contain only flies/larvae of approximately the same age, resulting in eclosion (hatching of the adult fly) over a relatively short period. This reduces the time you have to hang onto older vials-making fly collection easier and lessening the chances of mold.
• The longer flies are kept on the same media, the more runny it becomes- if the flies are collected after a 3-4 days, it will still be quite solid. Runny media can drown flies, stick them down and goes everywhere when the jar is inverted.
• All flies will have reached sexual maturity and have reproduced before being fed.

Fruit fly cultures for sale

WCF Fruit Fly Media - 20 Culture Bag

Long Beach, California, 908**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$25

West Coast Frogs Has One Of The Most High Yielding Fruit Fly Medias Around. Our Special Blend Not Only Smells Great, But Produces Tons Of Flies. We Have Tested And Adjusted Our Recipe To Produce The Highest Yield Of Any Media We??ve Tried. Not Only Does This Media Produce Huge Cultures, But Is Simple To Make. Follow The Recipe Below To Make Your Culture. You Can Use Either Use Wood Excelsior Or Coffee Filters With Our Media. This Recipe Works Great With D. Melanogaster And D. Hydei
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Flightless Fruit Fly 4 PACK cultures Dart Frog Food Reptile Food FREE SHIPPING

Dover, Pennsylvania, 173**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$30

This 4 pack of Flightless Fruit Fly cultures is the perfect addition to any reptile or dart frog owner's collection. These cultures provide a nutritious and tasty food source for your pets without the hassle of dealing with live insects. The flies are easy to maintain and will last for several weeks, ensuring that your pets are well-fed and healthy.
With free shipping included, this is a great deal that you don't want to miss out on. Whether you're a seasoned reptile owner or a new dart frog... more

Fruit Fly Culture LARGE

Lexington, Kentucky, 405**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$11

Got a bunch of little critters you're feeding? We're now offering our handy flip-top fly cultures in jumbo size! When it's feeding time, simply chill in the fridge a few minutes before popping the top! The lid makes it easy to open and close the fly container with only one hand! Cultures last up to 6 weeks*


Please note the larger cultures do not mean they last longer, only that they produce more. Want to order feeders less often? Add an "empty" culture to your order and you can ... more

Fruit Fly Culture Kit For Small Animals

Sterling, Virginia, 201**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$15

Fruit Fly Culture Kit For Small Animals

Kit includes one cup with ventilation lid, Aspen Excelsior, and one packet of dry fruit fly food.

How to use: mixed dry food with equal part water and add to cup, add 10 to 20 fruit flies from your previous culture to the cup

Keep your small pets' feeders alive longer by routinely providing them with a fresh culture cup. Fruit fly culture cups last from 2 to 3 weeks before needing to be changed. Simply add flies from... more

Fruit Fly Media Culture Mix 1 5Lb (24oz) Makes 10 cultures

Wheeling, Illinois, 600**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$17

Fruit fly Media Culture Mix contains 1 5Lb (24oz) to makes 10 fruit flies cultures.


Our  fruit fly media works for both melanogaster and Hydei. It is Homemade with the best ingredients to produce top quality flies for your animals . Our fruit fly media contains brewer's years also ingredients anti-bacterial to avoid the bad smell, we use a mold inhibitor  to prevent mold. The ingredients we use give increase the longevity of the cultures and produces high yields ... more