Fruit Flies
Basic Strategies for Success
By Darryl Sherman
Culturing fruit flies is a necessity to keeping dart frogs successfully; the following is my basic strategy (adapted from a method described by Bill Weirts) for creating large cultures of D. hydei. These cultures usually produce for about 3 weeks and yield over 1000 flies. They are also pretty much maintenance free from creation.
The first item to cover is selecting flies. Old flies (as in older cultures 2+ weeks) do not work. Use a culture that is about a week old with large healthy looking flies. I use primarily flightless D. hydei as they are a larger breed of flies. Another commonly used form is flightless D. melanogaster which are significantly smaller and are a better food source for thumbnails and newly morphed froglets. Recently I have purchased mixed hydei/melanogaster cultures; these are great for newly morphed froglets as they produce multiple sized flies. Young darts seem to benefit from the variety of sized flies. It is unclear whether the mix was a mistake or intentional however some of the best breakthroughs are mistakes. Once you have selected good flies its time to create your cultures.
Creating cultures is fairly simple with the correct items. A good choice for containing your cultures are 32oz. plastic insect cups made by Twinpak (IN-32) they are reusable and low cost. Many other breeders have "secret" formulas for the perfect fruit fly food. The easiest method is a pre-made mix sold by Carolina Biological called formula 4-24 that contains all the necessary nutrition ingredients, other pre-made mixes usually work with similar success. However, at only about $16.50 US for a 4L bag the Carolina mix is very economical as this will produce hundreds of cultures. On its own this media will produce healthy cultures however adding a few (10-20 pellets) of active dry yeast will help produce even larger larva yields. In a weeks time the yeast will begin to break down the starches in the media to produce a soup which the larva love however this is usually detrimental to the flies who get stuck in the media and die (this is normal). You will also need a supply of thick coffee filters. If you have trouble finding thick filters you can also use more of the thin stacked together.
In a clean insect cup place no more than about 1/4" of dry food mix (it will expand). If you place too much food the culture will crash before all the food has been consumed which is a waste, not enough and the culture will produce small undernourished flies. Next pour in as much water as the food mix will hold without becoming soupy if you pass this point let the mix sit a day, the excess will absorb or evaporate. Now add 10-20 pellets of active dry yeast and about 50-100 healthy flies to start your culture; close the lid and you are done. In about two weeks time there should be hundreds of larva moving about in the food mix also by this time most of the flies may have died. Now, fold a number of filters into a triangle and place them point down into the media. The filters will draw up the excess moisture in the media as well as provide a place for the pupae to attach and stay moist. If the media doesn't appear soupy you can soak the filters before putting them in the cups. This step can be omitted when culturing D. melanogaster as they do not seem to require a moist place to attach their pupae instead they only need some type of wadding (paper towel, netting, egg carton, etc.) to give adult flies a place to stay out of the media. If the media is drying out too fast place a piece of wide packing tape over some of the air holes trapping moisture in. Beware though if the cup begins to accumulate condensation remove the tape as this will kill adult flies. In one more week you should start to see your new cultured flies emerging this will continue usually for about 3 weeks when the media will either dry out, mold or be completely used up. Once the cultures are exhausted the containers can be rinsed with hot water and reused.
Recently a new mid sized variety of flightless fruit fly has become available called D. buzzatti. These are very interesting to dart frog hobbyists because unlike D. melanogaster or D. hydei, D. buzzatti instinctually seek the ground. However, this is a benefit as much as it is a problem. It is a beneficial because dart frogs are naturally ground dwelling, feeding on the forest floor, hydei and melanogaster climb to the highest points often tips of leaves or even the top edges of the vivarium which often puts them out of reach. This becomes a problem with the above mentioned system because the flies now seek the bottom where the soupy media causes them to drown. Culturing these flies has proven to be more challenging and because of this they seem to be less popular.
The main thing to remember when culturing your flies is keeping a constant source of food available. This means new cultures should be started every 2 weeks without fail. It is also important to make more cultures than you need just in case some die out unexpectedly. Though this method is tested and works, usually without fail, occasionally cultures will crash. Now that creating cultures has become second nature its time to feed.
Feeding the frogs from these cultures is slightly involved because the minute you open the lid flies begin to escape. There are several inventions to aid in dusting and feeding flies although these may work quite well other less expensive methods work quite well. The first involves using the freezer, start by placing a culture on its side in the freezer for about one minute. After a minutes time the flies become lethargic and can easily be transferred to a dusting cup. The second method involves a quick hand; by shaking the culture quickly from side to side you can create a rather condensed mass of writhing flies then with a quick tap they can be dropped into a dusting cup. The same cups used to create the cultures work well for dusting cups; once the flies are covered with dust they have trouble climbing the walls of the cup. At this point they can be tapped into the tank with ease.
Arklier. (2004 March 6). Sticky from Food discussion group. Retrieved March 6, 2004 from http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/index.php
Carolina Biological Supply Company. Formula 4-24. Retrieved March 5, 2005 from http://www.carolina.com
Weirts, Bill. Personal Interview. January 2003.
Springtails
Basic Strategies for Success
By Darryl Sherman
Springtails are another commonly cultured food source for dart frogs especially thumbnails (pumilio, ventrimaculatus, imitator, etc.) and their even smaller offspring. If you intend to keep thumbnail darts and especially if you intend to breed them you should learn to culture springtails. Actually springtails are considerably easier to culture however not as popular as fruit flies; due to their small size they make better supplements for larger darts rather than primary food sources.
Springtails are small white insect like specks approximately 1mm in size. In the past, springtails were considered insects but have been reclassified as arthropods in recent years. They are one of natures' decomposers breaking down a variety of natural waste products, useful in the vivarium as they will help to process fecies produced by the darts. Actually, their most interesting characteristic is that they float on water (important for harvesting them). Also, despite their size take care when removing them from the cultures as they can jump far.
Springtails are much easier to culture than fruit flies for several reasons. First their cultures are less volatile and don't crash as quickly, in fact, one culture can last several years. Additionally, springtails eat almost anything from fish flakes to virtually everything you might throw in a compost heap. This makes them inexpensive to keep; you actually need very few supplies to raise these interesting little creatures.
Similar to raising fruit flies the first things you will need are the actual springtails. It is hard to tell freshly hatched springtails from older ones but, this is usually not necessary, instead just make sure to get enough to obtain a good variety. These creatures seem to be very prolific meaning your culture will start producing and become stable very quickly. Springtails can be collected from under most rotting wood or other similar dark, moist, decaying areas in most temperate to tropical regions of the world. If this proves difficult many insect retailers sell starter cultures for $6-12. These usually come in a small, basic container and should not be used to raise a permanent culture.
Again selecting an appropriate container is important to succeed. Most hobbyists use plastic shoeboxes however these create a problem as they are often not sealed and escaped springtails can quickly become a nuisance. Instead use food storage containers, which usually seal tightly, this provides a two-fold benefit first it prevents escaping and secondly the trapped humidity keeps their environment moist. Rather than clear containers, darker opaque containers are best because springtails prefer darkness. Once you have a suitable container filling it with substrate is fairly simple.
Simple is best for springtails many hobbyists use a variety of substrates, actually almost anything will work: orchid bark, mulch, decaying wood or even dirt. The best substrate is definitely charcoal (not charcoal cooking briquettes but natural charcoal pieces) it really seems to work well with this method. Natural charcoal can be found at many nurseries or possibly from the same place you purchased your starter culture. Typically pieces are roughly a half inch thick by four inches long. First, start by laying out a single layer of charcoal along the bottom and fill with water to within a few millimeters of the top edge of the pieces. Then, continue to stack another layer or two of charcoal. Finally, dump in some springtails or just place some pieces from your starter culture on top of the stack, close the lid and your finished. Other than feeding them and refilling the water the culture is usually self sufficient.
Feeding your culture is again not very difficult they eat nearly anything. The best foods seem to be regular flaked fish food or bakers yeast although bakers yeast produces an unpleasant smell over time. Make sure that the food items are moist usually lifting a piece of charcoal and placing the food under works well. Depending on the culture size a few flakes can last several weeks. Also with the sealed container water seems to evaporate very slowly as well. Lastly, keep the container cool, 60 degrees; springtails will breed much faster at lower temps.
Extracting springtails from your culture container seems more challenging than it actually is. Unlike fruit flies don't try to dump your culture into the tank for obvious reasons, instead remove two pieces of charcoal and hit them together inside the tank causing the springtails to fall off. Remember springtails much like their name suggests can and do jump; take care when transferring the blocks of charcoal to the tank. Another equally good method involves sloshing the culture around causing the springtails to float around in the water then using a turkey baster they can be skimmed from the top. Attempt to judge the culture to make sure one is sufficient for you feeding needs the lifecycle for springtails is 3-5 weeks however it is difficult to say how prolific each culture can get. Unlike fruit flies, when properly maintained these cultures rarely crash and will continue to produce for years.
Arklier. (2004 March 6). Sticky from Food discussion group. Retrieved March 6, 2004 from http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/index.php
Nabors, Patrick. Culturing Fruit Flies. Saurian Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved January 2003 from http://www.saurian.net/htm/insects.htm
Springtail. (2005, February 10) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia . Retrieved March 15, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collembola
Weirts, Bill. Personal Interview. January 2005.
Pinhead Crickets
Basic Strategies for Success
By Darryl Sherman
Crickets are definitely the least popular food item to culture because they are loud, difficult to keep, smell, prone to escape, and grow in size very quickly. Finding a local place that either raises or orders pinheads (nymph stage usually a week or less old) regularly is usually the best method to supplement crickets into your darts diet. Although crickets are the least popular to culture they can often be the best for your darts. Crickets are one of the larger food items available additionally most commercially available dusting powders are designed for crickets allowing for maximum coverage. It has been observed that most juvenile to sub-adult darts reach adult size faster on a diet supplemented with pinheads as opposed to straight fruit flies. This is of course not the case for thumbnails as they are usually too large for thumbnails. Even though raising crickets sounds like an unwanted hassle this method seems to work well for growing pinheads. Conversely, this method may not work well to raise crickets to adulthood as all attempts failed but it seems to be very efficient to grow pinheads.
Locating a source of adult crickets shouldn't be a problem; almost every pet store should carry them. Crickets also live for some time so while you will need to replenish your adults on occasion this rarely gets expensive. When selecting your crickets ask for the largest size they carry as these will be mature and ready to lay. Usually about 3 dozen works well or if you already have animals that eat crickets just get more at a time many stores discount in greater quantities. Feeding crickets from the cultures doesn't seem to harm pinhead production as long as there are plenty of crickets to keep breeding. Also assure you have enough male and female crickets, females are much larger and have a long black ovipositor protruding from their abdomen. Next you need to get a few containers.
The first container you need is a plastic shoebox; this works for the adult crickets because they are large and usually can't escape through the top. Find a shoebox that is made of thick plastic because they will chew through thinner ones. Now, using a torch, heat a screwdriver and push some air-holes along the top of this container. Next obtain about six small food storage containers with flat lids, square is best. These will serve as incubators for the eggs. Finally, get a large storage box that the other 7 boxes can fit in. This will serve several purposes not only will it help dampen the excessive chirping that may drive you insane but also will trap the smell. Lastly, when transferring crickets or opening cricket containers this will help prevent crickets from getting loose. Obtaining some empty egg cartons and non-toxic sponges will also be necessary.
In the shoebox, place a dry paper towel covering the bottom. On this, place one of the six lids from the food storage containers then place a moist (not soaked) sponge on that. Cut the sponge so it is slightly smaller than the lids this is why square containers are best. The sponge creates a medium the crickets will instinctively want to lay eggs under. The female crickets approach from the sides using their ovipositor to deposit eggs under the edges of the sponge. Crickets are also very aggressive and need places to climb and hide; egg cartons provide ample room. Place a few sections of the carton in the container, avoiding the sponge area. Once the carton is in place just add the crickets. Even though they seem to chew up everything in the shoebox they will need to be fed. An apple or potato wedge replaced every 3-4 days will provide plenty of food. Remove old pieces so they don't mold and you will be producing hundreds of pinheads in a few weeks.
About every 2 weeks pull and replace the lid and sponge from the shoebox putting the rest of the food container over top of the sponge (the containers are essentially upside down). There may be a significant number of eggs under the lid as well; tearing the paper towel and placing them on top of the sponge will recover them. Remoistening the sponge may be necessary, but do not remove the sponge from the lid instead pour water onto it (do not soak). On the third week the eggs should begin to hatch. At this point they could be transferred to another container; however pinheads are even harder to control then the adults. If they are left in the food containers add a few oats to the sponge before you cover it, the water will soften them so the pinheads can eat this when they emerge. An apple or potato can work but seem to mold quickly in the hatching containers. Remember to feed from the containers before the pinheads get too large they grow quickly.
Removing the pinheads is very difficult because they jump far. There may be a better method, but removing the lid in a large slick plastic bag works. Using the correct bag the pinheads cannot climb up the sides and will collect at the bottom. They can then be dusted and poured out to feed hungry frogs. In three weeks most of the pinheads will have hatched so the container can be cleaned and reused. You may also need to clean and/or replace the paper towel in the shoebox the same bag works well for collecting adult crickets. Be forewarned this looks easy but crickets are just a pain.
Arklier. (2004 March 6). Sticky from Food discussion group. Retrieved March 6, 2004 from http://www.dendroboard.com/phpBB2/index.php
Sherman, Bruce. Personal Interview. March 1995.