fruit flies for bettas

[yvez9]

Would flightless fruit flies provide a good diet for a betta? I know they eat flies in nature but would these cultures keep them healthy?

I've never heard of a breeder or betta keeper feeding these flies to the bettas

 

[D Chia]

I've not fed them to my bettas before but I read that they are very nutritious.

According to Dr Goldstein (author of Bettas: A Complete Pet Owner's Guide), the Drosophila or flightless fruit flies "... are greedily consumed by adult fish."

Edit: He also mentioned that "Few cultured foods are as nutritious."

 

[SRC]

I feed Wingless fruit flies. Mine LOVE them. They are not easy keeper's though...but worth the effort imo.

Finding a medium that won't spoil or mold is the hardest thing to worry with. And enough jars to keep a good supply going (depending on how many betta's you have).

 

[Sandusky]

Wingless fruit flies eh? They sell those in mosturized cups at my LFS, never thought about giving them to bettas, but i'll have to give it a try. Thanks for posting the thread yvez9.

 

[SRC]

mosturized cups??


Please explain..as if moisture gets in my jars..it usually kills all my flies. (they stick to the sides and can't get away lol)

 

[Sandusky]

Hmm, well the cups are warm so i'm assuming moisture is inside, but the top had a fine screen to airate it. I just walk past them on my way to browsing the betta isle. I'll have to get a picture of the product today for you because i personaly don't know much about them. They are indeed fruit flys because that's what it says on the container. So, i'll be back from my betta run at about 5pm pacific time, they'll be up by then for ya unless anyone finds the same product sooner. I'm glad i heard of this but i probaly won't be buying any as they smell rather foul.

 

[SRC]

I haven't smelled a live culture yet that doesn't stink .

The smell is from teh medium that the flies have to lay their eggs in and that the larvea eat. (they use a made up medium insted of leaving pieces of fruit in the jars..the fruit rots way too quickly and will spoil the culture (kills thelarvea )).

The smell is worth it..trust me. You can also use a paper towl secured with a rubber band to reduce the smell once you get them home. They don't need that screen to survive.

 

[Sandusky]

Hmm, ok. Mom will force me to keep it in the garage anyway which leads me to my next question. What temps do they need to survive, i'm thinking warmer yes?

LOL I dunno if i can force myself to buy them, but i'll take your word for it.

 

[SRC]

I would think so long as the temp isn't freezing they would be ok. They are bugs lol. Youjust don't want them to freeze...of course that is what kills bugs.