# Fruit flies as a fish food?



## ^iMp^ (Oct 12, 2003)

Hello all,

My wife and I recently got a bread machine. A few weeks ago, we made some bread. Yesterday, we remembered it. :lol: 

So, I have a pretty decent-sized fruit fly colony in a mostly closed container. I captured a bunch of them in a jar and stuck it in the fridge (to calm them down and extend their life span). So...how do I go abouts feeding these lil buggers to my fish (white cloud minnows)? Also, is it a good idea to feed them to my fish--I'm not sure of the exact species of fly and I don't know if some species are toxic.

^iMp^


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Fruit flies are excellent fish food. They are being bred as a food for certain small fish and fish fry. There is actually a short-winged variety that can not fly, which comes in handy :lol: 
Not sure about the minnows... they have tiny mouths, but try it...


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

hmmmm...it's been awhile. i used to keep zebra danios back in school. it wasn't so much the flies i was after, but the larvae they'd go mad for. not sure everyone can stand the sight of them things, though.

i agree with wasser; the wcmms may not be able to eat them, depending on the relative sizes of each.

the fridge is an excellent way to stun them before feeding (less apt to fly away). not too sure if they'll survive in there for too long.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

My minnows can do a group takedown on a large mozzie...


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## ^iMp^ (Oct 12, 2003)

Actually, the 4 minnows (even the small ones) made fine work of about a dozen flies. I swear, these minnows are part piranha or something--they constantly nip at my tweezers and they are truly fearless.

Anyway, after I took a peek at the flies after an overnight "chill" in the fridge, I realized my "how do you feed them" question was a bit dumb--the cold sure does stun them. I was afraid I'd have trouble keeping them from flying away. I just dumped them in and the minnows did the rest.

Well, they seemed to enjoy the snack. If we couldn't enjoy the bread, at least the fish got something out of it.

^iMp^


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

if you're really adventurous you could try keeping a stock of them. there should be lots of info on how to do this on the net (i remember having a mushed-up banana in a bottle; my mom was really thrilled to find it in my room). i'm assuming the krib would have some info. it'd be worth it just seeing those little guys gobble down the larvae at least once.


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## Dapple (Dec 14, 2003)

Most of my fish go pretty nutty over the flies, esp the killies.

You can find some good culturing info on FINS http://fins.actwin.com/search.cgi?search=fruit flies

and there is a small section on them in the Foods FAQ on the Krib.


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## Neil_L (May 21, 2003)

The scientific name for these flies is _Drosophila melanogaster_. An excellent variety to keep would be vestigial wing - the short-winged variety Wasserpest referred to. In the UK, we order ours from Sciento, and make up a special dehydrated diet. 

If you wanted to try and catch your own, you could leave a piece of banana in a jar by the window. You'll attract some in no time [/i]


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## Raul-7 (Oct 17, 2003)

They sell lots of fruit fly cultures on aquabid, both wingless and the normal. Gouramis love fruit flies, first time I see them going after food..


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

You should see a dwarf gourami do his archerfish thing with flying prey...


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