[Guest]

I wanna order a few fly cultures so that i am ready for when i decide to get my frogs.

I still havent decided on the frog to get.
1. Dendrobates azureus
2. Dendrobates leucomelas
3. Phyllobates terribilis 'Orange' (Just found them today, will do my research before i really consider them)

I have a 20 high and am going to have a water fall.

Which type of flied should i get.
D. melanogaster or D. hydei
And why that one

I plan to get 2 froglets. How many cultures should i have running at one time. I was thinking about ordering 25 disposible containers from blackjungle.com, the Excelsior, 1 liter of their fly media

Also how many cultures and of which one do i order?

Thanks
Joseph

 

[Blort]

Joseph,

I think many people start with the melanogaster in one of the flightless or "glider" variations. While smaller, they have a shorter lifespan of 15 days (I think) which means that they will produce offspring in a shorter amount of time. The hydei are larger, but take a little longer to culture. I have heard the figure 1 culture per 2/3 frogs. I have six cultures for three frogs since more is better than not enough in my opinion, and at this point I still enjoy being a fly racher. I would poke around the "Food" forum and so a search for "flies, melanogaster, or hydei" using the forum search feature. Sprintails are also a good source of food and low-maintenance, if you are going to order flies, you might as well get some of them as well to save yourself shipping in the future.

Best,

Marcos

 

[ErickG]

I would suggest the melanogaster to begin with. As was stated, they can reproduce rather quickly. Since you plan on starting with froglets, you cant afford to run out of food for the little guys. Look into getting springtails, as well.
Personally, I've been pretty good with plenty of hydei cultures but I only have one juvie frog in my collection. My yellowbacks just started laying eggs so in preparation, I'm re-establishing a melanogaster supply.

Good luck with your new frogs and welcome to the hobby. Just be careful, cuz it's quite addicting.

 

[dmartin72]

From my personal experience, I would start with more melanogaster cultures as they are less likey to crash than the hydei. Plus, they culture much quicker. To tell you the truth, I would experiment with and order 2 cultures of the wingless variety of melanogasters, 2 cultures of regular melanogasters and 1 culture of hydei from http://www.fruitflies.net as their cultures are disgustingly packed full of FFs and larvae. Also, I would start off with tried and true FF media from http://www.edsflymeatinc.com and they also sell a wonderful springtail starter kit with everything you need! I especially like the Super Enhanced Instant FF media and the hydei formula. It is fun being a FF rancher, at least at first. After you have some good cultures going on ED's FF media, you can play around with homemade brews. Enjoy the process because you'll be doing a lot of it :!:

 

[Guest]

Well you guys helped me so much. How Much Springtails should i order? I will only have 2 frogs so.. And i think i will start with 5 cultures of the melanogaster FFs. Any other suggestions?

Thank you all so much
Joseph

ErickG
I am already lookin at all the empty tanks around an thinking poison dart frog tank :-D

 

[dmartin72]

Just one order to get you started.

 

[Guest]

If you are going to have only one type of frog, why not culture one hydei and one melanogaster strain together? This way, when you feed, the frog gets a variety.

 

[Guest]

Ok so from http://www.fruitflies.net/ i am going to order 3 Drosophila melanogaster (flightless w/ wings)

Then from
http://www.edsflymeatinc.com
1 liter of instant FF media
1 culter of springtails

I dont wanna get too much to get overwhelmed with.

Also where should and how much extra containers should i get. Do i need more supples. I am still 2 weeks to a month away before i start to get frogs.
Thanks
Joey

 

[Arklier]

If you have doubts go with melanogaster. The melanogaster cultures have fewer problems with mold and don't take as long as hydei to get to the point of maximum production.

 

[dmartin72]

ED's FF media has anti-mold agents in it already.

 

[Guest]

So how does my order look.
Joseph

 

[dmartin72]

Sounds good...I would set-up at least 3-4 cultures per week. It never hurts to have too much. Plus, you never know when a culture might crash.

 

[bgexotics]

Like some people have said above, I would try culturing both. Fruitflies.net has nice cultures full of flies, so you will have plenty to make extra cultures. I keep both types going because one week I will have tons of one and not the other and vice versa. I am one of the oddball people who seems to have better luck with hydei. I like the fact that the cultures last longer and with some warm temps, they will explode.

 

[Guest]

Thanks i think im going to order 3 melanogaster and two hydei, and one springtail.

Now what do i do about extra containers? where do i order them from and how many do i get extra?

dmartin72
you said i need 3-4 cultures per week. Does this mean i need to start 3-4 new culture and new container every week?

Will 3-4 cultures be ok to sustain 2 frogs?

Thanks
Joey

 

[dmartin72]

2 per week is probably enough, but I think you should do 3 to 4 until you get your feeding/culturing schedule right. You would have to start them in new cultures until the other ones are done, in which case you'll be able to clean and reuse them. Just to let you know, Ed's Fly Meat sells the containers or you can make your own out of glass jars. I hate cleaning them so I just buy the 32 oz deli cups with vented tops.

 

[Guest]

If I were you I would only order 1 culture of each kind to save money. Then right when the stuff arrives, you could immdiately set up some more.