Catching fruit flies to feed fish

[Gareth tan]

Hi was wondering recently if is it possible to catch fruit flies then feeding them to my fishes. If so how do you all catch them and feed them to your fish? Wont they fly about?


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[Guppendler]

Bro, one of the user of this forum, Tetrakid, had posted info on this. Please do a search.

[tetrakid]

@Gareth tan

Hi Gareth,

Fruitflies are an excellent food for top-feeding fish. Bettas and Gouramis especially delight in them. Most others will relish them with gusto and always expect more of the same.

Fruit flies come in two main varieties, namely flying and flightless fruit flies. While flightless fruitflies are preferred, they are rather costly to acquire and a hassle to culture. Thus, a viable alternative is to trap normal 'household' fruitflies, which are of course FOC.

To trap the fruit flies, first prepare a tall container by cutting off the top portion of a 1,5 litre drink bottle. After placing stale fruit at the bottom of the container, place it near a window preferably overnight. About two hours after sunrise, there should be a crowd of fruitflies congregating on and around the stale fruit. Take care not to touch or disturb the container. Use a large cellophane bag to trap the flies by slowly placing it over the container. When the flies have flown into the cellophane bag, quickly squeeze close the bag, trapping all the flies in it. It must be a cellophane bag and not of soft plastic, as cellophane is stiff and able to maintain its form allowing flying space for the flies. The next step is important.

With the flies in the bag, hold it in such a way that it forms a balloon-like shape with the air inside. Shake all the flies into a corner and KO them (knock out) by flicking them violently several times. Continue shaking them down and flicking with a finger until all of the flies are knocked out. The next step is simply to empty the bag of flies into the tank with your waiting fish.

Another way to knock the flies out is to microwave the bagful of flies for 30 sec.

Enjoy!

[Urban Aquaria]

An interesting method i have been doing is keeping a UV bug zapper (those cheapo $19.90 units on sale from giant supermarket) out on my balcony, which usually results in a tray full of various crispy insects and flies every morning.

I just pick out the various insects and feed them to my fishes, free bug food. Its the same natural diet of most fishes living in ponds and streams anyways.

[tetrakid]

An interesting method i have been doing is keeping a UV bug zapper (those cheapo $19.90 units on sale from giant supermarket) out on my balcony, which usually results in a tray full of various crispy insects and flies every morning.

I just pick out the various insects and feed them to my fishes, free bug food. Its the same natural diet of most fishes living in ponds and streams anyways.

Shifu UA you are right that a UV bug zapper can be used to collect insects of various types eg mosquitoes, moths, houseflies, beetles, flying ants, etc. Small moths are a no-no for my fishes due to the powdery stuff on their wings. I avoid bigger insects as their hard and sharp claws can hurt or injure the fish's delicate mouths and gut. With an insect zapper, it is hard to get fruit flies, since they only go for stale fruit scraps.

l only go for fruit flies as they are the the right size for most of my smaller fishes. They are a regular daily treat for them, especially my Bettas, Gouramis and Platys. Even my goldfish go wild over those tiny fruit flies.

[Urban Aquaria]

Yeah, the UV bug zapper zaps all insects indiscriminately, so there will be some unsuitable critters which i will avoid picking out... like moths, bees, hornets or brightly colored insects (which may be a warning sign).

Just have to individually pick out the right types of insects to feed to the fishes.

[FuEl]

No need so troublesome

I have flightless fruitfly cultures.

contact me @ 90660450