Ketchup for fruit flies?

[Skelly98]

Turns out, my mom has prior experience with culturing fruit flies....... And she did it with ketchup.... So, i added some ketchup with some corn starch (for consistency) to a water bottle and threw some coffee filters in. I'm gonna add some flies tomorrow. It makes sense that it would work (mashed fruit and vinegar, the basis of a lot of culture mediums i've read about), and apparently it works. Only issue is, i can't find a online source of info for this, other than a thread on a dart frog forum with some photos of a bunch of wild fruit flies in a ketchup jar...

Anyways, Anyone else ever try this? did it work out well? I'm doing it as a bit of an experiment, and if it works well, i have found a cheap and easy way to culture flies for my darts

[Skelly98]

Flies are in. Now I'm waiting for the ketchup to make more flies....

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[deranged chipmunk]

Sounds like a smelly experiment. The formula I use is cheap and can make cultures for at least a year for less than $20. I think I may be passing on the ketchup method. Lol but please keep us informed on how the experiment goes.

Out of curiosity, what did you add to prevent mold?

[Skelly98]

The ketchup has vinegar in it. I'm hoping that will work.

nonetheless, i only added about twenty flies or so, so i'm not too much out if it does not work

[Heatheranne]

Be cautious using tomato products. Tomatoes are actually toxic to frogs. This is why horned worms are fed other foods when being fed to frogs. I am not sure which chemical in the tomatoes is the culprit. I'll have to do some research tomorrow. I also am not sure if the alteration of tomatoes into ketchup changes the toxin. I'll do some reading into it when I'm not so tired. Feel free to google tomatoes toxic to amphibians.

[Mentat]

From what I read, tomato plants (stem and leaves) are poisonous. The ripe tomatoes themselves are not poisonous, or at least not enough to cause immediate issues. Still; have no idea if over a long run, the minute amounts of tomato in any insect or worm gut could build up tomato toxic chemicals in the frogs liver and hurt the frog. Myself would keep tomatoes away from all frog feeders, just in case, until come across research that proves otherwise.

[Tongue Flicker]

Done that ketchup method but i prefer the mashed banana method since it produces results more quickly on my side of the globe without the need to worry about molds (ants are and will always be our #1issue for anything)

[mapdoggis]

Neil what is the banana method?

[Skelly98]

Quick update.. Ketchup = not good fly medium. the flies did not reproduce, and as i was relying on the ketchup for a new culture, my froggies had no flies for a few days. Good thing we have pinheads... those worked for a little while. I had to order a new culture, which is not commonly done in the middle of Canadian winter. Culture take two, this time with potato flakes .

I'm also kind of glad it did not work, as i just read the comments above about tomato toxicity. Guess i should have waited to get some flies going before getting the frogs..... or even just made a potato flake culture...... That's what i get for being impatient and trying to do something radically different with no experience on my part, i guess.

Anyways..... Frogs are doing good, nice big stomachs and very hungry- grown a lot, as well.

[deranged chipmunk]

Glad to hear the frogs are doing well.