Alternatives to fruit flies?

[otofrog]

I'll do fruit flies, but I really hate them. The thing that puts me off the most is having to make a new culture every few weeks. What would be the bare minimum of cups to have for them? Doesn't seem like two would be enough

[DanDrobates]

I agree it is a pain. If you’re keeping a pair or a trio I’d advise that you keep at least 3 cultures at a time. One producing that you can feed off, one to seed new cultures and one as a backup. Culturing hydei can be tricky as they boom or bust. I’d make new cultures each week so you don’t run out.

[otofrog]

Sorry if this is a common or easily answered question, but why do you need to dispose of cultures after a month? Is it because they eat all the yeast or something or is it like humidity build up?

[DanDrobates]

Generally what happens is the flies consume all the media and foul the whole culture with their waste. Also disposing of old cultures cuts down on the population of grain mites. Grain mites are harmless but can compete with the flies for the media and are an outright nuisance. After about two blooms you’ll notice the cultures are ready to discard. They dry up and stop producing.