# My DIY Maggot Farm



## Corydora_FREAK

SO i have been collecting mosquito larvae out of a "confiscated" goldfish bowl.(i took it from my friend who had 2 orandas in a 2 gallon bowl.) But now i am going to cultivate maggots. Now i have been doing my thorough research so i wont do anything dangerous or stupid. I understand how to properly do the job so i dont contaminate the tank or the fish with bad bacteria or parasites. I have the 3 necessities for the job
1. Little tupperware tub
2. Rotten banana, and a little human urine.
3. Strong stomach  Awful smell, and maggots dont make me sick at all.( when i was fourteen i cleaned up roadkill for a job so smell doesn't really bother me!)

So, has anyone tried this and if not and i am successful i will PM the results to a moderator and maybe they can start a sticky thread about how to cultivate your own live food.

I will have pics of the entire process if i am successful!


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## Sowilu

Hope it works. I would love to raise mosquito larvae but I can never seem to find a day or a way. Will try later on that though. Good luck!


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## Damon

Breeding maggots can be difficult and dangerous. You will first need uncontaminated specimens as many flies can carry disease.


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## Guest

Sounds disgusting.

My only question is....why? lol

Anyway, have fun with that. I'll stick to my preprepared frozen foods, black worms, and brine shrimp. :razz:


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## emc7

Wow, I'm not that brave. Grindal worms are as bad as I can stand.


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## Corydora_FREAK

> Breeding maggots can be difficult and dangerous


I am prepared to get the maggots tested for infectious diseases with a portable bacterial culture tab. I am going to smear a maggots skin and then grow the bacteria and analyze them with my biology teacher and see if they are dangerous. Damion i am not being ignorant with this(not saying your calling me that) I am not going to risk my livestock. I will examine them and then after analysis feed them to only 1 tank of fish i got for free and then make the call from there.



> Wow, I'm not that brave.


I collected roadkill for money when i was a kid c'mon this is nothing at all!


> My only question is....why?


fish like 'em!


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## SueM

After you get the first batch tested, are you going to keep those as breeders? Hmmm, interesting idea. If you get it going big, and can certify bacteria/disease free, you could actually make some serious bucks  Like the guy that started a small earthworm farm, now sells 8 OZ of dried for 20 bucks :shock: If (when) you get them rolling...I for one would buy a pile of them from you, most of us loooove live foods, but don't either have the time or the trust of the source. 
Good luck & keep us posted


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## Guest

testing for bacteria isnt all that damon is talking about. bacteria will not tell you about all parasites that the fly may have.


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## Guest

um...ew!?! fish also like black worms, blood worms, earth worms, just to name a few. if you have to culture something that fish like, why maggots...

human urine...i'm glad you have a strong stomach


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## Corydora_FREAK

> culture something that fish like, why maggots.


To hot for anything around here, bloodworms and blackworms die from the heat even if you keep fans out and the ground temperature is to hot for earthworms, my cousin has 9 horses and droves of flies, maggots are a convenient and easy culture. And fish like maggots! sounds sick but its true, they are actually loaded with protein and full of calories while staying low fat. Sounds like a winner to me!


> parasites that the fly may have.


i understand this i am not going to feed the first batch and discard any of the maggots that look infected or sick or have skin blemishes. The infected ones will probably die anyway before they turn into flies. where i will collect the heatlthy flies in a container and breed them in order to get my healthy stock. just like Sue M said.


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## Guest

i know their good for them but still....any way...i didn't know that it was too hot for worms...sorry. what if youkept worms in the fridge? i know black worms stay good in the fridge?


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## Corydora_FREAK

i have no idea where to get fresh black worms from and i don't really want worms in my fridge. Well thats sounds silly because i am growing maggots and i wont keep worms in the fridge  lol. well these guys are free and convenient and easy plus i am looking for something to do around here and would love to culture some live animals as fish food and its either maggots or earthworms in manmade containers with fans keeping the ground cool( which is expensive and a pain). Maggots it is!


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## Zoe

> they are actually loaded with protein and full of calories while staying low fat. Sounds like a winner to me!


Hm... I'm convinced, I bet they have a nice texture, too! Yum!


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## Guest

i completely aggree with you...i tought it was funny too when you said you don't want worms in your fridge but your culturing maggots....well, i can tell you it is something that i will never do but good luck with it!! enjoy your self


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## Ice Prince

Man i would never be able to do that. let alone my dad would kill me if i tried to do that.


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## Guest

^^^^^
my dad wouldn't care. it is my mom that would have a cow, kill me, and send me off to live with another family. there is no way she would let me culture maggots. even if it was the only thing that that animal ate. it is bad enough trying to get her to let me go to the lfs to get a bag of black worms to feed the pets.


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## Ice Prince

well i live with my dad and hes kinda a control freak and if he doesnt like something he wont let you do it. now my mom....thats another story....i dont know if she would let me or not....probably could get away with something like this in the far back corner of the yard...away from the house...then again i dont know if i could stand the smell....


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## Corydora_FREAK

well to all the people who say their parents wont do it, i do it outside about 5 acres from my house in the horse stalls so..... my parents never smell or see it


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## emc7

Just post warning labels above your color pictures and video. I don't want to click them by mistake. I'm just glad that smell-o-vision hasn't been invented yet.


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## Zoe

Poor horses


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## Corydora_FREAK

I wished this could be on dirty jobs! That show is one of my favorites! But i need to get it established and going on a bit bigger scale than what it is. And if you ask me the horses should LIKE having the farm around, it keeps the flies on the banana and not them!


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## Corydora_FREAK

DISASTER my friends, birds attacked my farm and ate all my maggots! NO!!!!!!!! so i have to restart......


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## micstarz

aww.. GL this time. looking forwards to seeing the results


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## cpm6372

GL on getting things started.


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## emc7

I am really sorry for you. I can feel your frustration. However, I couldn't help laughing when I read your post. Thanks for cheering me up.


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