Culturing black soldier flies (or other Diptera) in an aquarium?

I love flies and maggots, but most common varieties are too messy, climb glass easily as tiny larvae, and require pretty wet, smelly conditions.

Black Soldier Flies, however, are raised by a lot of people indoors and out for composting. Has anyone ever tried breeding them in a naturalistic tank or am I going to end up a pioneer here?

I was thinking a ten gallon aquarium with a soil substrate, but a designated feeding area, like a half-buried wooden box or basket, just like a bigger outdoor compost bin they're often reared in. I'm told adults like to mate in foliage, and in sunlight, so I'd need a lamp and some plastic or potted plants.

Think it might work?

Has anyone ever reared other flies consistently indoors, besides fruit flies?

From what I've heard, you'll need a fairly tall tank because adults will form small mating swarms and adults will mate in midair, so they need a few feet to drop while mating before they disengage. You can try giving them foliage though to mate on and see if they prefer that. The larvae like decaying organic matter, so pretty no matter what you do you're going to be dealing with some smell and mess.

This link should provide you with plenty of good info
http://www.ie.unc.edu/for_students/courses/capstone/13/bsfl_how-to_guide.pdf

You'd be better off just culturing them outside with a compost heap, IMO. Might be difficult to keep strange pests and diseases out though, but it'd be far easier and would possibly attract other cool species of potential value as feeders

Although most outdoor compost does attract more species than the one you begin with it is possible to net potential feeders...and to sort them outside.

Scythemantis said:

Has anyone ever tried breeding them in a naturalistic tank or am I going to end up a pioneer here?

I was thinking a ten gallon aquarium with a soil substrate, but a designated feeding area, like a half-buried wooden box or basket, just like a bigger outdoor compost bin they're often reared in. I'm told adults like to mate in foliage, and in sunlight, so I'd need a lamp and some plastic or potted plants.

Think it might work?

Click to expand...

How did the experiment go?
I was considering seeding arboreal T. enclosures with a soldier fly larva or pupa, thinking the flies would make a good treat.