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Quote (FlytrapGurl @ Mar. 01 2003,11:04)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Update! Well, today all the traps are done digesting and open except for the large green dragon VFT's trap that is starting to rot because of the fish food pellet. The small green dragon VFT's trap that I fed the flake to is open, but fungus is starting to rot it since I didn't crumble the flake into powder before using it. Stupid me!!!
The common VFT's trap that I fed the dried bloodworms to is open, but it's completely brown and dead. ***sigh*** But there's light in this hole of darkness, too! The purpurea that I fed the milk to is going into another growth spurt! Just a couple days ago, a cute lil' new pitcher popped up!
The new pitcher grew half an inch in three days!!! So, I'm convinced that the milk is a cause of this, as it was the first time I used milk with this plant last year. Anyways, a new field of experiments will start today. New chart:
Betta pellets: S. purpurea
Crumbled up fish food flakes: large green dragon VFT[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Doh! I wish I had seen this post sooner, I could have saved you a lot of VFT traps. I've done extensive work with fish food given to my plants and I know all the tricks to proper digesion.
1. In VFTs, you MUST stimulate the trap frequently (like every 15 minutes) untill it gets the super tight seal going good, otherwise it won't mater what you fed, the trap will rot.
2. Just like some insects hurt traps, so do some fish foods. Stay away from cheap foods with high fats and oils and stick with high protien expensive brands for expensive fish. Most fish food is so pathedic in nutrition, I'm amazed the fish don't rot and die from eating it lol. In my earlyer post I listed some good brands.
3. flake food is always bad, I don't care what is eating it, that stuff is nasty (high risk)
Bloodworms: These seem to digest okay(even without soaking) but the exoskeliton thingy consistently glues my traps leaves together so when it tries to open up, it gets wrinkly and you have to pop it appart
Pellot fish food: Remember to get carnivor pellots and know that pellots are solid little balls while crumbles are, well, crumbley. Pellots usually have less fat, so they are better. I've never had problems using them dry, but be sure you get it in the center of the VFT leaf and that it is small. For baby sundew, I crush a pellot and pick up the dust bit on a toothpick placeing one bit per plant on a large leaf. For the tropical piture plants, I just toss a few in.
The largest impact the pellots have had for me, is that the Nep promply grew 3 new leaves and started swelling a piture. It gets a couple every week right now and continues to put out new leaves