I use romaine lettuce, bread, any fruit i may have on hand (apples, oranges, whatever), and as for protein, i just toss in Kibbles and Bits dogfood. I sold off my colony but it lasted me 2 or 3 years and was at least double or triple its original size, despite constantly giving them away (a friend at the Bronx Zoo wanted some). It may be dry, but if you spray it they take to it just fine. To my knowledge the same works for the orange heads and e. distantis. I didn't have any cannibalism or chewed wings problems in any of my tanks, even when they were crowded.