# potato flakes and yeast



## macro junkie (Mar 6, 2008)

can i add honey to the mix?


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## darkspeed (Mar 6, 2008)

I add honey, orange juice and lemon juice... no more than 1/4 cup of each tho.


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## macro junkie (Mar 7, 2008)

yer i been told to add honey..thats cool.


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## Rob Byatt (Mar 7, 2008)

Ther's no real need, just use the mix that I use. Remember that starch is a sugar anyway


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## macro junkie (Mar 7, 2008)

Rob Byatt said:


> Ther's no real need, just use the mix that I use. Remember that starch is a sugar anyway


i read the flys have nothing to eat for a few days until the yeast has time to work or something?is this true?i was reading that putting small slice of apple in there is a good idea?


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## Rob Byatt (Mar 7, 2008)

macro junkie said:


> i read the flys have nothing to eat for a few days until the yeast has time to work or something?is this true?i was reading that putting small slice of apple in there is a good idea?


Read it on the internet by any chance ?


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## macro junkie (Mar 7, 2008)

Rob Byatt said:


> Read it on the internet by any chance ?


no on the mantid forum by orin..il get the info brb


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## macro junkie (Mar 7, 2008)

Egg laying

Fruit fly females lay eggs in the presence of fermentation products, which is why yeast has been commonly added to the cultures. There is an undeniable improvement in how fast and if a culture starts with an egg laying stimulus. However, yeast takes some time to ferment so fly keepers have started using a teaspoon of vinegar instead. Why wait when you don't have to. I found a dash of Sambuca worked even better (any liquor will work). In the last few years I switched to using a slice of apple, around 1", placed on the substrate because of better results. Apple slices were used to keep flies alive in feeding cages where necessary (most other fruits produce messy slurries that trap and drown baby spiders, mantids, etc.). The flies readily laid eggs on the apple, but there wasn't enough food. Apples are very inexpensive and a half or quarter lasts months in the fridge kept dry (if covered it molds). Only one egg inducing method is necessary but use of all four together probably wouldn't cause a problem. Lastly, start cultures with 30-50 flies to get a decent size initial batch.


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## Precious (Mar 7, 2008)

I read somewhere about the use of "overflow" cultures. When you're whipping up your medium, keep a couple of containers set aside with no flies. Later, if you have a boom or just aren't using them fast enough dump the extras into these overflow cultures. I used to just flush them. Keeping the number of flies down encourages a healthy, productive and enduring culture. All of my cultures last two months, with a little attention. Toward the end they may need some misting, too.

I use honey, gobs of it, because of the sugar and because it has antifungal properties. However, for the first time in the last year I got mold, so I have started adding methyl paraben. I use the flakes + honey + vinegar + methyl paraben + yeast (only on the top). I know most people put brewer's yeast in, but I never have. Lemon juice sounds smart, like a preservative. I think the best tip I've ever had about flies is keeping the numbers low. Your culture will be strong for a long time. I just started using mite paper too. I've read too much about what a nightmare a mite infestation is. After the mold, I knew if that could happen to me - mites could too.


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## darkspeed (Mar 8, 2008)

My last batch with potato, fruit juice, lemon juice and honey started showing the first signs of mold today. Im not sure where to get methyl parabin, but I wont be using vinegar anymore. I mixed up a potato batch with vinegar and used it to transfer a small culture that had become too runny though it was teeming with hundreds of maggots. The maggots all pupated in the new culture but the vinegar caused all the casters to die before hatching. I mixed up two more batches of the potato fruit juice medium today. I added a few drops of vodka on top and a slice of apple this time to speed up the egg laying process as much as possible since I was forced to buy an order of flies to make up for all the dead casters. We'll see how it turns out.


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## Guest_Tunedbeat_* (Mar 8, 2008)

DARKSPEED said:


> My last batch with potato, fruit juice, lemon juice and honey started showing the first signs of mold today. Im not sure where to get methyl parabin, but I wont be using vinegar anymore. I mixed up a potato batch with vinegar and used it to transfer a small culture that had become too runny though it was teeming with hundreds of maggots. The maggots all pupated in the new culture but the vinegar caused all the casters to die before hatching. I mixed up two more batches of the potato fruit juice medium today. I added a few drops of vodka on top and a slice of apple this time to speed up the egg laying process as much as possible since I was forced to buy an order of flies to make up for all the dead casters. We'll see how it turns out.


Maybe you added too much vinegar?

I've never had a problem with my media. It's just apple sauce, 1/2 banana, potato flakes, alittle water, and 1tsp of vinegar. You want the medium to be in the middle, not too running or dry. Too dry, larvae will not be able to burrow through and too running will cause them to drown. And, I've never added yeast.


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