# help with a fruit fly culture



## arm2010

Hi i hope someone can help,i've just bought a fruit fly culture and not sure how to look after it,how long do they last? how should they be kept? please help somebody!!! many thanks.


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## Rick

What kind is it? Is it a small round vial or a large deli cup? Either way it's about the same. It should last a few weeks at most. I have about 10 vials going at a time. Every few weeks I have to clean them out and transfer the remaining flys to newly started vials. You can buy all the supplies from www.carolina.com


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## dino

He is in London. How is he supposed to buy from www.carolina.com


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## Rick

> He is in London. How is he supposed to buy from www.carolina.com


Well I did not notice his location. International shipping may be possible.


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## dino

I don't think carolina does international shipping.


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## Rick

No, but foreign companies can become authorized distributers of their products! Please keep the threads on topic. arm, did you get the info you were looking for?


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## dino

Yeah they should be replaced to a new culture every couple weeks since BIG cultures will attrached mites. Mites do damage to fruit flies. That is what I was told by carolina and I read it in one of their books that come with a fruit fly culture when you purchase a culture.


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## arm2010

Hi guys and girls thanks for the info, i've got a culture already i was wondering what you do to maintain it, i'm grateful for any info you can provide many thanks for all your replies. cheers


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## yen_saw

Hi there, the culture should produce thousand and generation of flies. Keep them at around 70-80F and do not add more media or water on it. If you see mold or mites in the culture, it is best to replace it with a new culture with completely new fruit flies. I was told that mites kill the larvae/maggots and destroy the culture. As what Rick suggested, if you have mite problem, get the mite paper from www. carolina.com.


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## arm2010

thanks yen, i don't see any mites so i think i'm ok.


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## dino

Okay good no mites, but change culture about every mont so cultures wont get to large in number... which will bring in mites. Which could do harm to your fruit flies.


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## Rick

All depends on the size of your culture. They all pretty much die out in a few weeks. I currently keep flies in 32 oz deli cups and I also have about 20 vials of them going. The medium will dry out or get used up by the fly larvae.


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## dino

Yes but they reproduce every day. And that means cultures can bigger than you least expected it. :shock:


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## Rick

Yes I know they are fast to reproduce. They get large in numbers in a couple weeks and within about three weeks they culture is almost doneand will stop producing flies. I have to redo them every few weeks.


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## dino

I bet it stinks? Since they keep reproducing and get big in numbers huh?


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## arm2010

What is the culture made of? it smells of sweaty socks, can you make the culture or do you just buy another?


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## dino

Thats not what I meant. I mean it stinks do you have to keep so many fruit flies since they reporduce quickly. I didn't mean it smells.


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## Leah

> What is the culture made of? it smells of sweaty socks, can you make the culture or do you just buy another?


You can buy a new culture, you can buy the dry media to make new cultures with the flies you already have, or you can search the internet fot home made recipes and try to find a good mold inhibitor to make your own media. We sell a dry media, but its not on the website or advertised anywhere just yet.


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## dino

Or you can just simply buy the medium from www.carolina.com if you


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## garbonzo13

Hey Leah, whats that media going for, and does it have a mold inhibitor in it? If not do you have the mold inhibitor available? I take it the website is the link under your post. :wink:


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## Ian

I have this bag of amazing mudium which does not smell at all, very cheap, and the fruit flies seem to breed very well in it. Stephan gave me the website (I cannot remember off hand) so if you ask you, I reccomend ordering a bag.

Cheers,

Ian


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## Leah

> Hey Leah, whats that media going for, and does it have a mold inhibitor in it? If not do you have the mold inhibitor available? I take it the website is the link under your post. :wink:


The media $5 (its not on the site yet) and it makes about 6 cultures. It does contain mold inhibitor and unfortunately we dont sell the mold inhibitor seperately.

Yes, the website is in the signature


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## garbonzo13

thanks.


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