Ricardo
Well-known member
What do I feed them? They are flightless and I would like to keep the culture going.
food for fruit flies
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patrickfraser
Well-known member
Make a new culture with some of the flies?????
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Damn, I started answering this, and then one of my kids called me looking for footnotes to her excellent 9th grade paper on Philip Larkin's poem: "They ###### you up, your mum and dad" ( and our anti-poetic, puritanical censor will mess that up).
Basically, any carbohydrate and water mix, most commonly potato flakes nowadays, though some still use cornflour, will do. The tiny ff maggots don't eat it though. Instead they eat the microorganism that grow in any high carbohydrate mix which acts as a culture medium. Orin has a pretty good "sticky" at the beginning of this forum, which you should read. The only thing in addition to the water/potato mix (follow the instructions on the box and then add a little more water), is yeast. Most people sprinkle an inadequate amount of active yeast granules on top of the mix, and this is supplemented from yeast spores in the air together with microorganisms that they eat. There is a myth that some fermenting fluid, like vinegar (which in fact is sterilized and contains no agents of fermentation at all) promote egg laying, but its use is quite unnecessary. Brewer's yeast, though, contains ruptured yeast organisms (it is killed yeast. by product of beer brewing) and it is not a bad idea to toss in a cupful of that to five cups or so of potato flakes. I personally use a cup of it and 1/2 cup of active yeast to 6 cups of potato flakes. some of us have also experiment with adding a protein powdered like casein or milk whey to the mix, but this complicates the process and helps drive up the per unit cost, so I suggest that you stick with the flakes, water, yeast --if you just sprinkle on a little, it will start fermenting immediately -- and forget all the "extras like casein, apple slices, bananas, molasses (sorry Superfreak!) and the "secret ingredients " that some members swear by, The FFs can't read. They won't know the difference.
The reason, by the way, that most breeders just sprinkle yeast on top of the mix instead of mixing in half a cup full is that 1/2 cup of yeast will create a lot of carbon dioxide as it does in rising bread. I usually let it do its thing over night in a warm part iof the kitchen and then stir it (I use a stand mixer but a fork will do) to remove the carbon dioxide bubbles.
Finally, if you have a problem with mold in yr cultures, you might want to try an anti mold chemical or paraben (from, e.g. Josh's Frogs) or the one that Hibiscusmile, who makes more ff cultures than most of us put together, uses.
Good luck!
Basically, any carbohydrate and water mix, most commonly potato flakes nowadays, though some still use cornflour, will do. The tiny ff maggots don't eat it though. Instead they eat the microorganism that grow in any high carbohydrate mix which acts as a culture medium. Orin has a pretty good "sticky" at the beginning of this forum, which you should read. The only thing in addition to the water/potato mix (follow the instructions on the box and then add a little more water), is yeast. Most people sprinkle an inadequate amount of active yeast granules on top of the mix, and this is supplemented from yeast spores in the air together with microorganisms that they eat. There is a myth that some fermenting fluid, like vinegar (which in fact is sterilized and contains no agents of fermentation at all) promote egg laying, but its use is quite unnecessary. Brewer's yeast, though, contains ruptured yeast organisms (it is killed yeast. by product of beer brewing) and it is not a bad idea to toss in a cupful of that to five cups or so of potato flakes. I personally use a cup of it and 1/2 cup of active yeast to 6 cups of potato flakes. some of us have also experiment with adding a protein powdered like casein or milk whey to the mix, but this complicates the process and helps drive up the per unit cost, so I suggest that you stick with the flakes, water, yeast --if you just sprinkle on a little, it will start fermenting immediately -- and forget all the "extras like casein, apple slices, bananas, molasses (sorry Superfreak!) and the "secret ingredients " that some members swear by, The FFs can't read. They won't know the difference.
The reason, by the way, that most breeders just sprinkle yeast on top of the mix instead of mixing in half a cup full is that 1/2 cup of yeast will create a lot of carbon dioxide as it does in rising bread. I usually let it do its thing over night in a warm part iof the kitchen and then stir it (I use a stand mixer but a fork will do) to remove the carbon dioxide bubbles.
Finally, if you have a problem with mold in yr cultures, you might want to try an anti mold chemical or paraben (from, e.g. Josh's Frogs) or the one that Hibiscusmile, who makes more ff cultures than most of us put together, uses.
Good luck!
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Yep. This has to be good solution for a lot of folks. It costs more but saves you a lot of time. I've used the Carolina mix successfully for mels and hydei.
PhilinYuma
Well-known member
Oh, I forgot another excellent recipe for fruit flies that does not use cornmeal, potato flakes or yeast. I just made up some tonight, so here goes:
Seer a 3lb chuck roast on both sides in oil in a large cast iron cooking pot.
Semove the meat to a plate and add 2-3 cupsmirepoix (chopped onions, carrots and celery) to deglaze the pot. Saute for about 5 mins.
Add a mixture of 11/2 cups beef stock, 1/2 cup red wine (merlot or burgundy are traditional) and a small can of tomato paste. Stir together and add pepper, salt and thyme to taste.
Return the meet to the pot (sprinkle a little of the seasoning on top) and bring to a simmer with the lid on.
When simmering, transfer to a 300F (150C) oven and allow to simmer for 11/2 hours.
Remove from oven, set meat on the plate (aren't you glad that you didn't bother to wash it?) and strain the liquid through a sieve (the mirepoix has given up all its flavor by this time and is just sludge).
Retain the sludge and return the the liquid to the pot. Add whole small carrots and quartered (to taste), peeled red potatoes . Return the meat to the pot and season if required. Bring to a simmer and return to the oven.
After one more hour remove the pot and add reconstituted dry shitake mushrooms and pearl onions if you wish.
Cook in the oven for about another half hour, remove, and place the meat and veggies on that (still dirty? Love it!) plate.
After that you can feed the meat and gravy to the dog and toss out the veggies.
Next morning, if you have a FF friendly kitchen, you should find that the strained mirepoix sludge is covered in wild FFs. Let them have at it for another day and then scoop the sludge into a couple of 32oz deli cups and you'll have some healthy, happy fruit flies in about another week.
Seer a 3lb chuck roast on both sides in oil in a large cast iron cooking pot.
Semove the meat to a plate and add 2-3 cupsmirepoix (chopped onions, carrots and celery) to deglaze the pot. Saute for about 5 mins.
Add a mixture of 11/2 cups beef stock, 1/2 cup red wine (merlot or burgundy are traditional) and a small can of tomato paste. Stir together and add pepper, salt and thyme to taste.
Return the meet to the pot (sprinkle a little of the seasoning on top) and bring to a simmer with the lid on.
When simmering, transfer to a 300F (150C) oven and allow to simmer for 11/2 hours.
Remove from oven, set meat on the plate (aren't you glad that you didn't bother to wash it?) and strain the liquid through a sieve (the mirepoix has given up all its flavor by this time and is just sludge).
Retain the sludge and return the the liquid to the pot. Add whole small carrots and quartered (to taste), peeled red potatoes . Return the meat to the pot and season if required. Bring to a simmer and return to the oven.
After one more hour remove the pot and add reconstituted dry shitake mushrooms and pearl onions if you wish.
Cook in the oven for about another half hour, remove, and place the meat and veggies on that (still dirty? Love it!) plate.
After that you can feed the meat and gravy to the dog and toss out the veggies.
Next morning, if you have a FF friendly kitchen, you should find that the strained mirepoix sludge is covered in wild FFs. Let them have at it for another day and then scoop the sludge into a couple of 32oz deli cups and you'll have some healthy, happy fruit flies in about another week.
