Fruit fly medium going pink

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Ben.M

Ben.M

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I made up a very simple medium(mainly potato mash) the other day for some melanogasters and today I have noticed a small area on one side has gone a bright pink, does anyone know what this is and should I be worried???

Many thanks,

Ben.M

P.s. I have made it before without this happening.

 
Well its most likely mold of some form, many people get some mold in a ff culture and the culture goes on fine, but to much is just that "to much". Try putting some honey in the next one you make(tablespoon or 2) or several drops(5-10) of vinegar or both, there both anti fungal and work for me, but only in a new one not the one already molded.

 
I have had this occur and strangely the mold seemed to make it more productive when compared to another made the same day without the growth. Who knows. I know it wasn't a "bad thing".

 
Pink is definitely a mold. I have grown mushrooms in the past, and this is a common sign of a mold infection.

 
you can start a new culture, but the flies will have mold spores on them, so it will be less in new culture, but may still appear, I like to use some vinegar in my cultures too.

 
I think i'll give it a day or too to show me some maggots(flies went in at the weekend), if I cant see any then i'll make a new culture. I've got an ooth due to hatch from the 19th of this month so i'm kinda worried i'm not gonna have any flies ready for them :/

 
I finally saw some maggots in there :) , however I also found a few mites! :( I've never had mites in one of my cultures before, is it now a lost cause???

 
Ah, no, mold is not a "good thong". If it gets a good start ahead of the maggots it will starve them. If the maggots get the lead, they will often eat the mold as well, but there is no way to predict which will get the jump on the other. Also, some molds, particularly those that grow on grain flour, release poisons (mycotoxins), which won't do yr maggots any good, either.

Most members of this forum, so far as i can tell, use a splash of vinegar (how much? No one seems to know) as a fungal retardant. This is a bit like useing silver salts or hydrogen peroxide on a grossly infected wound when there are sytemic and topical antibiotics handy (and yes, your doc did a C&S and you're not allergic).

The antifungal of joice is Paraben, available from Josh's frogs for about $11 for 1 lb. 1 tsp treats 21./2 cups of dry material, so it lasts a long time. It is used in all ff labs, so far as i know. A second antifungal, used in labs when a particular substrate has a high (alkaline) pH, is Propionic acid available as the calcium salt (calcium propionate) in the baking stuff aisle of your local supermarket (except in Yuma). The only reason to ise it in FF food is because it might be cheaper or easier to obtain. The yeast fermentation, obviously, renders the mixture mildly acidic.

@Ben: Mites as qell? They will stick to the FF pupae and contaminate the next culture. The easiest solution is to start over. Good luck, and let us know how you make out!

Also, although they don't completely eliminate the possibility of a mold infestation, clean hands and clean utensils will help.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
PhilinYuma said:
Ah, no, mold is not a "good thong". If it gets a good start ahead of the maggots it will starve them. If the maggots get the lead, they will often eat the mold as well, but there is no way to predict which will get the jump on the other. Also, some molds, particularly those that grow on grain flour, release poisons (mycotoxins), which won't do yr maggots any good, either.

Most members of this forum, so far as i can tell, use a splash of vinegar (how much? No one seems to know) as a fungal retardant. This is a bit like useing silver salts or hydrogen peroxide on a grossly infected wound when there are sytemic and topical antibiotics handy (and yes, your doc did a C&S and you're not allergic).

The antifungal of joice is Paraben, available from Josh's frogs for about $11 for 1 lb. 1 tsp treats 21./2 cups of dry material, so it lasts a long time. It is used in all ff labs, so far as i know. A second antifungal, used in labs when a particular substrate has a high (alkaline) pH, is Propionic acid available as the calcium salt (calcium propionate) in the baking stuff aisle of your local supermarket (except in Yuma). The only reason to ise it in FF food is because it might be cheaper or easier to obtain. The yeast fermentation, obviously, renders the mixture mildly acidic.

@Ben: Mites as qell? They will stick to the FF pupae and contaminate the next culture. The easiest solution is to start over. Good luck, and let us know how you make out!

Also, although they don't completely eliminate the possibility of a mold infestation, clean hands and clean utensils will help.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for taking the time to write that and for the great advice, I think the maggots are starting to take hold as the surface of the mixture is getting moved about quite well and the jar has quite a large amount of ventilation so hopefully the mold is under control. I haven't seen many mites at all, only a couple but I suppose that's all it needs to start an infestation. The pink part has gotten darker and its spread seems to have slowed down.

Before I have used the MASA mixture which worked fantastically last time I used it but that was one or 2 years ago but it is very difficult to get hold of in England, the shop I got it from before no longer stocks it. I was going to add vinegar but only had malt vinegar and didn't know if it was ok to use but I'll admit that I completely forgot about the benefits of adding honey :/. There are maggots so I wont throw this culture out but I may make an extra one with the above ingredients to improve the chances of a successful culture.

Thanks so much again,

Ben.M :D

 
Calcium propionate is all I use in my cultures, it is more expensive to purchase, but unlike Josh, I sell it for 9.00 a pound right now, my cultures rarely ever have mold and it has done the trick, I also use 1 tbs white vinegar for 10 cups, in my cultures as it is for the flies as they do so much better with it than without, and the calcium is also 4 tsp to 10 cups, so it will last forever for most users too.

 
i usually cut up an apple, put it in the blender with a half inch of vinegar, blend it into a sauce, meanwhile, i mix plain oatmeal and ornge juice in a 1:1 ratio, mix them together at a fairly equal ratio, pour it into the culture container, ball up a paper towel and stick it into the mix

i let it sit for 4 days, add excelsior then flies

never had any problems with this method ;)

 
agent A said:
i usually cut up an apple, put it in the blender with a half inch of vinegar, blend it into a sauce, meanwhile, i mix plain oatmeal and ornge juice in a 1:1 ratio, mix them together at a fairly equal ratio, pour it into the culture container, ball up a paper towel and stick it into the mix

i let it sit for 4 days, add excelsior then flies

never had any problems with this method ;)
Click to expand...
Does this make a firm or runny culture?

My problem is that I turn the curture container practicly upside down to shake the flies out

and the media slides down to the lid!!

I have been using Rapashy (spelling???) and putting in less water.

 

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