OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
My melanogaster cultures are doing terrific but my hydei cultures are dying out. Now I'm not even sure if those little things inside are maggots because they haven't grown.
How I make fruit fly medium!
- Thread starter MikhailsDinos
- Start date
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OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
I finally see larvae and pupae but very very few.
Great tutorial for FF medium B)
All I have tried so far is an old bruised pear with a few bits of mould growing on it. put in a clean pot with a sprinkle of ready brek on the bottom to absorb water & goo.
Flies I put in there are doing great but I ain't seen any ickle maggies yet, it's been over a wk since I put the flies in
The 32oz cups you use look about the size of a pint glass, I've got a load of plastic 1's that I'm going to use. I will cover the top with a bit of net curtain and a laccy band.
I will try and get maze powder, if not I'll ask for a bait box full from my local fishing shop when I next get maggies, pinkies & squatts.
Before I start I am going to melt a hole or 2 in the sides with a soildering iorn and stuff a big chunk of sponge in the holes. The I can take flies from the culture without opening the lid and reduce escapees
I use a length of filter tube with a filter on the end (another small bit of net curtain) and stick it into a larger diameter bit of tube to stick in the hole and catch several flies
All I have tried so far is an old bruised pear with a few bits of mould growing on it. put in a clean pot with a sprinkle of ready brek on the bottom to absorb water & goo.
Flies I put in there are doing great but I ain't seen any ickle maggies yet, it's been over a wk since I put the flies in
The 32oz cups you use look about the size of a pint glass, I've got a load of plastic 1's that I'm going to use. I will cover the top with a bit of net curtain and a laccy band.
I will try and get maze powder, if not I'll ask for a bait box full from my local fishing shop when I next get maggies, pinkies & squatts.
Before I start I am going to melt a hole or 2 in the sides with a soildering iorn and stuff a big chunk of sponge in the holes. The I can take flies from the culture without opening the lid and reduce escapees
I use a length of filter tube with a filter on the end (another small bit of net curtain) and stick it into a larger diameter bit of tube to stick in the hole and catch several flies
asdsdf
Coolest Member
Is it a Hydei culture? They don't produce maggots until a while. I know from exp. Put like 10 inside there, and a while later, it totally explodes with maggots. The whole things is practically a writhing mass of maggots.Great tutorial for FF medium B) All I have tried so far is an old bruised pear with a few bits of mould growing on it. put in a clean pot with a sprinkle of ready brek on the bottom to absorb water & goo.
Flies I put in there are doing great but I ain't seen any ickle maggies yet, it's been over a wk since I put the flies in
The 32oz cups you use look about the size of a pint glass, I've got a load of plastic 1's that I'm going to use. I will cover the top with a bit of net curtain and a laccy band.
I will try and get maze powder, if not I'll ask for a bait box full from my local fishing shop when I next get maggies, pinkies & squatts.
Before I start I am going to melt a hole or 2 in the sides with a soildering iorn and stuff a big chunk of sponge in the holes. The I can take flies from the culture without opening the lid and reduce escapees
I use a length of filter tube with a filter on the end (another small bit of net curtain) and stick it into a larger diameter bit of tube to stick in the hole and catch several flies
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
I might as well tell you guys what I do. I use empty plastic water bottles and add shredded Styrofoam plates/trays/boxes instead of coffee filters. For the lid, I cut a hole through the top and hot-glue some sort of screen to it. I just say, this has worked very well for me; very few escapes.
MikhailsDinos
Well-known member
When you add the vinegar, Add two TBS to the mix. This works better at keeping the Fungus from growing.
keelan
Active member
newbie question but were do you get you fruit flys from to start your culture? :blink:
joossa
Well-known member
DARKSPEED, make sure to keep us updated on how it goes.
OGIGA
Dead Leaf Mantis
I buy them. For the small ones (drosophilia melanogaster), I go to PetCo. I got my larger ones (drosophilia hydei) from Nick, but you can also get them at PetSmart. By the way, these are stores in the US so sorry to everyone outside USA...
So far so good... no larvae yet, but its only day 3 since I put around 10 melanogaster's in it. But at least they are all still alive. I got mine from Mr. Clausen @ bugsincyberspace.com, who referred me to this board. His culture was basically just instant mashed potatoes and yeast, and I think I added too much water, as it was really runny... Once the larvae hatched and pupated even though i ended up with 200 or so flies, 150 drowned in the potato soup. I cut my losses, fed 40 or so to our 2 L-4 Giant Asian nymphs, and invested the other 10 into the fresh culture. I like this one alot better, as it is not runny.
I am a bit confused though, because the potato soup media was very specific about using no more than 4 granules of yeast, stating that any more would lead to sterile flies. But this media basically calls for dozens of granules. Im gonna take Mikhails' word, as there has obviously been alot of success with this recipe, but I am still curious as to the scientific explanation of why the two medias call for such drastically different amounts of yeast.
I'll maintain updates and photos of this batch's progress. After this one Ill probably move up to house flies, as these Giant Asian babies grow really frickin fast.
I am a bit confused though, because the potato soup media was very specific about using no more than 4 granules of yeast, stating that any more would lead to sterile flies. But this media basically calls for dozens of granules. Im gonna take Mikhails' word, as there has obviously been alot of success with this recipe, but I am still curious as to the scientific explanation of why the two medias call for such drastically different amounts of yeast.
I'll maintain updates and photos of this batch's progress. After this one Ill probably move up to house flies, as these Giant Asian babies grow really frickin fast.
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Ben.M
Well-known member
I hav the exact same problem with the potato mix, so i just use that mix to get a load for this culture.
And the culture im using at the moment (the same way Mikhails does it) is absolutly exploding with flies so this recipe deffinatly works if mixed right, in fact im gonna make another culture later 2day
Ben.M
P.s i was told to put 70 grains of yeast in the potato mix and that didnt make them sterile :huh:
And the culture im using at the moment (the same way Mikhails does it) is absolutly exploding with flies so this recipe deffinatly works if mixed right, in fact im gonna make another culture later 2day
Ben.M
P.s i was told to put 70 grains of yeast in the potato mix and that didnt make them sterile :huh:
keelan
Active member
i will try to obtain some and start a new culture using this recipe
Ben.M
Well-known member
Kenza from BN???
keelan
Active member
yeap thats me ben hehe
MikhailsDinos
Well-known member
Yes,
Adding less yeast helps prevent the flies from getting stuck. But I have not noticed them becoming sterile. I now add less yeast to my cultures, Just two pinches of yeast.
Adding less yeast helps prevent the flies from getting stuck. But I have not noticed them becoming sterile. I now add less yeast to my cultures, Just two pinches of yeast.
Well the first couple of larvae have emerged from the media and begun exploring the inside of the cup. I knew some had hatched earlier when i noticed little tunnels bored through sections of the media. They are still nearly impossible to see within the media, even with the food coloring. I'll post pics when more emerge.
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Ben.M
Well-known member
Giv it time and there will be loads of flies
