# Mold in my flies!



## Uncaonce (Mar 11, 2009)

Hmmm....... I thought I followed the firections for making the fly culture. The media I used was advertised as having mod-inhibitor in it. 

However, I still got mold. In hind site I did not let the media cool after mixing it with hot water. Is this the source of my mold?

Based on reading on this forum I have condluced it is not that difficult to culture flies so I am guessing it was something simple I over looked.

Room temp was a constant 70-80 degrees. Cultures were placed under the aquarium in a dark area. 

Someone suggested a little vinigar in the water to prevent mold but I opted agaisnt it because of the mod-inhibitor.

Any thoughts?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

What does the mold look like? Are you sure its not an overgrowth of yeast? (white not fuzzy but slimy). 

Ed


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## Uncaonce (Mar 11, 2009)

Ed said:


> What does the mold look like? Are you sure its not an overgrowth of yeast? (white not fuzzy but slimy).
> 
> Ed


It is white and slimey now that you mention it. So, slimey is good and fuzzy is bad?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

white and slimey is probably a yeast overgrowth particuarly if you are using flies that are slower to get going like D. hydei or let the cultures sit a long time before adding the flies. 

Ed


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## bruce (Feb 23, 2007)

Thanks Ed, you learn something every day!


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## crentania (Jul 22, 2008)

Wow! I'd seen the white slimey stuff in my cultures a few times and just assumed it was random sugar crystals. How wrong I was! Thanks for the info!


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## RecycledAgain (Oct 26, 2008)

I had a question about keeping the ff in a "dark area". I was under the impression that dark area's helped mold growth. As I remember, it was recommended that the FF have like 12 hrs of florescent light, was that misinformation? I ask because my wife will be sooo happy if I can hide the cultures.

Dan


Uncaonce said:


> Hmmm....... I thought I followed the firections for making the fly culture. The media I used was advertised as having mod-inhibitor in it.
> 
> However, I still got mold. In hind site I did not let the media cool after mixing it with hot water. Is this the source of my mold?
> 
> ...


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

The dark really doesn't do much for the mold growth however keeping the flies in a lit area may help with the nutritional value of the flies. 

Ed


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Ed said:


> The dark really doesn't do much for the mold growth however keeping the flies in a lit area may help with the nutritional value of the flies.
> 
> Ed


Really We were told to keep ours in the dark as well. Turning on the lights to help the frogs with nutrition. DONE!

Thanks ED


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If you are using a media that contains a decent provitamin A carotenoid source then under light (if I remember correctly, 450 nm (or somewhere in there) the flies with convert provitamin A into a pigment (which is sored in the eyes) which the frog can break down into vitamin A 

Ed


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## kingnicky101 (Feb 20, 2009)

I had the same problem when I first started the hobby because I didn't use vinegar. I now use vinegar in all my cultures and they do fine. Just use a little bit and there will be no mold.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

We were told that a tablespoon of honey will help stop mold and seems to so far.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

microwaving the media and letting it cool while covered works fine for me and eliminates the risk from grain mites. 
Ed


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Ed what do those grain mites look like? When I keep springtail cultures next to the ff's, after a while there are tiny white slow mites walking all around them and in them, thought they were baby springs but they walk way too slow, they don't crash the springtails though (or the ff's), pums seem pretty into them so I don't mind them, just wondering which those might be?


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Ed said:


> microwaving the media and letting it cool while covered works fine for me and eliminates the risk from grain mites.
> Ed


We microwave as well. We originally were told to do this to kill any fliers that might be in the banana's. If it kills grain mites as well that's just another bonus


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

ChrisK said:


> Ed what do those grain mites look like? When I keep springtail cultures next to the ff's, after a while there are tiny white slow mites walking all around them and in them, thought they were baby springs but they walk way too slow, they don't crash the springtails though (or the ff's), pums seem pretty into them so I don't mind them, just wondering which those might be?


Are you feeding the springtails any grain based foods? fish food, baby cereal, etc? 

Ed


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

No, just baker's yeast


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Do you see little white flecks outside the ff cultures on the nearby surfaces? If so then you might be getting grain mites in your springtail cultures otherwise I would think they are just some detrivore or soil dwelling mites. 

Ed


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## FlyCafe.net (May 17, 2009)

After 6 years of focusing exclusively on Fruit Fly Culturing we have found that Methyl Paraben and vinegar used in your cultures will do the best job compared to anything else. Keep in mind Methyl Paraben is a mold inhibitor, not a cure-all for mold. Plus too little added to your media can have little to no effect while too much can reduce your fly yields.

A trick: If you use Coffee filters, separate them before putting them in the culture and spay them until moist with a water/vinegar solution. This will also help to reduce mold issues.

The biggest issue that people never think of is where you are preparing your cultures and the tools being used. Everything should be very clean (bleach is good start) as it only takes a single mold spore to trigger an outbreak and where there is dust and dirt there is usually a mold spore or two (or worse).

And as for the light and dark...keep your cultures in normal (indirect) daylight rotation. (If your frogs are getting 12 to 14 hours of daylight (from a bulb) so should your Fruit Fly Cultures although I would never recommend having to buy a light bulb for your flies as the indirect lighting will be plenty). Ed seems to know even more than I did about why the lighting is important on the nutritional side but try storing a few cultures in the dark 24/7 and a few in normal light/dark rotation and after about 2+ weeks you can tell there is a difference.

Mike


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## Dragas (Sep 4, 2008)

Ed said:


> detrivore or soil dwelling mites.
> 
> Ed


Good / Bad ? Detrivore's seem like they may be a good tank janitor ?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

FlyCafe.net said:


> Ed seems to know even more than I did about why the lighting is important on the nutritional side but try storing a few cultures in the dark 24/7 and a few in normal light/dark rotation and after about 2+ weeks you can tell there is a difference.
> 
> Mike


Hi Mike,

It was a series of articles I tracked down starting with this one Rhodopsin Formation in Drosophila Is Dependent on the PINTA Retinoid-Binding Protein -- Wang and Montell 25 (21): 5187 -- Journal of Neuroscience on my quest to figure out why the were so poor a source of vitamin A given that the have rhodopsin in thier eyes which can be used as a source of retinol... 
Analysis of basic ff media looks to be a relatively poor source of provitamin A carotenoids and vitamin A iteself so given that the culture is effectively an unregulated bioreactor, I figured we might be undersupplementing not only the frogs but the flies.... 

I can dig out more of my data search if needed but it will have to wait... 

Ed


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## FlyCafe.net (May 17, 2009)

Ed,

I know this may skip the mold issue a bit but I will say without the two main mold inhibitors we use it wouldn't be possible but on the side of nutrition here it goes: Yogurt!

Yes,
a little over 2 years ago we started adding our own cultured whey from yogurt using 10 probiotics commonly found in certain yogurts. Terrified of mold...we did a great deal of testing before adding it to the Fruit Fly Cultures we actually sold to customers. The HUGE payoff that was by mistake...was that the Fruit Flies (during their peak before over population and debris starts to kick-in) are actually larger and many even have fat bottoms (females) compared to the same type of Fruit Flies (D. Hydei or D. Melanogaster although the D. Hydei are much more noticeable) in Cultures with the same ingredients minus the cultured probiotics. I bounced the results off of 2 herpetologists (1 current and 1 working to be) and they both agreed that it has to be the yogurt helping to promote the absorption of nutrients.

What is sad is that I came up with this after using yogurt to help me get off meds for ulcers in my digestive track, I hate taking any pills regularly. I figured if it helped me so much it couldn't hurt to try with the Fruit Flies.

I figured since you helped me learn something new today..I'd share one of my best discoveries at boosting the nutritional value of Fruit Flies.

Thanks,
Mike


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Hi Mike,


Thanks.. 


Ed


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Ed said:


> If you are using a media that contains a decent provitamin A carotenoid source then under light (if I remember correctly, 450 nm (or somewhere in there) the flies with convert provitamin A into a pigment (which is sored in the eyes) which the frog can break down into vitamin A
> 
> Ed


Hi Ed

Could you elaborate on this one.

Our cultures are:

1 part banana

1 part applesauce

1 part oatmeal

vinegar

honey


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