# good smelling ff cultures???



## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

my ff cultures have smelled absolutly horrible (i guess because of the way i make them) and they don't do so well either. usually one out of 4 will do well, the others just don't produce and die in a few days. for my cultures, i mash up bannanas and mix it with oatmeal some yeast, a couple drops of methaline blue (bad spelling), applesauce, and a tiny bit of fish flake food. then i let it sit for 24 hours before useing. i heard somewhere you could add honey or somehing to make it smell better. is there any way to make them smell better but also have it effective so the cultures produce well? thanks


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## topaz017 (Jul 30, 2006)

Try the media from Josh's Frogs. It smells great!! I recently tried some other media, and was quite disappointed in the smell. 

Read his vendor feedback, and make your own decision 

http://joshsfrogs.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_68


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## adnama36 (Mar 8, 2007)

I second the vote for Josh's media! It smells like something you could eat for breakfast! I just started using it, but so far it looks like I'm going to get tons of flies from it too.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I second Josh's, smells like cinnamon!


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

fan of J's here too


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

thanks. yes, everyone you reccomended sounds great, but unfortunately i don't have much money for ff cultures at all... any recipes you guys could suggest to me that you just make at home? thanks


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## Mywebbedtoes (Jul 2, 2007)

I actually do use Josh's media mix for breakfast. I never even got around to the flys, it's just so much cheaper than fruit loops. 

Ha ha. I get tons of flys from mine, and it never gets gross. But everyone else already said that.


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## topaz017 (Jul 30, 2006)

Ordering a bag of his media would cost you like $15 bux. You're already spending that much trying new stuff.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

Just remember, it may smell yummy, but it sure doesnt taste good!


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

i am sure it is great smelling and good media, but i don't really have 15 dollars every couple weeks for ff. i spend about 3 dollars and i can get 6 cultures out of that, so 50 cents a culture.


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## topaz017 (Jul 30, 2006)

You said earlier you make 4, 1 only works. So it's actually costing you $2.00 per culture. Even if 2 do "just ok" That's still $1.00 per culture. Right? Why not invest in some good media, to ensure you have a good source of food?

Froggy welfare anyone? I hate to be rude, but if you can't afford to make FF cultures, maybe you shouldn't be buying new frogs? Looking at sites and kit prices, seems buying some kits from vendors with good media will only run you 60 cents to a $1.00 per culture. Pretty small cost in the whole scheme of owning frogs, considering their cost and setup.


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

no i didnt mean i can't afford to buy ff cultures or the mixtures, what i meant was i would prefer to use that extra 10 dollars or so for other things, or to save up for other frogs or tanks etc. don't get me wrong i am not just saying i dont care how good it smells im not buying a mixture for 15$, i am really considering trying some of the cultures. but i am sure that there are other people who make there own cultures and i was just wondering if anybody would be willing to share a recipie. also, i am sure i always have enough cultures and lots of food for the frogs. when i said usually one out of four do really well, i meant explode, almost impossible for there to be no escaped flies etc. i usually get one or 2 that explode, and one or two that do fine, but there aren't layers of ff at the bottom, and one sometimes that just never really gets started. this almost never happens but if for some reason i don't have enough food for my frogs, i can get ants from around the house becaus ei don't use ant traps, or i can get some ff from a close friend. thanks


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

One bag of Josh's media ($10) lasts me about 2 1/2 months, at 6 cultures every 10 days or so. Every single culture produces more FFs than seems physically possible. When I was making my own media, it was costing me about 3 times that for the same amount of cultures, and they maybe produced half as much flies. Switching to Josh's media actually saves me money. He buys his ingredients in bulk, and thus can sell it cheaper than it would cost the average joe to make it.


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

alright thanks i thought it would be the kind of thing where you spend 15 dollars a week or every other week. i guess i might just have to swtitch over to josh's media... thanks


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## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

I use Josh's media and I make 2 cultures about every 12 to 14 days. This is way more flies than I need for 4 ten month old Leucs. (I could probably get by with 1 culture every cycle, but I like to make two so that I have a back up.) I buy the package that comes with the cups and media and for about $32 (two kits) plus shipping you can make 40 cultures, for a cost of $.80 per culture. With shipping this probably works out to $1.00 per culture. Remember this includes the containers, media, coffee filters and baker's yeast.

If you only need the media, (say you reuse the containers,) it is $10 for 20 cultures before shipping. 

It smells good. My cultures are in a dresser drawer under my viv, less than one foot from my bed. I do not have the best nose, but my wife has never complained about any smell from the cultures.


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## pl259 (Feb 27, 2006)

Ditch the flake fish food and try again.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

ED's Fly Meat media is another that smells good... most of the "commercial" mixes are less smelly than home made alternatives (Viv concepts, AZDR, Black Jungle, etc). I've used Ed's for over 6 years now, because I get both great production and my place of living doesn't reek


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## jundox (Jul 5, 2007)

Josh's Frogs media smells like brown sugar/cinnamon oatmeal. I'd highly recommend trying his.


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

> thanks. yes, everyone you reccomended sounds great, but unfortunately i don't have much money for ff cultures at all... any recipes you guys could suggest to me that you just make at home? th


I agree, ditch the fish food flakes, this is causing the majority of your stink. It is also some thing that a lot of us feel causes mites in your cultures.

Here is a simple recipe, good, but cheap.

8 cups of potato flakes
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup brewers yeast
4 teaspoons methelparaben (mold inhibitor)
K.I.S.S. ( keep it simple stupid)
There are a lot of ingredients you can add to your media, but I firmly believe, the simpler, the better.

Put 1/3 heaping cup of media in your FF cup and 1/2 cup hot water, After this cools down (several hours) add 10 grains of active yeast (bakers) put in 4 to 6 coffee filters, add flies, close the lid and that's it.

Don't get me wrong, I think Josh's stuff is fantastic. I use his brewers yeast because I think it is one of the ingredients that makes the media smell so good. But I agree, it can get a little expensive if you buy your entire media off the internet from anyone, expecially if you are making 10 or 20 cultures for a lot of frogs. If you want it to be very cost effective, make your own media. Plus you don't have to pay for shipping!!!


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

thank you very much steve! i really appreciate everyones responses here, so if i still can't get a lot of ff and it to smell good with steve's recipie, i will use josh's media. thanks


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

ah trick #2

use Steves suggested recipe and add a teaspoon of sour dough starter to the mix just as you prep for cx making. 

you can get recipes for the starter online

I use flour, raisin water (water/raisins, let sit overnight, pour the water into the flour), sugar. I cover the concoction with a wet kitchen dish towel and sit it on the counter for a week. The yeast from the air and raisins grows, and the mix becomes a smelly brown/tan. Pour off the extra water from the top and put the flour starter in the fridge. you can add more flour paste to it as needed. People keep these starters going for years.



S


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

thanks!


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

Yes, the sour dough is the best!!! Your house will smell like a bakery.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I uderstood that the potato flake recipes can be the nasty smelling ones... does adding the starter simply make the smell a bakery smell rather than the nasty I don't even want to describe it smell? I wouldn't mind trying a bakery smell. I might be hungry a lot tho... but then again, I always am, so what's new? I have the metabolism of a ferret :shock: 

Question about the sourdough starter use... since it has live yeast, do you still need to add live yeast granuals to the cultures? After doing some research, there really are a lot of different ways to do it :shock: Do you need to use organic raisins, or just any old raisins? (Organic was recomended for the recipes using grapes) Do you need to make sure the towel stays damp? I really want to try this  I also like baking, so it will be fun to try sourdough recipes


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

well a bit off the thread topic, maybe we need a sour dough starter thread...but since I started it...

No I dont use active yeast if I am using starter instead.

Yes, the towel should be dampened 2x/day for the week you have it on the counter. Pour out the 'bacteria' that forms on top every couple days though.

Yes, it smells like a bakery.

but, I use a cooked flax seed recipe, and that is MUCH better than a burned out, rotten potato flake culture for sure (not that all potato flake cx get that way, but they certainly do sometimes  )

S


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Now it's starting to sound complicated  Maybe I'll stick to my "just add water and yeast" recipe


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## dragonfrog (Feb 16, 2006)

> but, I use a cooked flax seed recipe, and that is MUCH better than a burned out, rotten potato flake culture for sure (not that all potato flake cx get that way, but they certainly do sometimes


I really don't have a problem with my cultures (potato flakes) and the smell. Of course, if it goes past 5 weeks, there is a smell, but nothing that is that unpleasant.

I have heard people say that their cultures smell like baby poop! Lukily, I have never had it that bad.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

Corey it isnt really that hard, trust me.

reconstitute some raisins in hot water for a few hours, and use the water to make a thick batch of 'pancake mix' consistency flour/sugar.

Some add a pinch of yeast, others say it comes from the air of your house [and this is the secret to why there are unique heirloom starters]

Keep the towel over the concoction moist for a week on your counter top. 

pour off the brown liquid whenever you pass by the thing.

In a week you are done. Cover it and put it in the fridge. 

When it gets low, just add some more flour/sugar/water mix and active it again with a couple days at room temp..

Best,

S


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

lol, I was thinking the "cooked flax seed" part, not the sourdough starter


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

That is pretty cool Shawn. I find it odd that you can simply let it sit in the fridge after though!

So how long can it be stored before it needs to be reactivated?


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## Conman3880 (Jul 8, 2007)

I use media from Ed's Fly Meat, and just recently they started to smell like peanut butter


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## Derrick (Oct 28, 2005)

In my experience using the potato flake method, it was the bacterial growth that made the cultures horribly smelly. The only thing I do different is I put half or 1/4 white vinegar to half or 3/4 hot tap water and mix. I put it in the jar and then mix the media. As long as I dont use too much vinegar it doesnt stink. It sure got rid of the bacteria smell and my cultures are producing more flies and healthier ones too.


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## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

Try adding a teaspoon of honey to the culture before you add your flies. We make our own media and I don't add anything fancy to cut down on the smell but add a little bit of honey. 

You will be amazed at the decrease in the smell. 

Melissa


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