# Where to buy culture cups super cheap?



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Josh's frogs is the only place I know of. Is there anywhere cheaper around the interwebs that I haven't found?


----------



## Patterhorn (Oct 4, 2019)

It's more important to figure out how to culture them yourself and a schedule making new ones .Your gonna pay a premium when other people make them for you .Buying somewhere in driving distance will save you shipping costs but when you can make them on your own they will maybe cost you less then two bucks . It takes some practice to figure out a schedule. Making them at home is the way to go.


----------



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Patterhorn said:


> It's more important to figure out how to culture them yourself and a schedule making new ones .Your gonna pay a premium when other people make them for you .Buying somewhere in driving distance will save you shipping costs but when you can make them on your own they will maybe cost you less then two bucks . It takes some practice to figure out a schedule. Making them at home is the way to go.


Oh, actually I'm asking where to find the empty cups. I am starting to make my own cultures (tonight was my very first actually lol). I bought them from Josh's frogs, but looking for a cheaper source. 

Do you know where the cheapest place is to buy the empty cups and fabric top mesh lids?

My tank is set up & establishing right now. Im buying my 2 frogs in October. In the meantime, making 1 culture per week to get the hang of it


----------



## Patterhorn (Oct 4, 2019)

It's a good option .don't get the placon vented lids for ff cultures IMHO.


----------



## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Just checked prices against the place I get expo supplies; Josh's is by far the super cheap option.

The cups and lids are washable (soap and warm water; bleaching the fabric lids works well to get the brown staining out), so most people don't need many on hand. I get many dozens of uses out of each cup and lid.


----------



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Socratic Monologue said:


> The cups and lids are washable (soap and warm water; bleaching the fabric lids works well to get the brown staining out), so most people don't need many on hand. I get many dozens of uses out of each cup and lid.


Agreed! I reuse my cups and lids many times over, until there's a crack in them.


----------



## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Agreed! I reuse my cups and lids many times over, until there's a crack in them.


what's fun is when you don't notice a crack on an old one when there is a new culture going!


----------



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Chris S said:


> what's fun is when you don't notice a crack on an old one when there is a new culture going!


Been there, done that.


----------



## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Been there, done that.


The spiders like it though!


----------



## thedudeabides (Mar 3, 2015)

Chris S said:


> what's fun is when you don't notice a crack on an old one when there is a new culture going!


That's what duct tape is for.


----------



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Just checked prices against the place I get expo supplies; Josh's is by far the super cheap option.
> 
> The cups and lids are washable (soap and warm water; bleaching the fabric lids works well to get the brown staining out), so most people don't need many on hand. I get many dozens of uses out of each cup and lid.


Okay, so where do you dump the old FF moosh? Do you sterelize them one at a time or wait till you have a little disgusting collection of them? If you dump them in the outside garbage, won't they just breed in the trash? If you dump it down the house drain, won't they come back up? 🤮 

I'm trying to mentally sort out what to do with the FF moosh & unused FFs. I will only have 2 frogs, so I imagine I'll probably have extra FFs before the 4 weeks is up if I make 1 culture per week


----------



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

I wait until I have 8-10 dirty cups to clean mine. I dump my "moosh" (as you call it) into my garage garbage bin and tie it closed immediately. (I do my culture cleaning he day before garbage day).


----------



## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

My procedure for cleaning fruit fly cx cups:

-- Put the expired FF cxs in the freezer overnight. 
-- In the morning, take them out for about ten minutes until the frozen chunk pops out like a popsicle (use the Excelsior as a handle, and squeeze the sides of the container a little). Put it in the trash.
-- Soak the cups and lids in soapy water for a day.
--Wash with soap and water.
-- Soak the lids overnight in a tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water (takes the brown stains out).
-- Air dry the cups.
-- Store dry cups and lids (and Excelsior) in freezer until needed -- this keeps grain mites off them.


----------



## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

I change out my lids every time but agree with everyone here on reusing old cups. If you want cheap lids you just need to find a place that offers in bulk. New england herp does. I'm sure others do as well. You'll just have a search around and find the cheapest price. You can usually save $5-10 if you buy a 200 pack of mesh lids.


----------



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

JasonE said:


> I change out my lids every time but agree with everyone here on reusing old cups. If you want cheap lids you just need to find a place that offers in bulk. New england herp does. I'm sure others do as well. You'll just have a search around and find the cheapest price. You can usually save $5-10 if you buy a 200 pack of mesh lids.


Lids cost about $0.50 each up here last I bought some, do reusing them is a necessity.


----------



## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Lids cost about $0.50 each up here last I bought some, do reusing them is a necessity.


Oof! Yeah. You can get 200 lids for like $50 here in the states.


----------



## mayanjungledog (Jun 5, 2017)

I like TSK Supply - it’s less than $20 for 100 lids. Shipping can add up, so I sometimes purchase lids from LLL Reptile Supply. I prefer the waffle fabric lids and both these vendors sell them.


----------



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> My procedure for cleaning fruit fly cx cups:
> 
> -- Put the expired FF cxs in the freezer overnight.
> -- In the morning, take them out for about ten minutes until the frozen chunk pops out like a popsicle (use the Excelsior as a handle, and squeeze the sides of the container a little). Put it in the trash.
> ...


Holy heck this was so helpful! I never would have thought to put them in the freezer, but now that you mention it... _DUH_ 😂

My mind was trying to sort out how to get the mooshy grossness out of the cups without making a giant mess... Also, the freezer kills all life in the cups right? (both FF and mites)


----------



## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Karen S. said:


> Also, the freezer kills all life in the cups right? (both FF and mites)


Well, not all life, not by a long shot. Kills FFs, for sure. Adult mites, I think so, but the eggs are more resistant (a quick web search suggests that below zero F for a week is necessary). All the rest, likely not, but there isn't likely anything else in a FF culture that's worth worrying about.


----------



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Well, not all life, not by a long shot. Kills FFs, for sure. Adult mites, I think so, but the eggs are more resistant (a quick web search suggests that below zero F for a week is necessary). All the rest, likely not, but there isn't likely anything else in a FF culture that's worth worrying about.


Good to know. I'll tie the bag up before throwing it away 🤣🤣🤣


----------



## froggygram (Mar 14, 2018)

Karen S. said:


> Okay, so where do you dump the old FF moosh? Do you sterelize them one at a time or wait till you have a little disgusting collection of them? If you dump them in the outside garbage, won't they just breed in the trash? If you dump it down the house drain, won't they come back up? 🤮
> 
> I'm trying to mentally sort out what to do with the FF moosh & unused FFs. I will only have 2 frogs, so I imagine I'll probably have extra FFs before the 4 weeks is up if I make 1 culture per week


freeze the cup for 20-30 minutes. Pop out the gunk, wash and reuse. any leftover flies will die. Be sure to save some for your next culture before you freeze them.


----------



## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

I only buy lids. I use the cups from a local Chinese take-out - they're sturdier than the ones sold by herp suppliers, and they last forever. Only issue I've found is that a lid can be a bit of a PITA to put on the first time you use one. After that they're a bit less snug, and work just fine.


----------



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

froggygram said:


> freeze the cup for 20-30 minutes. Pop out the gunk, wash and reuse. any leftover flies will die. Be sure to save some for your next culture before you freeze them.


Thanks so much! I'll definitely be freezing. I wouldn't have thought of that!


----------



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

radiata said:


> I only buy lids. I use the cups from a local Chinese take-out - they're sturdier than the ones sold by herp suppliers, and they last forever. Only issue I've found is that a lid can be a bit of a PITA to put on the first time you use one. After that they're a bit less snug, and work just fine.


Yeah I've been thinking about buying lids only. I just don't see myself going through the effort to clean the fabric mesh lids lol


----------



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Karen S. said:


> Yeah I've been thinking about buying lids only. I just don't see myself going through the effort to clean the fabric mesh lids lol


They're the easiest part of the cleaning. Soak them using the directions that Socratic monologue gave, then rinse and they're done. The cups actually need scrubbed...


----------



## davecalk (Dec 17, 2008)

Karen S. said:


> Josh's frogs is the only place I know of. Is there anywhere cheaper around the interwebs that I haven't found?


Karen,

I am curious, is there a reason you are looking at the cheap plastic culture cups. I just looked at the cost and if you want the most economical, glass mason canning jars are the way to go.










I've been using the same glass canning jars for 30 some years and it is by fare the most economical way to go.

Walmart 12 count Pint Mason Jars: $8.98



The following is a link to how I make and the and clean the cultures.

Using Canning Jars for cultures

It is part of a very good thread / discussion / survey about how folks reuse culture jars. The entire thread is a good read.


----------

