# Molding cultures...



## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Okay so over the past few weeks the cultures I have made have started to mold.. I'm not sure if these will ever take off or not, because they are still a little new, but the older ones do seem like they might start producing. Well the new ones I made a few days ago are now starting to mold to.. I tried microwaving the media, and making new cultures and everything. The cultures I took flies from did not have a mold problem. Do you guys know what would be the problem? How can I fix this?


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## triton (Aug 6, 2009)

i think the cultures get moldy when the media is starting to get or is too dry, i just open the lid and give a spritz of h20 in there.

doesnt happen often to me but i have experienced white, black, green, bluish green mold in my cultures, i only discard the black mold infested media (only happened once)

most common i get is white mold, and stop it from getting worse by wetting it some more.

i hope this helps, i"ve only bought one starter culture of ff's since i had frogs, and havent bought any new ones to this day (about 10months)
also if i noticed it in the begining of a new cuture, 1) i'd either try to prevent it from getting serious. or 2) i'll just put those same flies into a new culture and just be patient for them to start laying over.




"its considered stealing only when you leave the store with it"


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> Okay so over the past few weeks the cultures I have made have started to mold.. I'm not sure if these will ever take off or not, because they are still a little new, but the older ones do seem like they might start producing. Well the new ones I made a few days ago are now starting to mold to.. I tried microwaving the media, and making new cultures and everything. The cultures I took flies from did not have a mold problem. Do you guys know what would be the problem? How can I fix this?


Is it fuzzy or a whitish slime? 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Thanks for your input triton. And yes Ed, the mold is fuzzy. I have a feeling you got an answer for me  lol. Also it looks like a bit of moisture in it... Like around where the mold is, it looks quite moist.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> Thanks for your input triton. And yes Ed, the mold is fuzzy. I have a feeling you got an answer for me  lol. Also it looks like a bit of moisture in it... Like around where the mold is, it looks quite moist.


I asked if it was fuzzy or not as people can mistake yeast overgrowth with other mold overgrowths. Try setting up some new cultures with the older cultures and leave out your normal substrate that you add to keep the flies from sticking to the media and see if you get mold.. If you microwaved everything else then you shouldn't be getting mold from those sources so you should be able to eliminate the source of contamination. As Aaron has noted elsewhere try using more adults to start the cultures as the larva may be able to help keep the contamination down. 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Ed what do you mean try setting up new cultures with out substrate keeping the flies from sticking?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

I'm pretty sure Ed means to leave out the excelsior, coffee filters, or whatever you might be using as a substitute for those. Then, if it does not mold, you have found your contaminate.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Ohh okay, thanks. That what I though Ed meant, but I just wanted to make sure. I'll try it today.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Thanks Doug,
That is what I meant. 


Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Okay so I tried what you suggested Ed, and I can start to see signs of mold in that one to... I have no clue whats going on, and it is a little frustrating. I did not use flies from a culture that had mold or anything.. I dont know how to fix this, or what I am even doing wrong. I have tried to change location where the flies are.. No help.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> Okay so I tried what you suggested Ed, and I can start to see signs of mold in that one to... I have no clue whats going on, and it is a little frustrating. I did not use flies from a culture that had mold or anything.. I dont know how to fix this, or what I am even doing wrong. I have tried to change location where the flies are.. No help.


So take a couple of steps back.. 

1) what color is the mold? 
2) if the cups and/or lids were reused how were they disinfected? 
3) when you microwave them, how hot are the cultures getting? 
4) are you placing the lids on the cultures while still hot or are they being allowed to cool without the lids
5) when collecting the flies, were those implements washed and disinfected before use? 
6) are you dusting the flies before adding them to the cultures to reduce mite loads on the flies? 
7) are you adding water to the media after the cultures have cooled if they look dry? 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Ed said:


> So take a couple of steps back..
> 
> 1) what color is the mold?
> 2) if the cups and/or lids were reused how were they disinfected?
> ...


1) The mold is a white fuzzy color. 
2) Both cups and lids are reused. I just wash them out very good, because I have never had mold or any other problem before. 
3) When microwaving the cultures get quite warm... But I allow it to fully cool down before adding anything. 
4) I leave the lids off the cultures until they are fully cooled down. 
5) I tap the flies directly from the old culture to the fresh new one. 
6) I do not dust the flies before putting them into the new culture. 
7) I have not added water to the cultures after they have cooled down. They usually don't look that dry.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

If the cups are left uncovered while they cool, then as soon as the surface temperature cools enough, spores can land and remain viable. I get my cultures pretty hot and then I place the lids on them as soon as they come out of the microwave and let them cool. I also disinfect my lids with a dilute bleach solution. 

Ed


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## Arpeggio (Jan 15, 2011)

I always have to mist mine, maybe they are dry? Have you ever touched the media?

Mine were molding for awhile until I starting making cultures with more vinegar, about half and half with the water.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Oh okay thanks Ed. I'll try that next cultures I make. I'm also getting some stuff for molding issues from a buddy today. So we will see. Hopefully I can get this pain in the a** cured lol.


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

During wintertime I tend to have problems with cultures getting a bit dry and then molding, if yours are in open air you might want to consider moving them into drawers/a closet.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

They were getting dry when I had them in open air, so I moved them into my closet. They did fairly well in there for a while, and now they are starting to mold..


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Ed said:


> If the cups are left uncovered while they cool, then as soon as the surface temperature cools enough, spores can land and remain viable. I get my cultures pretty hot and then I place the lids on them as soon as they come out of the microwave and let them cool. I also disinfect my lids with a dilute bleach solution.
> 
> Ed


Hi Ed

When I microwave my cultures, I put everything in. Cup/Media/Excelsior and the lid. I do each one individually for 45 seconds. They get very hot.

Any reason why you keep the lid off? Since you suggested microwaving them I have had zero mold issues.

Thanks


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

I microwave mine for 45 seconds to, and then put the yeast flies and coffee filter in when I cools down. I just left the lid off mine to cool so it would cool quicker. I just got stuff to help the mold issue. Should I still microwave when I'm using the stuff?


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## packer43064 (Nov 30, 2010)

heatfreakk3 said:


> I microwave mine for 45 seconds to, and then put the yeast flies and coffee filter in when I cools down. I just left the lid off mine to cool so it would cool quicker. I just got stuff to help the mold issue. Should I still microwave when I'm using the stuff?



I would still microwave regardless. Methyl Paraben or whatever mold inhibitor your using isn't going to stop the lid from getting mold or anything like that.

Also you said you let it cool down then put in the coffee filters. The coffee filters could easily have mold spores on them which would cause your cultures to get them. With all of the flies crawling over them in no time mold could pop up. 

If I ever see mold it's usually within a week or it won't happen in my experience.

I also microwave everything besides the flies and yeast. Lid...everything. After I take the cultures out of the microwave I put them on mite paper and pop off the lid, BUT I just move the lid slightly over to let it cool down faster. It seems like it takes forever to cool down with the lid on.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

frogfreak said:


> Hi Ed
> 
> When I microwave my cultures, I put everything in. Cup/Media/Excelsior and the lid. I do each one individually for 45 seconds. They get very hot.
> 
> ...


I only had a couple of mold issues and I was able to trace it back to the media.. so I only microwave the media since I'm lazy, if I don't have to cook everything, I don't.. 

With respect to why I'm not worried about the lids is because the risk of contamination from the lid is pretty small and I put it on the containers when the media is pretty hot so there is some sterilization from that as well... As a control I've left cultures I treated this way sit as long as three-four days without any signs of molding (I didn't leave them longer as I needed to set up some cultures and they were handy...).


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> I microwave mine for 45 seconds to, and then put the yeast flies and coffee filter in when I cools down. I just left the lid off mine to cool so it would cool quicker. I just got stuff to help the mold issue. Should I still microwave when I'm using the stuff?


I microwave four cultures at a time for 2.5 minutes total time and this gets the media really hot. I don't know how hot your microwave is getting the media in 45 seconds but it may not be high enough to do a good job of dealing with the mold. 

If you want to try the mold inhibitors, then I would try them and not microwave.. if for no other reason then if it isn't necessary then I wouldn't bother to do it and save yourself some time. 

I personally would set up a couple more cultures and microwave them a little longer and cover them immediately on removal just to see if the mold was from the media as I would be curious.. 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Okay I'll try that. I have to say though, my microwave gets the cultures pretty dang hot in 45 seconds.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> Okay I'll try that. I have to say though, my microwave gets the cultures pretty dang hot in 45 seconds.


There is a lot of variation in microwaves and thier ability to heat things.. my microwave will take 2 cups of water to a full boil in three minutes. (as a comparision). I'm not saying you have to microwave your cultures for 2.5 minutes.. just make sure to cover them as soon as they come out of the microwave. 

The lids are not likely to be a source of contamination.. 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Oh yeah I understand Ed. So do you think I should microwave the cultures with the lids? And if so should I leave the lid on when I microwave? Tomorrow I'm thinking of making like 4 with the stuff to get ride of the mold, and I'll microwave 2 of them.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Its really up to you... don't feel the need to try it just to deal with my curiosity.... 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Okay, well I'll think about it and make some tomorrow. I'll let you know if whatever I try works.


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## frogmanchu (Feb 18, 2011)

i have mold to not bad but its there can't tell if its white or blue. i think mine came from sitting my cultures on my light bar its only in two of the four cultures that i made and it hasn't stop the flies from layin or stopped the magets from hatching, i think mine is because they are dry at the top wasnt sure if i needed to add water or not thanx for the imput


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Well I have tried everything.. If this last batch I made starts molding within a couple days idk what else to do. Should I try and buy new plastic containers?


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Hi Chris

I wouldn't think it would have much to do with the containers. They're heated in the nuker. 

You mentioned that your nuker gets really hot at 45 seconds. 45 seconds works for me based on the amount of medium I use. It's possible, it's getting heated to much and drying the culture out. 

Is the medium wet looking, playdough like, or somewhere in the middle?


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## packer43064 (Nov 30, 2010)

Agreed with frogfreak. I use 1/2 cup of homemade media to 3/4 HOT water and nuke 4 cultures for 2 minutes or so. Using pre-made media or using less water or less media per cup could make your culture less dry or soupy after nuking.

I think you should take a pic after nuking for us. Just the media and water or whatever you use then nuke it then show us the pic. No excelsior or coffee filters.

You seem to have covered all of the bases. It might not seem dry at first, but it takes a good 7 days before the maggots really start to churn it up and make it wetter. Sometimes if I have a dryer culture it can be okay in 7 days other times I know it's doomed to begin with. The same thing can be said for an over-saturated culture.

Only issues I have had with mold since using a mold inhibitor and nuking them is if the culture is too dry or too soupy. Mostly being too dry.

Jeff

Edit: A good way to see if your culture is too dry is if it starts cracking before the maggots start churning your media up. If I see cracking before the maggots really starting churning up the media then it usually starts to mold.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Sometimes its a little dry. But usually its fine... I have done this for two years now and all of a sudden this happens. I dont know whats going on. I'll try what you guys said, but I'm running out of different stuff to try.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

okay, it took a little effort to get some mold in a couple of cultures.. 

Here is the first picture and a few days later


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

Chris how bout getting some good pics of these moldy cultures?...that may help us. I still wonder if what you are seeing just isn't the yeast growth. My home is practically a bio-hazard and I still don't have trouble with my cultures


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## bkm (Sep 14, 2010)

Ive had varying amount of mold issues over the last decade- the last commercial media I bought seemed pretty prone to it, but that cleared up now that Ive started replacing about a third of the water with vinegar. That of course is after making sure everything going into the culture is sterile...


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## frogmanchu (Feb 18, 2011)

So could mu mold be from the onion bag that i used instead of coffee filters. its just on the top where the flies and larve are not eating at. i've been readying this post this is my first time and its in 3 of the 4 cultures i started. i already have new ones behind that thanks to the mold freaking my out. help me understand lol.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Here are some pictures. The first one is not too bad, I just started it not too long ago. The next one all the flies are dead, it pretty bad. The very last one is the worst, fuzzy all inside!


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

The black should be Aspergillus niger (or a close relative). It is the mold that some call the black death. It does well in acidic conditions and it can kill the culture by further acidifying the medium to below the threshold for the flies to be able to develop properly. 

When you look at the cultures from the sides, the white's slime seen in the bubbles formed in the media is an overgrowth of yeasts and other microbes. 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Oh okay, so what do you think I should do about it?


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

That stuff is nasty and will kill a culture in no time. It's amazing how fast it will spread. 

First off, don't open them. The spores will go everywhere, if opened. Get rid of them. I had a problem with that stuff when I first started out and for the life of me, couldn't find the source. I ended up finding a small patch on an outside wall, behind some wood. I bleached the crap out of it, to kill it.

In my experience, it was in the house. 

Where do you make your cultures?


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

I make the cultures in my kitchen, then finish in my room. Like I said I've done this for 2 years before so I don't know why it would all of a sudden happen. I'm going to throw every single culture away that has mold in it... Anyone have any extra empty 32 oz. Culture cups they can give/sell to me? I don't want to buy more from joshesfrogs because I just got a shipment in and don't want to pay a bunch for shipping again...


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

heatfreakk3 said:


> I make the cultures in my kitchen, then finish in my room. Like I said I've done this for 2 years before so I don't know why it would all of a sudden happen. I'm going to throw every single culture away that has mold in it... Anyone have any extra empty 32 oz. Culture cups they can give/sell to me? I don't want to buy more from joshesfrogs because I just got a shipment in and don't want to pay a bunch for shipping again...


It may be a good idea to start with fresh flies and media but I'm not sure you need to throw away your cups. You should be able to sterilize those effectively a variety of ways...bleach for one.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

I was just going to pitch em all... It will be quite a hassle to clean 10-15 moldy cultures. If anyone wants to donate some empty ones I'll e greatly appreciated. I will pay or them, and will return the favor if someone needs something.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

Dendro Dave said:


> It may be a good idea to start with fresh flies and media but I'm not sure you need to throw away your cups. You should be able to sterilize those effectively a variety of ways...bleach for one.


Hey Dave

To clean them, he'd have to open them. It would send out spores, all over the place. It could be done outside though.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

frogfreak said:


> Hey Dave
> 
> To clean them, he'd have to open them. It would send out spores, all over the place. It could be done outside though.


Thats true, though he could do that outside, plus the spores are likely already in the house so I'm not sure what more damage could be done opening a few more and immediately dousing them with bleach, but its a valid point. Maybe run a good air purifier in the frog room and spray the place down (careful not to mace the frogs) with lysol and just do a good room cleaning in general.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

There are a lot of potential sources of contamination from A. niger.. it is considered ubiquitos in distribution and is commonly found in the soil, is is a mold that shows up on fruit or vegetables.. For example if you have ever been cutting up onions and saw black spots on the onion, that was probably A. niger. It is a very common mold indoors and its spores are considered a common air born contaminent. 

The fact that A. niger has been showing up so frequently in the cultures means that there is either a really high spore count in the air, and/or that something in the process of making new cultures is contaminated with the spores.. 

I know through suggestions we have been trying to eliminate the potential source(s) of the contamination. 

Did the microwaving and covering the cultures immediately make a difference? 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Nope, that first picture was with the black on the sides was from microwaving the cultures with the lid immediately on. I cleaned out all my cultures with mold, so hopefully that might help. I also got new media from joshes frogs, so we will see if either of those might help.


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## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

Ed would freezing the moldy cultures kill the mold?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Bcs TX said:


> Ed would freezing the moldy cultures kill the mold?


No, it might reduce the release of spores until the moisture thawed though.. I would ask that of someone who works more with fungi.. (DJBoston is probably more qualified than me as his tag line has him collecting spores..) 

Ed


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> Nope, that first picture was with the black on the sides was from microwaving the cultures with the lid immediately on. I cleaned out all my cultures with mold, so hopefully that might help. I also got new media from joshes frogs, so we will see if either of those might help.


 
Getting the cultures hot with the lid on while they are hot indicates that your mold is getting into the cultures when you add the yeast and flies (and possibly the substrate to keep the flies from sticking to the media). 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

So what does that mean Ed? What should I do?


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> So what does that mean Ed? What should I do?


Something in the enviroment where you finish the cultures is probably contaminated. When you microwaved the cultures did you heat them with the substrate (excelsior, coffee filters or whatever) in it at the same time? 

Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Yeah I think I have tried microwaving it with coffee filters in, and without them in. Both with the same thing. I cleaned out every single one of my moldy cultures, all I have to do now is bleach them, then I can use them again. Should I use a 10% bleach solution for them or what?? I'm really hoping that the cultures will start NOT molding now...


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## DJboston (Oct 25, 2008)

Have you ever thought about getting an air purifier? Do you live in an older house...is there mold anywhere in the house? Are you SURE that there isn't any mold in the house? lol

Mold is easily carried by currents in the air, indoor and out.

So, if this is a problem with your home, air quality, etc. you could microwave your cultures until you're blue in the face but the mold is getting in just by the culture needing the air in the room when you close the lid.

I live in a brand new apartment facility and our air quality is excellent. We have a purifier as well and since it's such a new building and I live on the fifth floor, I have a much smaller chance of mold getting into my cultures, via air.

I do know a lot of people have gotten mold from excelsior. I've been using pieces of cut cardboard these days and coffee filters. I microwave the culture media and honestly rarely see mold problems. The only mold problems I see are with hydei flies. The longer life cycle allows the top layer of the media to just sit there sort of stagnant and takes longer for the maggots to churn it up.


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## DJboston (Oct 25, 2008)

I wonder if you've introduced a new plant or something that would bring this black species of mold's spores into your home? You say it just started happening recently. How long have you been making cultures for?

Freezing by the way will not kill mold. I've seen spreading mold on a wall completely stop in my fathers garage during the winter. As soon as warm weather hits, it continues on as it was before the winter. Very odd and I once had pictures of this with a timeline mapped out but I it was on my old hard drive.

The weird thing about mold spores is that it might not even be technically "on" something that goes into your culture. It could just be finding it's way in via air currents that you don't even know are there. 

Have you tried to disinfect the area with a spray? Lysol is incredible at killing mold spores in a surrounding area.

When experimenting with growing certain fungi and mycelium in mason jars or petri dishes, the environment needs to be INCREDIBLE STERILE. Without a laboratory or a clean air hood, this was accomplished by boiling the media jars in boiling water and injecting the perspective spores through a multi layered aluminium foil top. Then, the surrounding area was cleaned and sprayed heavily with Lysol and allowed to dry before allowing the fungi spores to begin growth. Even with such measures, mold still appears out of no where in 20% of the jars! If you're not dealing with a dangerous black mold, it's possible for the environment to stabilize and rid itself of the mold. With fly cultures, we're using media with mold inhibitors, so if you keep making your steps more strict, you can hopefully eliminate this issue.

Best I can help with though.



Ed said:


> Getting the cultures hot with the lid on while they are hot indicates that your mold is getting into the cultures when you add the yeast and flies (and possibly the substrate to keep the flies from sticking to the media).
> 
> Ed


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

I do live in a little bit older house. How much are air purifiers? I just dont see why this mold happened al a sudden... Just a month ago everything was fine..


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## DJboston (Oct 25, 2008)

Good ones can go for a lot but you can find them at walmart now for a pretty reasonable price! The filters need to be changed pretty often depending on the size of the room and model. You'll be surprised at what you pull out of the air though and how little dust accumulated on furniture after buying one.

Have the temps warmed up outside?....springtime brings a whole multitude of seeds, spores, and all sorts of things that travel in the warmer air that were dormant in the winter. It's like a new start. When the spring hits, I get a sore throat. I get this even before I actually see pollen covering cars and everything outside. 

By the way, I'm no where near an expert on mycology by any means! My quote is from Ghostbusters and I always thought it was a funny and nerdy quote! 

I do have a special interest in this though. I grew mushrooms from start to finish for a school science fair...and no they were not the magic "psylosibin cubensis" kind! haha Of course they easily could have. I picked a species from outside, made an imprint of the spores on a piece of paper, transferred them to a sterile petri dish in an agar media if I remember correctly, grew mycelium, then "planted" the mycelium in a humid 10 gallon fish tank and re-grew the mushrooms based off a single sample taken from my backyard. Of course I won! haha. That's why I got the nickname the Mad Scientist growing up. I always had a rock, fossil, butterfly, and herp collection growing up.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

I live in Oklahoma...so one day its 75 degrees, the next its 50 degrees... lol. So it hasn't warmed up for good yet, but there has been some warm days already.


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## dartsami (Oct 30, 2006)

Ive read this whole thread and noted a couple of things

1) It seems that you are transferring mold from your producing cultures into your new ones. All the steps you've taken to sanitize the new ones is defeated by transferring mold spores from your old/ parental cultures. Even if you cant see mold in the source culture its likely there are spores. I would reccomend obtaining a new source culture (mold free). 

2) If you cant get a new culture then go to your local pet store and buy a fine mesh net (brine shrimp net). Transfer larve from a producing culture and rinse under luke warm tap water until all the media components are gone, then spoon larve to new cultures. This take longer for the cultures to get going, but can reduce/ eliminate the spores from your source cultures.


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

I have bought new cultures, from three different people.


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## frogfreak (Mar 4, 2009)

heatfreakk3 said:


> I just dont see why this mold happened al a sudden... Just a month ago everything was fine..


Once favourable conditions come along, it will grow like crazy. You just have to look at the cultures, Chris. 

Bets of luck with the new cultures!


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

heatfreakk3 said:


> I do live in a little bit older house. How much are air purifiers? I just dont see why this mold happened al a sudden... Just a month ago everything was fine..


A. niger isn't just in old houses.. it comes into new houses on everything ranging from fruit and vegetables to other organics and outside air. (as an example if you have ever been peeling a onion and noticed black spots on it, that is often A. niger). 

To get high levels of spores in the air usually requires a sporing body in the local enviroment.. (such as opening culture with a fuzzy mold growth). A. niger is a mold that is common in the soil, so it is possible for it be growing in one or more of the enclosures which could elevate spore levels. 

For the mold to be visible as a fuzzy fruiting body to be in the cultures would (as I understand it) require contamination by more than one compatiable spore as the molds that develop from the spores have to fuse to be able to form the fuzzy we see as mold. This would mean that you would have to have different lines in different cultures that were coming together in the new cultures. This is why cultures that don't show visible mold growths are usually okay to to use to start new cultures as it is unlikely for seperate cultures to have seperate strains of the mold. 

Since you still have it developing in the cultures after microwaving the materials and closing the culture immediately while still very hot, this leaves only the time period when you add the yeast and flies to the cultures as the point when infection of the cultures occurs. 

This narrows down the possible sources of contamination to (not in any particular order)
1) any tools (Like funnels, spoons) used during this process
2) yeast or measuring devices used to add the live yeast
3) air
4) (if I remember correctly, you tap the flies into the new cultures) so it could be from spores that have settled on the exterior of the cultures. 


Some comments,

Ed


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## dartsami (Oct 30, 2006)

Ed said:


> For the mold to be visible as a fuzzy fruiting body to be in the cultures would (as I understand it) require contamination by more than one compatiable spore as the molds that develop from the spores have to fuse to be able to form the fuzzy we see as mold. This would mean that you would have to have different lines in different cultures that were coming together in the new cultures. This is why cultures that don't show visible mold growths are usually okay to to use to start new cultures as it is unlikely for seperate cultures to have seperate strains of the mold.
> 
> 
> Ed



Ed-
As far as my knowlegde aspergillus do not require multiple sources to form asci and have not been reported to reproduce sexually. The hyphae can exist in a vegatative state in a culture and not appear as 'fuzzy' stuff. It only takes one hyphae, which can be all over a fly when transferred to a new culture.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

dartsami said:


> Ed-
> As far as my knowlegde aspergillus do not require multiple sources to form asci and have not been reported to reproduce sexually. The hyphae can exist in a vegatative state in a culture and not appear as 'fuzzy' stuff. It only takes one hyphae, which can be all over a fly when transferred to a new culture.


 
Thanks for the correction. I'll post some pictures of it on some onions we just got from the grocery store. 
I made the jump as some sexually reproducing types have been reported as forms of Aspergillosis in birds (see for example http://www.springerlink.com/content/m54233x020171452/) 
Ed


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Here is an example of an easy way for A. niger to be brought into your house.. 
The black spots should be A. niger..


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## heatfreakk3 (Oct 15, 2008)

Okay well its been a week or two since I last posted an update on the mold. I've been really busy with school lately. So about a week or two ago I cleaned out every single culture that had mold (outside). Then I bleached all the containers. I also bought new media from joshes frogs. I made 4 cultures about a week ago, and so far there is no sign of mold *knock on wood*.


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