# Using coffee filters instead of excelsior?



## Spar (Mar 27, 2004)

for people who use coffee filters in their FF cultures rather than shreded material like excelsior:

do you still get a large number of FF output this way compared to the alternative above? I hate dealing with excelsior and was looking for a way out of it. Seems like there is so little space for larva to pupate. Really a problem though? Also, do you just put 1 filter in it, or a few of them? Crumbled up, or just stuffed in there?

what other alternatives are there that are less messy?


----------



## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

I hate the excelsior stuff. I have used coffee filters for over a year now and love them. I get better yeilds, it is easier to get flies out, and I can add more water as the coffee filters serve as a buffer between soupy cultures and too dry cultures.

I fold my coffee filters into pie shaped pieces and shove 4-5 in before I add flies.

Here is a link to my how-to page where I have a link to how I culture my flies with pics: http://www.joshsfrogs.com/howto.html


----------



## Guest (May 6, 2005)

About the same for me. I fold them into pies too and use about 3 per culture. I bought a couple cultures with shreded paper in them and found them a pain in the butt to get the flies out.


----------



## medmaxx (Apr 12, 2005)

I also found coffee filter to be much better cheaper and much more user friendly


----------



## OneTwentySix (Nov 11, 2004)

I use this cheap filter floss stuff I bought for my aquatic tanks. It looks just like cotton balls (those would work too, but they're too small), and costs about $3 for a bag of it. I rip a piece off, and drop it into the media. If you use too much it does cause problems (flies get stuck and can't get out, and you have to use something to open it up for them), but otherwise it results in a nice area for them to pupate on. It also stays in place when I hold it upside down to get the flies out. I get fairly nice yeilds with this method.


----------



## melissa68 (Feb 16, 2004)

we use coffee filters


----------



## Spar (Mar 27, 2004)

Thanks all! Coffee filters it is


----------



## Ryan (Feb 18, 2004)

I'd recomend giving plastic meesh a try, just starting using it, and i love it! Ive used all the mentioned, and the mesh is by far my favorite.


----------



## Jordan B (Oct 8, 2004)

So, you fold them in half and then stick them straight into the media so that they stand vertical? When you feed the flies, do you pull the filters out or just feed normally? Is there a certain kind of coffee filer that works better than others? Thanks.


----------



## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

I use coffee filters too...I think they serve the pupose better, as I rarely seen many pupae on the excelsior...as mentioned it is cleaner.
Coffee filters take a little more time though, I accordian fold them, so they hold the weight of the larvae and pupae a little better. The filters My hydei cultures usually collapse from the weight...I'm sure that I lose a little production that way...but they work...and I dont have to order them or drive accross the country to get them.


----------



## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I use coffee filters after switching from excelsior. I would say excelsior offered a little better yeilds, but coffee filters are much easier and less messy. Only reason I think the excelsior worked a little better was that it offer an easier way for the flies to get off the ground.


----------



## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

I haven't tried coffee filters yet, as I have gotten such good yields using excelsior, every piece of the excelsior is covered in pupae in most of my cultures.


----------



## Guest (May 7, 2005)

I use 8 oz fruit fly vials I bought from Carolina about 2 years ago and use excelsior in them.I have 32 in a rotation and setup 8 every Sunday.At present I have 42 frogs to feed and have plenty to feed using this system.
I have not really tried coffee filters since I quit using 32oz deli cups.I have used plastic canvas but excelsior is much better.
When I have to pull out the excelsior with my fingers is kind of nasty but no big deal since our garbage can is right by the sink and there is running water. i'd say find a system that work and stay with it. Sure, experimenting is good to try but don't jump into a different method too quickly.
Mark W.


----------



## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

I'm with Kyle on this one...pretty damn close with yield, but no mess!



kyle1745 said:


> I use coffee filters after switching from excelsior. I would say excelsior offered a little better yeilds, but coffee filters are much easier and less messy. Only reason I think the excelsior worked a little better was that it offer an easier way for the flies to get off the ground.


----------



## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

Good point Mark, don't put all your eggs in one basket! Slowly switch over from a proven method, as it is extremely frustrating not having enough food.


----------



## Spar (Mar 27, 2004)

good plan. My froglets would kill me if I screwed up their food supply.


----------



## Guest (May 10, 2005)

I'm using that plastic needle point mesh, and it's working well for me so far . . . I cut it into two long strips and fold them a couple of times so they are jammed in there good and tight and won't fall out. I'm new at this, but my first couple of cultures are producing well using that stuff. 

I also just started a new culture using coffee filters, just to see how it works . . . so far I have seen a couple of larvae, but I'm still waiting for it to produce flies.


----------



## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

I just went back to coffee filters. 
I like using them a lot better. I seem to notice that my cultures last longer when I use the coffee filters too.


----------



## Blort (Feb 5, 2005)

Just started two d. mela glider cultures one with excelsior and one with filters. Same media, cups, temps, etc. I'll let you know in 7-10 days


----------



## yuri (Feb 18, 2004)

Funny, I just returned back to excelsior. I tried: paper; cardboard; needlepoint plastic; nothing and have gone back to excelsior. Nothing produces better for my conditions.

I like things wet (tanks and cultures), so my cultures would often be too wet for even cardboard, which would often collapse and smother many larvae. Once the larvae are big enough to pupate, they have eaten up a bunch of media and also the media has dried out a bit as well, so there is no dislodged media when I harvest flies.


----------

