# Having problem with hydei cultures



## Crazy frog (Aug 8, 2010)

I just imported some hydei culture and started culturing but after 1 week I get dark green mold and I don't see any maggots .
I am using standard plastic cups for ff with lid , Excelisor and repashy media .
I had try making new cultures again and again for 3 times but after 1 week the green mold starts to grow and the thing is I use the same media and Excelisor to start my culture for Melano at the same time but my Melano cultures seem to be fine but my hydei cultures start to mold!

This is how I make my ff cultures , I will add hot water into repashy media and let it cool off by itself or put it into the freezer for 10-15mins . Excelisor will be microwave at high heat for 2mins . Ones the culture had cool down ,add Excelisor and for the flies , tap them from the old cultures into a plastic bag with repashy ICB to help to remove some mites and pours something flies into the cultures and done.
They are keep at 27-28 Celsius on mites papers .


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

When are you removing the flies from the hydei culture to start the new culture? If you remove them too early you are getting all one sex so there are no mated females to start the new cultures. Also unlike the melanogaster if I remember correctly, it takes them about ten days after emerging to begin to lay eggs (at the earliest). 
To keep the mold down, you can also coculture melanogaster and hydei in the same culture since hydei take close to 24-30 days to complete thier life cycle. 

Ed


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

you should mix the hydei and melano together. they won't interbreed. a possible reason why there is mold is because the hydei take too long to start so the mold is able to take over. the melanogasters solve that. alternatively, you could sprinkle some yeast in and that should help with the mold.


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## Crazy frog (Aug 8, 2010)

Ed said:


> When are you removing the flies from the hydei culture to start the new culture? If you remove them too early you are getting all one sex so there are no mated females to start the new cultures. Also unlike the melanogaster if I remember correctly, it takes them about ten days after emerging to begin to lay eggs (at the earliest).
> To keep the mold down, you can also coculture melanogaster and hydei in the same culture since hydei take close to 24-30 days to complete thier life cycle.
> 
> Ed


Hi Ed , I got my cultures 3 weeks ago and waited 1 week later before I start my first culture and than 2 week later a batch of new cultures and last batch was 3 weeks later but all had mold.

So I can culture my Melano and hydei together , but right now tr only hydei I am left with is the ones in the cultures that have mold . Can I use them to start a new cultures with my Melano? Will the mold stick on to the flies?


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## Crazy frog (Aug 8, 2010)

goof901 said:


> you should mix the hydei and melano together. they won't interbreed. a possible reason why there is mold is because the hydei take too long to start so the mold is able to take over. the melanogasters solve that. alternatively, you could sprinkle some yeast in and that should help with the mold.


Hi what yeast should I use, Instant or brewer yeast And how does yeast help with the mold??


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## Crazy frog (Aug 8, 2010)

Lets say I start my new culture of hydei using flies that are 2 weeks old is that long enough to have a balance ratio of both sexes , how long i got to wait before I start seeing maggot And what the average life span of a hydei counting from the day it turns into flies till it dies?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Crazy frog said:


> Hi what yeast should I use, Instant or brewer yeast And how does yeast help with the mold??


Active bakers yeast. It is a live culture that will help to out-compete the bad mold and bacteria.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Crazy frog said:


> Lets say I start my new culture of hydei using flies that are 2 weeks old is that long enough to have a balance ratio of both sexes , how long i got to wait before I start seeing maggot And what the average life span of a hydei counting from the day it turns into flies till it dies?


This may help http://www.cowlitzreptilerescuelab.org/resources/Fruit Fly Culturing.pdf 

(I should note that I cocultured melanogaster and hydei together for years (until I stopped culturing melanogaster)). 


Ed


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Ed said:


> This may help http://www.cowlitzreptilerescuelab.org/resources/Fruit Fly Culturing.pdf
> 
> (I should note that I cocultured melanogaster and hydei together for years (until I stopped culturing melanogaster)).
> 
> ...


 
Correction needed, I stopped culturing hydei... I knew I shouldn't have been typing with a headache... 
Ed


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## Crazy frog (Aug 8, 2010)

GReaT Info,thanks Ed.


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## karag (May 12, 2005)

Thanks for the info...


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## frogmanroth (May 23, 2006)

Use boiling water when making cultures. You can boil vinegar with your water. And add a little cinnamon. These will help with the mold a bit sometimes. Also use more hydie to start your cultures. 200-300 flies.


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