# First FF Batch



## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

For the length of time i've been on this forum and the number of posts I have, I feel ashamed that this is the first time I am culturing FF's. :lol: 

Anyway, so I got a culture each of melano and hydei. About 200-300 FF's in each. I split each culture into 4 pint mason jars.

Recipe: Carolina
1/4c media + 3oz water

-1c powdered sugar
-1/2c brewers yeast
-8c potato flakes
-2 Tsb Methyl Paraben
-activated bakers yeast on top

I used excelsior in each jar and one unbleached coffee filter for the top.
After adding the water the media would not come out if flipped the jar and was sorta squishy when i poked it with my finger. Hopefully it's a good consistency. I only added 1/4c of media to each jar, but after the water absorbed into it, the media alone fills about 1/4-1/3 of the jar, hope that it is not too much...we'll see as they eat it i guess...

The culture parts were very easy to do, but i was definitely not prepared for dealing with FF's lol. Sometimes i would forget to slam down the container and they started to crawl out, In the end there were a bunch all over my carpet and computer lol, had to battle them with the vacuum.

My main question is: how the heck do you transfer FF's from one container to another without getting them everywhere? They are tougher to hanndle than i thought.

Luke


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## Blort (Feb 5, 2005)

Luke,

The most annoying thing I have found about Mason jars is that the FF hide in the rim and then creep out little by little. Here is what I do:

Getting them in:
1. Put the culture about 1/2 into a gallon Ziploc bag slightly or completely inverted (flies seem to seek "up" and will climb up toward the media, so if there are too many on the lid, you can give them some time to climb up when the culture is inverted)
2. Remove the top and tap flies into the bottom of the bag
3. Recap the culture
4. Remove culture and zip the bag shut
5. Put the culture into a 2nd gallon bag and seal it for all the FF in the lid to come out

If you put some supplement dust in the bottom of the transfer bag, it will take a lot of the fight out of them since they can't climb and get occupied grooming themselves. You can also stick the whole mess in the freezer to slow them down, but I find that builds condensation which I don't like.

Getting them out:
1. Add supplement if needed (as covered above) it also supposedly helps knock the mites off
2. For feeding I scoop flies out with a plastic lid and tap them into the vivarium
3. For transfer, I open about 1 to 2 inches of the bag and tap them into the new culture

Like I mentioned dusting makes them easier to deal with. When I think that most of the lingerers have made it out of the mason jar rim in the containment bag. I tap the jar a couple of times to knock out any other flies, take out the culture, and feed the rest of the FF to the frogs. I still have my off days, especially with a freshly hatched culture, but most days have 0 escapees.

Hope that helps,

Marcos


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

640 posts and no flies!?

I do my transfers in the sink and then wash the ones that get out down the drain. I've heard of others using gallon zip lock bags. I have also in the past just did all my transfer over an opened tank.

Don't worry about letting a few out, they will find a way out of your tanks anyways. Get used to finding the odd fly in your house.


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

Use plastic cups.


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

Yeah, they are so much easier to use.


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## fleenor1 (Feb 18, 2005)

I use the plastic 32oz deli cups with coffee filters. (Just my preference)
But, when I want flies I first smack the cup down on something. Either my hand or the table. This sends all of the flies to the bottom of the culture. Open the lid and tap the sides of the culture into whatever you are using to collect the flies. I use another 32oz cup. When you have gotten enough flies I would smack the culture again and get all of the fies to the bottom again and then put the lid on the culture.

The flies that you have collected in the empty up will not be able to climb the sides very good at all. Especially if it is fairly clean.... I also use the collection cup to dust the fies as well. 

Like I said.... This is just my preference and it works fine for me. Hardly any escapees.


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## dmartin72 (Oct 27, 2004)

You can't call yourself a serious frogger unless you've cultured FFs! :wink:


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## Blort (Feb 5, 2005)

I agree about the cups. My mason jars are on their way out now that my 240 superior cups are in


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## Catfur (Oct 5, 2004)

dmartin72 said:


> You can't call yourself a serious frogger unless you've cultured FFs! :wink:


Unless your name is Frank Williams...


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## Darks!de (Nov 16, 2004)

Lol clay...thanks for the tips guys. And I haven't yet called myself a serious frogger, maybe one day....hehe

Now to part two of culturing FF's. The divisions.

So far I have 4/4 of melano/hydei. Assuming i'll have 8 leucs to feed how should I feed/divide the cultures each day/week? That is the one part that still has me confused.

Luke


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

With that amount, I would have been able to get by with one culture of hydei a week and maybe 2 cultures of melanogasters. I have always made excess and I probably would have went with 4 or 5 of each for some reason. Not sure why, I just always did. I have slimmed down how many I make each week because with extra frogs, more cultures can get a little costly. With making that amount each week, you will have over 10 going at a time at some point, especially with how long hydeis take. I will tell you more at the meeting. Need any other flies?


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## yuri (Feb 18, 2004)

I don't quite get the need for plastic bags - seems overly complicated.

I use the pint mason jars, excelsior and coffee filters. When I want to get flies out, I hit the side of the jar with my palm (knocks the flies down), take off the lid (coffee filter and metal ring), hit the side of the jar as needed (to keep the flies down) and then either dump some flies into a jug with viatmin-calcium mix or dump them into a fresh culture, tap again if needed and then put the filter paper and ring top back.

Glass is reusable more than plastic (more duraable). When you throw out the plastic it goes to a landfill and sits there for way too long. Glass is recycled to make more glass products. In the US we export a significant amount of waste to third world countries where they are forced to live with it.

Culture locally, think globally, use glass.


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## Blort (Feb 5, 2005)

Polypropelyne or PP5 which FF cups are made of can be recylced.


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## mydumname (Dec 24, 2004)

> I don't quite get the need for plastic bags - seems overly complicated.



What do you mean by plastic bags? Not sure who mentioned it first, fill me in please.


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## Keroppi (Nov 23, 2004)

I used mason jars the first 9 months that I had frogs. The way to get around escapees is to get a piece of thin cotton gauze and cut a circle out that is larger than the donut part of the lid. Mason jars are used for canning and the piece that seals the jar is the one that we don't use...without that the gap is too big. Take either a hot glue gun or some silicone and put a ring on the inside of the cap (not the side or on the threads obviously) now glue the fabric to the cap. The glue or silicone will fill in the gap and will stop them from escaping. You can trim the excess gauze. If you use a coffee filter it will keep the fabric clean. 


eve s.


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