# Glass vs. Plastic



## addam4208283 (Feb 19, 2004)

I was just interested in seeing if anyone has noticed a difference in FF (either mal. or hyd. (sp)) production with using glass jars compared to the reg. plastic cups sold? I have noticed a considerable decrease in the production of ff's in glass compared to plastic. Why do you think this happens?

Thanks in advance.
ADAM


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## Arklier (Mar 1, 2004)

While I have always reared my ffs in plastic containers, if I had to guess why you're seeing less production in glass ones I would speculate the difference in ventilation.


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## Dunner97074 (Sep 19, 2004)

I have found the same thing. I think the glass is smoother and the larvae are less likely to climb the sides. As a result the glass cultures tend to "crash" if you don't have a ton raffia for them to climb on.
Mike


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## Dancing frogs (Feb 20, 2004)

when you grab them, glass jars most of the time feel cold when compared to a plastic cup kept in the same room...perhaps the larvae are getting a little chilled.


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## Ed Martin (Mar 25, 2004)

It is funny how different people's experiences can be. I used glass jars for years and just recently switched to plastic containers. I got a much higher yield with the glass (about 50%) more per culture. I thought that it might have something to do with the temperature too, but glass seems to retain heat a little better if it is cold and vice versa. I used quart mason jars with a narrow mouth (like a spaghetti sauce jar) and got great yields with both "the power" mix and commercial mixes. I never had issues with the media and excelsior falling out of the jar when taking out flies to feed. The problem with the glass jars was the cleaning, especially in the winter. I made about 10 cultures a week with the glass, and would just soak the old cultures in a trashcan for a day or 2 in the yard before washing them out. It became too much of a hassle in the cold weather. But I'm actually thinking that when I have used up the case of lids and containers that I bought (400 in each) that I might go back to glass. I also got a LOT fewer escapees with the glass jars, so maybe that has to do with the bigger yields too. 
Ed


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## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

I used mason jars in the past, but recently switched to 32 oz. containers from superior enterprises. i havent noticed a difference in yield. But they are much easier to clean becuase I can fit my whole hand in them, and once they soak for a few hours most stuff can be blasted off with a hose. I also find them to be a space saver, as I only have a 8' x 10' frog room I need to save as much space as I can, because they are stackable. I can fit 78 cups on one level of my fruit fly rack, and it has four levels, so I am able to fit all my flies on one rack which is great.


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## Guest (Dec 28, 2004)

*d*

I use mason jars for mine. I started with the narrow mouth jars, but soon learned I cant clean them worth a crap. Then I started using the wide mouths and a doubled over paper towel over the opening. I get pretty good yeilds as long as I seed the jar with plenty of flies. 

:roll:


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## Ed Martin (Mar 25, 2004)

Matt, 
I would use a round toilet brush to clean the narrow mouthed containers and it worked well, especially after soaking for a couple days. I had about 5 dozen jars and it worked out pretty well for both melanoganster and hydei. I used double coffee filters too, and just secured them with 
the ring that comes with the jar and a rubber band. 
Geckguy, 
The jars could not be stacked, but I have had issues when stacking the plastic containers on top of each other. Sometimes the humidity would get too high and the larva would move thru the coffee filter in the lower container to the bottom of the upper container. Using spacers stopped this problem, but it really made a mess when it happened. 
Do you have a pic of the rack you use? I was thining about making one too.

Ed


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## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

I will try to get a pic, but it is a plastic rack that is 24" deep and 36" long, I can fit a stack of two as is, but if I bought new pvc to increase the height, I could fit even more.


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