# Curious about opinions on fruit fly culture containers.



## aqustik (Feb 5, 2013)

Do you prefer the 32 oz plastic containers or glass jars? Starting a culture soon and not sure which is best for me.


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## frog dude (Nov 11, 2011)

If you are just starting out, mason jars work well, as they are easier to clean. But, if you ever get to point it time when your making many, many cultures a week, you will find deli cups are much cheaper. You can still reuse deli cups too, it is just a bit more difficult to clean.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

I used wide mouth mason jars when I started out...until I dropped one! 5,000 loose flies crawling all over the house convinced my wife that it was time to switch to 32 oz deli type cups.


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## frog dude (Nov 11, 2011)

Pumilo said:


> I used wide mouth mason jars when I started out...until I dropped one! 5,000 loose flies crawling all over the house convinced my wife that it was time to switch to 32 oz deli type cups.


You know, switching to deli cups would probably be a good idea, because if I were to drop a mason jar culture with 5,000 flies in it and it broke open, I would have to get rid of my frogs!


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## SDRiding (Jul 31, 2012)

I actually just started trying out some pint and a half mason jars, with only using half of the normal amount of media I would use in a 32oz deli cup. So far production has been good, but my intention was to have more cultures with less waste. Can't say how well it work in the long run, but it has been working so far. Just something to consider if you don't have a whole house of frogs _yet_, but still want to have fresh cultures going every week.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

I use both. Glass lasts more cycles through the dishwasher, or I bring them to work and run them through the autoclave. I also like to use micron filter disks more than vented plastic lids. Another plus for glass because the disks are designed to fit glass jars with ring lids.


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## aqustik (Feb 5, 2013)

SDRiding said:


> I actually just started trying out some pint and a half mason jars, with only using half of the normal amount of media I would use in a 32oz deli cup. So far production has been good, but my intention was to have more cultures with less waste. Can't say how well it work in the long run, but it has been working so far. Just something to consider if you don't have a whole house of frogs _yet_, but still want to have fresh cultures going every week.


So if I only have two frogs, and only plan on having two frogs, how many cultures will I go through a week? Like does one culture last for one week for two frogs? Or a little longer? I guess you have to throw out the cuture by week 6, but just wondering how quickly the adults run low with that many frogs. They are almost froglets so I am guessing they will be fed more frequently then adults. I just don't know how many cultures to prepare for two baby frogs. And would the half size mason jars maybe work better for such few frogs?


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## SDRiding (Jul 31, 2012)

I doubt you could actually feed out a full culture unless it was severely under-producing due to mites or other things, you'll toss it before you run out. I like these size jars because I can make twice as many cultures for the same amount of media, so I can make the cultures more frequently. I would recommend making a culture every week while you first start out to get the hang of it. Just pay attention to the cultures and check for mold, dryness and such. 

I do a culture of Hydei and Melo every two weeks now and toss before week 5. I usually put the media and excelsior in, then spray some water to moisten the excelsior, add flies and use a coffee filter top. Where you live you might need to monitor the humidity in the cultures more. You just gotta experiment a bit.

Edit: Once you get the hang of it, you can probably do one of these half cultures every two weeks and have more flies than you know what to do with.


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## Brian317 (Feb 11, 2011)

I find it easy to use the plastic containers. When the culture is cycled out, they go into the freezer. After a day, take it out...a little warm water to the bottom and the entire thing pops out into the trash and I typically just hand clean the container. My educated guess is that you should not do that with mason glass jars...so that is why I choose plastic over glass 

On another note, I think my wife would murder me if i broke a jar on the floor that had thousands of flies in it!!! haha


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## aqustik (Feb 5, 2013)

Brian317 said:


> I find it easy to use the plastic containers. When the culture is cycled out, they go into the freezer. After a day, take it out...a little warm water to the bottom and the entire thing pops out into the trash and I typically just hand clean the container. My educated guess is that you should not do that with mason glass jars...so that is why I choose plastic over glass
> 
> On another note, I think my wife would murder me if i broke a jar on the floor that had thousands of flies in it!!! haha


So how many uses can you typically get from the plastic ones using this method? Do they hold up pretty well? 

Where I live is pretty dry...so I guess i will have to keep a good eye on that.

So if I buy like four containers maybe I will be OK? Starting one a week.


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## aqustik (Feb 5, 2013)

Also, how crucial is it to have methyl paraben In the medium?


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## scoy (Jan 22, 2013)

I dont think its absolutley crucial I just sprinkle yeast ontop of the media to inhibit mold


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## Daleo (Jan 31, 2012)

I use mason jars. I like that i can get virtually unlimited uses out of them, but really thinking about switching to plastic ones. When tapping out FFs, it is more intuitive? on the plastic ones. You just thump them, but the glass ones feel like they need more to get the FFs out so I end up banging on it like a 2 year-old and spilling flies here and there. lol


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## aqustik (Feb 5, 2013)

Daleo said:


> I use mason jars. I like that i can get virtually unlimited uses out of them, but really thinking about switching to plastic ones. When tapping out FFs, it is more intuitive? on the plastic ones. You just thump them, but the glass ones feel like they need more to get the FFs out so I end up banging on it like a 2 year-old and spilling flies here and there. lol


Hahahaha oh man that's the funniest thing I have read all day. Maybe I will go towards the plastic ones then. I just need to find the best place to buy them.

And if the yeast does the job then I dont really want to spend more money on methyl paraben.


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## GP dynamite (Feb 19, 2013)

aqustik said:


> Hahahaha oh man that's the funniest thing I have read all day. Maybe I will go towards the plastic ones then. I just need to find the best place to buy them.
> 
> And if the yeast does the job then I dont really want to spend more money on methyl paraben.


I ordered a culture kit from Josh's and they sent everything to get started. 10 cups, lids, yeast, media and easy to follow directions. Producing fly culture optional to get started. My first culture was producing in 10-12 days and boy was it booming. Wasn't expensive either. I wash my cups out and bonus is the Chinese place packs soups in the same cups. I save lids and toss cups when they're too grungy.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

It was mentioned about cleaning the cups..so I have a related question. Does anyone add the yucky contents to their compost?? All the stuff is organic but I'd like an opinion about whether it is a good or bad idea...


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## Erikb3113 (Oct 1, 2008)

aqustik said:


> Also, how crucial is it to have methyl paraben In the medium?


I use it now because I had a few out breaks of mold. Some medias may have it in them already. I seem to remember reading josh's mix has it , but don't know for sure. It is nice to have around if you have an outbreak of black mold, but you may never have one, and really the best way to stop the spread anyway is toss the culture. 

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2


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## Erikb3113 (Oct 1, 2008)

If you keep extra cultures you may be able to afford just tossing them, i keep minimal culture so I can't really afford to lose any. I use my local frogger network if I have a crash.

Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Judy S said:


> It was mentioned about cleaning the cups..so I have a related question. Does anyone add the yucky contents to their compost?? All the stuff is organic but I'd like an opinion about whether it is a good or bad idea...


Judy, if you are using a formula with Methyl Paraben, it might inhibit some of the microbial action that you want in a compost pile. Not sure if that would be a good idea. Also, if you add enough to your compost, all the organics would be breaking down, while the Methyl Paraben would keep concentrating.


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