# Hydei q's



## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

Ok I am using Josh's media and have had good luck with culturing D. Hydei before. Now I'm getting culture crashes of them. Any advice? Sems like they aren't reproducing.


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## Dartluv (Dec 27, 2006)

Well im no expert but if they are kept too hot or too cold that can result in a crash... ive never used josh's at all so im not quite sure of any of that but ive read something about somewhere where they florish better if they get the "day and night simulation" by keeping a light on most of the day and off at night... (anyone else correct me if im wrong)


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## MELLOWROO421 (Feb 21, 2007)

I use Josh's and AZDR's media and have had great luck with them since I started using excelsior. At first I was using coffee filters like a lot of others on this board, but I was having crashes and they were producing poorly. I may have just started with too many flies or not enough/too much water. I have also heard of heat making the flies unable to reproduce. Have they been in a hot room or cabinet? Maybe a little more info would help some of the other's give you some advice as I am still kinda new.


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## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

I'm using coffee filters and they are in a warm room. I don't think it is the room because my melanos are reproducing like crazy. The room reaches a max temp of about 82 degrees. I follow the instructions on the package. The only thing I can think of that I'm doing differently now is that I am not using cinnamon in my newest cultures (I ran out).


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## ian (Dec 25, 2006)

I just want to make it clear that I am not seeing any larvae or pupae. So I guess it technically isn't a crash just not producing like they used to. The melanos are reproducing by the hundreds so I know it's not the media. There isn't any mold and the media still doesn't dry up after 2 and a half weeks. Would just a few degrees rise in temp keep them from reproducing?


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## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

it does take about 2 weeks for them to kick in and start reproducing.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I'd give Ed's a call and ask... they are by far the most knowledgable on the subject that I know of in the hobby!

Have you always used Josh's? How many generations have you been raising them on Josh's? I've not used Josh's so I don't know if it has the nutritional needs of hydei included in the media (in which after each generation the reproduction gets worst them just stops).

After they start hatching from pupae, what is the ages of the flies you're using? Hydei has a pesky thing about hatching the two sexes at different times (great in nature, not so great in captivity if you don't have staggered cultures) and you might be getting all one sex in your new cultures... makes reproduction difficult


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

I pmed Ian, but I'll post here as well. Hydei can take as long as seventeen days to three weeks to start producing (especially if temps/humidity aren't right). When you compare that to melanos that can produce in as fast as 10 days, I encouraged him to give it a little more time.



> I've not used Josh's so I don't know if it has the nutritional needs of hydei included in the media (in which after each generation the reproduction gets worst them just stops).


After much research and many experiments, my hydei media has shown to produce tons of flies generation after generation.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Ah, and here comes one of the problems... is he using your Hydei media... or just your standard melano media?

One of the big issues I've come across in my research on hydei is that people tend to get "regular" media... the cheaper stuff... or use online recipes... that are for melanogaster, and cannot support hydei.

This is why most suppliers make two forms... allowing for those who don't bother to work with hydei to have the cheaper to produce melano mixture...


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I have cultured hydei for years on standard medium without a issue. I can not say if the special formulas are better or not, but one key is more medium for the hydei. So 1/2 dry and 1/2 cup liquid and I have heard of people using more than that.

Maybe I should try the special mediums just to test it out.


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

They do have differing nutritional requirements. Some of the standards have some of the same things, but I went to an entomology conference a few years back and they had some really interesting things to say. We do sell two kinds, and they are different.


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

> One of the big issues I've come across in my research on hydei is that people tend to get "regular" media... the cheaper stuff... or use online recipes... that are for melanogaster, and cannot support hydei.


I agree, but I also want to point out that you can get hydei to produce on the standard potato flakes recipe that most people use, but production is no where near what it is with a formula specifically formulated for hydei (and I did see the slow generational deficiency with this). Still others will just up the brewers yeast (or flax or whey or...), which will improve production, but still isn't "right".

I also get people all the time asking what the difference between the medias is. All I can say is "The difference is that one is formulated for melanos and the other is formulated for hydei..."


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

The difference in nutritional needs is why I now as "what media are you using" as one of my top questions for trying to figure out why hydei aren't going well.

Using "josh's media" doesn't say much when he sells two kinds lol... the original melano media, or the actual hydei formula?

Kyle - define "standard" media... some of the "standard" medias like carolina are made for both species, and thus are fine for hydei. Some are made only for melanos and show the degredation in breeding due to lack of nutritional requirements.


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## Almecum (Aug 3, 2007)

I have used Eds Fly meat media for all types of FF, never any issues. I remember reading somewhere that the female hatch first and then the male FF and that you should wait a few weeks before using existing culture to create new ones and that you should but 75-100 FF in the culture to be sure to get it going good.

Hope this helps.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

"There is sex hatching differences in the cultures, with males being produced around 10 days later than females, so be careful to use flies from the middle of a boom rather than the end which would be mostly male and not good for starting cultures. " From the online small feeder guide _Drosophila_ article.

I'm actually planning on changing this, as it's not really the best way... just the easiest if you don't stagger your hydei cultures. If you stagger when you make your hydei cultures, it will allow you to have booming hydei cultures of different ages. When making new hydei cultures, you'll want to use some flies from the fresh hatched (females) and some from a later boom (at least 10 days after the boom starts). Great mix of sexes, and you also help keep up the genetic diversity that Ed has brought up many times (mixing flies of the same strain from different cultures to keep the diversity up as much as you can). I have picked up the habit of marking the date of when the first day of major hatch out is so I know how old the boom is.


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