Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know there has been a lot of media out there. But I was wondering what part does what in the media.

I'm thinking about using the 8 part flakes, 1 cup powder sugar, 1 cup brewers yeast, and a hint of active yeast on the top.

I was wondering how each one is beneficial into the media.
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http://members.lycos.co.uk/dkim123/

I think I just posted this somewhere.....
well
If I need to make 4 cultures I use 2 cups of media,
1 and 1/3 cups of pot. flakes
2/3 cups of bran
large spoonful of brewers yeast
large spoonful powdered sugar
some beeswax
small spoon of calcium supplement and protein supplement
sometimes I add somepaprika
then i do the yeast one top
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Click here to See my frogs and Terrariums!
0.0.5 Green and Black Costa Rican D. Auratus
0.0.4 D. Azureus
0.0.2 Golden Mantellas

I didn't mean to post the media your using, but I was wondering like which one did what to benefit the fruitflies.

Active Yeast is used to feed the fruitfly etc.
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-_^
http://members.lycos.co.uk/dkim123/

This isn't an in-depth or decisive breakdown on what occurs, but here goes:

It's pretty well accepted that Drosophila eat yeast and metabolized sugars in the media, and pass the media through their system to take these in. Therefore, anything in your media that is small enough will pass through a larvae's system.

Potato flakes: acts as a source of complex carbs to be broken down into simple carbs by yeast (energy source). Also acts as a binder so that the media sticks to the bottom of the cup when feeding.

Sugar: starter source of simple sugars for yeast . . . boosts growth rate on the front end because no bottlenecking of energy source . . . simple sugar already in usable form for energy.

Brewer's yeast: This is an active form of yeast that also contains several essential amino acids. So, it acts as a yeast source and a protein source (of course, all yeasts act as a protein source to some extent).

Baker's yeast: Another active yeast source, also acts to break down media and provide food source to flies. By using two yeast species, you have a better protein spectrum for the flies and have differing colonies which can continue to reproduce under varying environmental conditions.

Water/Vinegar: Of course, you need water to allow the various creatures to respire and undergo hydrolysis of the complex carbs, etc. Vinegar (aka acetic acid) acts to reduce the pH of the media to inhibit mold growth.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

I understand the idea that yeast breaks down the starch, but I have been setting up cultures for over a year now without any use of brewers or bakers yeast. The yeast seemed to cause the media to spoil to fast and I did not get as many flies out long term. I have a feeling that simple airborne bacteria are playing a much larger role in breakdown of starches than the yeast could ever match.

Just my thoughts on the issue. By the way here is my recipe.

1 box (32oz) potato flakes
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup methyl paraben
1/4 cup powdered high protein fish food

mix 1/3 cup of media with 1/2 cup hot water. Let stand until cool and add flies.

I am playing with other additives for the protein supplement part of the recipe. I will let everyone know what I find out.
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2.4.0 D. azureus
0.0.8 P. bicolor
0.0.7 D. auratus (polka-dot)
0.0.3 D. auratus (blue)
0.0.4 D. auratus (kahlua and cream)
0.0.3 D. auratus (El Cope aka Giant Turquoise)
0.0.5 D. tinctorius (Interalanis)

Shannon

My cultures last about 2.5 months after being set up, and are usually completely consumed by the larvae rather than going bad. I've found that spoiled cultures are usually due to too much water when setting up.

As to whether the sugar breakdown is due to airborne bacteria, that is possible. However, the question I was addressing is "What role does each part of the media play."
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Another aside . . . if airborne bacteria are doing most of the decomposition in your media, your cultures should smell so bad that you have to throw them away.

If you have studied yeast reproductive cycles, you'll realize their potential for growth and metabolism is extremely high. Too much baker's yeast in your original setup might cause anaerobic conditions causing the culture to crash, but I've never had that problem with my cultures.

FF larvae should be able to metabolize potato flakes into sugars as well, but having a good yeast colony allows the yeasts to manufacture necessary proteins from the underlying media, as well as break down the starches.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

I have been adding whey protein powder and powdered vitamins and minerals to my media for added protein supplementation. It has created a huge boom in production for me, and the cultures seem to last longer too. This is probably because the larvae have to eat less to get the nutrients they need to mature and pupate.

I too have found that culuture which are too wet tend to stink a little more. I have played around for a few years now figuring out how to balance moisture concentration in the media over time. Too little moisture early on can lead to mold and low production rates, too much late will make it hard to get the flies out while leaving the media, and will make the cultures crash too fast.

We all have methods that work for us, and that may not work for others. All I wanted to say is that you don't have to add yeast to your culutures for them to do well. I have set up controlled experiments and found that when all else is equal, the yeast does not seem to help production, and in some cases seems to lead to a higher occurence of mold and a shorter culture life.
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2.4.0 D. azureus
0.0.8 P. bicolor
0.0.7 D. auratus (polka-dot)
0.0.3 D. auratus (blue)
0.0.4 D. auratus (kahlua and cream)
0.0.3 D. auratus (El Cope aka Giant Turquoise)
0.0.5 D. tinctorius (Interalanis)

Shannon

I forgot to add a couple of things. My culutures tend to last about 2 months or a little list before they are exhausted completely. I set up a lot of cultures, and I don't like to waste space so if a culture fails to produce a significant number of flies in four consecutive feedings(about 8-10 days), then it gets pitched.

One reason that I am sure my culutures exhaust themselves faster than some is because I start my culutures with around 100 adult melanogasters, which is probably more than most of you do.

On a completely different note, I bought two more Industria Chrome shelves today from Sam's Club. I wanted to set up some larger tanks, so I set them up for mixes of 10 gallons and 50 gallons (or 38 cubes). It should be a nice combination for the future. I will get pictures up when everything is up and running.
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2.4.0 D. azureus
0.0.8 P. bicolor
0.0.7 D. auratus (polka-dot)
0.0.3 D. auratus (blue)
0.0.4 D. auratus (kahlua and cream)
0.0.3 D. auratus (El Cope aka Giant Turquoise)
0.0.5 D. tinctorius (Interalanis)

Shannon