Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I have experimented and found some recipes on Fruit fly culture media mixes and none of them seem to work very well. One that I used lasted over a month but, I was dumb and forgot to bookmark the webpage that I found it on. Can anyone provide me with the best recipe to make a media that has worked well for you? Thanks a lot!

-Ryan

Here is the mix I use:
8 cups potato flakes
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup brewers yeast

Then I use 1/3 cup of this mix and 1/3-1/2 cup of 1:1 water vinegar. Then sprinkle on some active yeast, just a small pinch. I also use Elixer (the wood craft stuff) in my cultures. It is very cheap and keeps the flies from sticking together, and dieing off.
I started using this about 2-3 months ago, and I will tell you my fly production has doubled from using Carolina Medium. Not that Carolina is bad, it worked well for me, but this just makes more flies.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
D. leucomelas
D. azureus

That's the same medium I use . . . except I don't use the Elixer. Instead, I fold up a few coffee filters and place them in the cup for the flies to crawl on. Furthermore, I mix in some paprika to color the media and add a nice dose of carotenes to the flies. It's a great medium!
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

No culture lasts much over a month, no matter what the media is. You still have to keep starting new cultures every few days, no matter how few or many frogs you have. Just experiment and get the routine that suits you and your particular needs. There really isn't a magic formula that will be perfect. It will always be limited by the fact that any culture media gets used up, needs replacing regularly. Always start any new culture with relatively young flies from your most active culture at the time.
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Patty
Lost River, Idaho