Old Time Frogers' Homade Power Mix, First Time Culture

[Lady]

So I decided I want to culture my own fruit flies for a dart frog that I have not bought yet.

I learned in my research that most commercial fruit fly media mixes have Paprika, Turmeric and/or Cumin in them. They are there to inhibit mold, but I am deathly allergic to the stuff and can't risk handling it. This lead me to look into homemade culture media. I asked Josh of Josh's Frogs for a little advice and the recipe for "Old Time Frogers' Homemade Power Mix" was discussed.

This recipe can be found with others at the following link. Homemade Fruit Fly Culture Media

2 Bananas
1 cup Applesauce
2 cups Oatmeal
1 Tbs white Vinager
Bakers yeast

Substitutions of other fruit are permitted.

So I followed it as best I could adding some advice found on both Frog Forum and DendraBoards as well as a tip or two from YouTube. Many of the tips on YouTube are on how NOT to make a fruit fly culture because the videos are of failure.

First I made the oatmeal in the microwave using a paper bowl and bottled water. I made it thick on purpose. I then (with the help of my husband) put the bananas, apple sauce and a single serving cup of diced peaches for luck in the blender. We let it liquify and then added the still hot oatmeal and the vinager. Then blended until smooth and about the constancy of baby food. We put one quarter of the mix in the bottom of a culture cup from Josh's Frogs. We put the rest in 3 zip lock bags and put it in the freezer to keep until needed.

Once it cools I will put yeast on top and add Wood Wool and flies from a producing culture bought from the pet store. I will let you know if it is boom or bust in a few weeks.

~Lady

[deranged chipmunk]

I've done this method before. Too much work, too messy and crashed way too early. They also seemed to be mold magnets, no matter how much or what kind of yeast i sprinkled in there.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Lady]

I know about the risks of mold, but I just can't use the commercial mixes unless I want to risk going to the hospital every time I handle a culture. I am not kidding about how deathly ill my allergy makes me, and every exposure makes it that much worse. I can't even be in the same room as any food item that contains the stuff that is not completely sealed and ice cold so it does not give off fumes. I have to take Benadryl any time someone in the apartment heats a frozen meal that contains it. They don't prescribe Epi-Pens to hypochondriacs. They prescribe them to people who have ended up in the emergency room. I once actually got a doctor's note to excuse me from my father's cooking because he did not believe me.

[Lady]

Oh and did I mention not being able to walk for a week because I got blisters on my soles from walking across my sister's carpet where she had spilled a can of Creole seasoning and vacuumed it up repeatedly over months. Paprika is a persistent, constant, chronic, toxic menace to my continued existence. I am more afraid of a can of pepper spray than I am of a loaded gun because the cop with both knows the one is lethal, he does not know the spray is too until the person he sprays goes into anaphylactic shock. So yes I obey the law as if my life depended on it, because it dose.

[Lady]

Wish me luck, don't tear me down. It may not have worked for you, but it is my only real hope.

[canadian frog]

good luck lady only time will tell

[deranged chipmunk]

Not tearing anybody down. My recipe is a few basic ingredients. Vinegar, instant potato flakes, confectioner's sugar and yeast. no perishables to create mold.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Lady]

There is a natural anti fungal I can use that is safe and I will try it. Cinnamon is recommended by some frog keepers that use homemade fruit fly culture media. I plan on trying other recipes if this one does not work. My main concern with potato flakes is they do not have vitamins that are added to the potato powder in the commercial mixes. Real fruit has those vitamins. I am told that if I start my mixes hot and add yeast and flies after they cool I will have a better chance of killing the unwanted mold and bacteria.

I'm sorry if I was getting Harpy earlier. I am so use to people not taking my allergy seriously when it is as ****ing serious as a heart attack. People say "Oh it can't be that bad." "You must be making this **** up." or my favorite one from a restaurant manager who was faking he did not speak English when I asked him to wipe down the counter before making my sandwich. "Oh' I wipe down counter this morning." At that point is was just past lunch rush and I saw all sorts of unsafe sauces and dressings smeared on the counter that I know from experience will seep through paper and make me far too sick to be worth my time. I walked out and refused to go to that chain of restaurants for about 5 years after that because I don't deserve to be treated like that. One could say it is a very touchy subject for me.

[Lady]

Another favorite quote from my father that he has not used since the doctor's note incident, "Suck it up and eat what is on your plate or hurt my feelings." As if his feelings would be any better when he was on trial for murder.

[canadian frog]

hey there nobody is down playing your allergy or trying to knock you down, we are all here to help each other, im pretty new to this forum and I find every body to be helpful, I would rather learn from other peoples mistakes than make my own and hurt any one of my animals in any way, you seem pretty hard on yourself, I think you have done a pretty amazing frog tank and trying cultures (which I haven't done yet seems pretty hard) is pretty awesome, keep up the amazing work, look forward to seeing more, but you need to keep an open mind as too what is being said nobody is here to hurt you or your animals, as we are all animal lovers or we wouldn't be here. keep up the good work, cant wait to see more

[Lady]

hey there nobody is down playing your allergy or trying to knock you down, we are all here to help each other, im pretty new to this forum and I find every body to be helpful, I would rather learn from other peoples mistakes than make my own and hurt any one of my animals in any way, you seem pretty hard on yourself, I think you have done a pretty amazing frog tank and trying cultures (which I haven't done yet seems pretty hard) is pretty awesome, keep up the amazing work, look forward to seeing more, but you need to keep an open mind as too what is being said nobody is here to hurt you or your animals, as we are all animal lovers or we wouldn't be here. keep up the good work, cant wait to see more

Yes I beat myself up a-lot and I rethink and second guess. I also have to keep some kind of a barrier between myself and the world because I have been hurt and abused every way a human can and still live. Many people can't understand what it is like to be attacked and left for dead. I can...

[canadian frog]

we all have issues to deal with, just keep your chin up and be proud of what you do, what you have done, and how far you have come in life, nobody is here to hinder or hurt you, its just advise, be open and take it for what it is.

[deranged chipmunk]

Lady, i know the way i type and my syntax seems a bit curt sometimes, because i'm normally on my phone and hate typing on it because of that demonic autocorrect , but just so we stay on the same page, i'm just here to help, and was only relaying my experience with this version

the potato flakes have yet to let me down on longevity, and by playing with the recipe a bit, i have had a culture stretch to almost 2 months feeding 4 hungry mantellas. as for vitamins, well, i dust for calcium and vits anyway, so they get them there.

[Lady]

Lady, i know the way i type and my syntax seems a bit curt sometimes, because i'm normally on my phone and hate typing on it because of that demonic autocorrect , but just so we stay on the same page, i'm just here to help, and was only relaying my experience with this version

the potato flakes have yet to let me down on longevity, and by playing with the recipe a bit, i have had a culture stretch to almost 2 months feeding 4 hungry mantellas. as for vitamins, well, i dust for calcium and vits anyway, so they get them there.

I think I will take the apology and remember the advice.

I also plan to dust with vitamin powder, but I figure it's better to feed healthy flies than fat ones. Over time I will find what actually works from all the advice and articles and book I have to sift through.

[Lady]

Oh, and auto correct is only demonic on it's good days. On it's bad days it seems like the dark prince himself has your phone at his mercy and using it will take your soul.

[Lady]

So the mixture rose in my culture over night, but not as high as I would have liked. Next time I will add a bit more yeast. I will also add a little dry milk and some ground cinnamon. The milk for extra protein and the cinnamon to discourage mold. If my cultures crash I buy more flies and try again until I find what works.

[UncleChester]

In case you haven't seen it yet, there are more recipes Frog Forum - Fruit Fly Culturing, Care and Feeding - Everything you need to know about Drosophila

I use Atlanta Botanical Garden's Fruit Fly Culture which has the same ingredients as what Bill has mentioned. I also add cinnamon to make it smell a little nicer but that's optional. With the powder recipes you can mix up big tubs of the powder that last for months and take out what you need when you make new cultures. This makes it nice and convenient especially if you only have a small number of cultures running at a time.

If you find the banana/fruit recipe works for you, then by all means keep using it. Good luck and let us know how you make out

[Lady]

Just a little update. It's been 1 week since I started my culture and it has no mold yet but lots of maggots. In a week I should be starting a second culture but this time I will be adding the cinnamon, powdered milk and more yeast. Here's hoping for lots of boom in my cultures.

[Lady]

This is the first culture 9 days after it was made. If you look at the side you will see lots of little chrysalis on the side of the cup. I'm sure in a few day there will be lots of flies in there.

[scooter7728]

I know with mine 12 days before flies are in full boom, just actually started making my own media hope that turns out well