[Azsunspot161]

My cultures are stinking up the house, is there a quick fix or a better formula that can null this odor??? My boyfriend is about to chuck my cultures because they are really smelly (I don't blame him).

What can I do??

 

[MeiKVR6]

Use better media! Most commercial medias smell fine even after a few weeks of production.

Seriously tho if you are using your own media - Cinnamon is a good thing to add. 2-3 TBSP per 10 cups dry media is reasonable, and it also acts as an anti-mold ingredient. What's your current recipe?

 

[chadfarmer]

its the media i fought that in the past

 

[Boondoggle]

How old are they, and what is your media?

 

[Frank H]

Use better media! Most commercial medias smell fine even after a few weeks of production.

Seriously tho if you are using your own media - Cinnamon is a good thing to add. 2-3 TBSP per 10 cups dry media is reasonable, and it also acts as an anti-mold ingredient. What's your current recipe?

Thanks! So if I use Cinnamon, can I skip the vinegar? I believe the Vinegar is what stinks up the house from the beginning.

 

[Ed]

Are you rearing melanogaster or hydei? Hydei often have odor issues with the cultures.

It could be the media, it could be other microbes getting established in the culture and it could be the flies. To get a good answer, those three things have to be considered.

Ed

 

[MeiKVR6]

Thanks! So if I use Cinnamon, can I skip the vinegar? I believe the Vinegar is what stinks up the house from the beginning.

You can still probably use a little vinegar unless you are mixing in methyl paraben. Then again - even with mixtures including methyl paraben (the most common preservative/fungicide used in commercial media), a little vinegar won't hurt.

As Ed mentioned - the smell could be a few other things as well... Hydei generally do smell worse than Melanogaster. With either species you can sprinkle active yeast on the freshly made cultures (right before adding excelsior), encouraging it to actively out-compete other fungus and (harmful) bacteria which can otherwise lead to premature culture expiration... (and bad smells!)