[kgb]

This is probably a stupid question, but what are the little tiny things crawling around my culture that are about an eighth of the size of a ff maggot?

 

[ocellaris123]

Mites maybe???

 

[Steverd]

This is probably a stupid question, but what are the little tiny things crawling around my culture that are about an eighth of the size of a ff maggot?

Are they tiny white worm/larvae looking things?
Or like very very tiny spiders/mites?

Steve

 

[kgb]

Its hard to say they are so small. Im assuming they are mites because its an older culture and the media is about gone... they look round maybe and move very slow but in a manner that leads me to believe they have legs....

 

[james67]

Its hard to say they are so small. Im assuming they are mites because its an older culture and the media is about gone... they look round maybe and move very slow but in a manner that leads me to believe they have legs....

mites. throw the culture out. remember to toss all cultures at no longer than 4 weeks to prevent these situations.

james

 

[WONTON SALLY]

This is probably a stupid question, but what are the little tiny things crawling around my culture that are about an eighth of the size of a ff maggot?

can you post a pic of what you are refering too?

 

[kgb]

mites. throw the culture out. remember to toss all cultures at no longer than 4 weeks to prevent these situations.

james

ah ha ok, i didnt know i had to get rid of them at 4 weeks.... lesson learned, thanks.

 

[WONTON SALLY]

ah ha ok, i didnt know i had to get rid of them at 4 weeks.... lesson learned, thanks.

how long were you using them for?

 

[kgb]

... i dunno... until they had no more flies i guess...

 

[WONTON SALLY]

... i dunno... until they had no more flies i guess...

do you keep track of when the culture was started or write the dates on the cups?

 

[kgb]

do you keep track of when the culture was started or write the dates on the cups?

Nope I'm new at this. So I write the date when I mix the culture and toss it in 30 days? How many days is it suppose to take for a new culture to produce? Thanks

 

[james67]

about 10 for melanogaster

james

 

[WONTON SALLY]

Nope I'm new at this. So I write the date when I mix the culture and toss it in 30 days? How many days is it suppose to take for a new culture to produce? Thanks

start keeping a journal of all the amounts you use in each culture, find a digital scale on ebay that will at least go up to 2lbs.

 

[james67]

start keeping a journal of all the amounts you use in each culture, find a digital scale on ebay that will at least go up to 2lbs.

what does the scale do? i dont see a connection between using a scale and mites.

its easy, just make your mixture, and toss them at 4 weeks, no scale needed. and you just need a measuring cup for the media (i use 2/3 cup of dry mix per culture)

james

 

[Pumilo]

Same question. A scale? For what? I used to supply several local herp shops with cultures so I have made thousands of cultures over the years. I've never once used a scale.

 

[WONTON SALLY]

Same question. A scale? For what? I used to supply several local herp shops with cultures so I have made thousands of cultures over the years. I've never once used a scale.

i was having problems in the beginning with my cultures not blooming to make a long story short i started using different methods to test what worked an what didn't so being the NERD that i am I bought a digital scale to help keep track of things better and I also started a written journal of FF cultures amounts . I found that using a scale instead of measuring cups that i had better results, reason being IMO i had exact amounts of what I was using. I also keep track of how many feedings and times it was used to start a new FF cultures as well.

the scale had nothing to do with the mites.

 

[Pumilo]

i was having problems in the beginning with my cultures not blooming to make a long story short i started using different methods to test what worked an what didn't so being the NERD that i am I bought a digital scale to help keep track of things better and I also started a written journal of FF cultures amounts . I found that using a scale instead of measuring cups that i had better results, reason being IMO i had exact amounts of what I was using. I also keep track of how many feedings and times it was used to start a new FF cultures as well.

the scale had nothing to do with the mites.

OK, I get it. I though you were saying you were using it somehow to see when to throw out the cultures. Like if it had lost 75% of it's initial mass, it's time to throw it out, something like that.

 

[WONTON SALLY]

OK, I get it. I though you were saying you were using it somehow to see when to throw out the cultures. Like if it had lost 75% of it's initial mass, it's time to throw it out, something like that.

i had to many unknowns in the beginning, and to help reolve that I started using the scale and journal and eliminated 90%+ of it.

 

[SeFruitFlies]

As long as you go through every precaution as to prevent MITES and feed from the culture regularly, your cultures will last much longer then if you would otherwise. A few simple rules would be to set the culture on MITE paper, clean the areas where you handle the FF's after each use and inspect the cultures every few days especially!! when making new cultures. Do this and you'll be fine

If you have any other questions pertaining this, feel free to let me know.

Thanks,

Preston B
[email protected]
SouthEasternfruitflies.com

 

[kgb]

OK, what exactly do mites do??