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Mold growth in cultures?

1059 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  Peany11
I've been doing cultures with supplies from NEHERP since last december, no issues. This month I've had three go moldy; two were older but a third is only a couple weeks. No changes to setup or supplies.

How can I prevent this? I haven't seeded a new culture from one with visible mold, but could it be spreading via flies

Is there a way to kill the mold in the current, young culture? It's only a small spot, noticed today.

Other prevention tips?
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Are you using vinegar in your cultures? When I forget is when I usually see mold. I use NE Herp media as well. Excelsior is also a potential culprit if you use it.

As far as a spot of mold, take a spoon and scoop it out. You may at least be able to slow the spread if it doesn't outright stop it.
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Are you using vinegar in your cultures? When I forget is when I usually see mold. I use NE Herp media as well. Excelsior is also a potential culprit if you use it.

As far as a spot of mold, take a spoon and scoop it out. You may at least be able to slow the spread if it doesn't outright stop it.
Yes. I use to measure it, I think it recommended 1-2 teaspoons. Now I just splash some in. Could more help? Is there a thing as too much?

I do use excelsior and now that you mentioned it I used to keep it in the freezer to prevent mites but got lazy and stopped doing that. Might go back to that
Yes. I use to measure it, I think it recommended 1-2 teaspoons. Now I just splash some in. Could more help? Is there a thing as too much?

I do use excelsior and now that you mentioned it I used to keep it in the freezer to prevent mites but got lazy and stopped doing that. Might go back to that
I prefer coffee filters. No mess and less chance of contaminating your cultures. I'd definitely go back to doing what you were doing if you're going to use it.
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I prefer coffee filters. No mess and less chance of contaminating your cultures. I'd definitely go back to doing what you were doing if you're going to use it.
How is excelsior contaminating or ruining the culture? Thanks.
How is excelsior contaminating or ruining the culture? Thanks.
I believe the risk is when you don’t heat treat the excelsior before using. I have been using heat treated excelsior this past year and have no issues with mites (knock on wood).
though I am quite interested in the coffee filters as the small pieces of excelsior getting into the dusting cups is starting to drive me crazy.
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Mold is weird. A lot of factors can make things grow mold. Sometimes it seems completely random and never happens again under what seems like the same conditions. Moisture content seems to be a big factor that effects mold growth. An old jar of store bought salsa or marinara buried in the back of the fridge. The mold always starts on the dryer bits stuck to the side of the jar. I have never used NEHERP media. But, I have found all the modern FF media to produce fine and not mold. You may have to adjust your water content to seasonal changes in your climate control.
Steam the excelsior before use, i know its abit of a pain but thats usually the problem.
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