[bsr8129]

I have been using Repashy superfly since August I only make one culture every 2-3 weeks. For the last 2-3 cultures it has started to put off a bad odor after about 2 weeks. Normally it will start to do this past 30 days. The bag is stored in my frog room with it sealed. Does it start to go bad after four months.

 

[Zoomie]

I use Superfly as well. The only time that I have noted a smell is toward the end of the culture life cycle (week 4) and I only notice if my face is close to the cup while shaking out flies.

I too store it in the frog from although it's not up high or cooking near anything.

Not sure if it can spoil. Perhaps Alan will pop in and answer.

 

[bsr8129]

This is a funky smell coming from them, it will smell up the whole room the frogs are in and part of the house if the door is left open.

 

[Allen Repashy]

There is nothing the Superfly that could "go bad" in less than a year even under pretty crappy storage conditions because of the lack of significant fats and protein.

I would look to environmental factors in the finished cultures as the problem, not the stored dry product. It might be a good idea to start with some new flies from an outside source in the event that you have something funky in your cultures that the flies are taking with them to the new container.

Allen

 

[mantellaman]

Do you use excelsior? I've noticed the last culture I had was mixed with a bit more water because of drying out. this made the excelsior rot a few weeks in.. which smelled horrible! if so I'd try using coffee filters.

 

[bsr8129]

I will try using coffee filters and see if that's the issue. I have also just made a homemade media to see if that works

 

[Ed]

Are you rearing hydei or melanogaster?

Often if there is a bad odor coming from the cultures, it is because of some other microbes getting established inside the cultures. Are you adding live yeast to them before you add the flies?

Ed

 

[bsr8129]

these are turkish guiliders, and I am adding live yeast

 

[Ed]

I use excelsior and do not have issues with bad smells with either of the medias I've used (including the Repashy). The excelsior holds up well through the life of the culture and I acutally use it as part of the method to clean the cultures out to clean the cups.

When do you start to smell the media? What does it smell like to you when you mix it with the hot water?

Ed

 

[bsr8129]

the media will start to smell at about the 2 week mark, When mixed with hot water it doesnt smell bad, it almost has no smell.

 

[Ed]

the media will start to smell at about the 2 week mark, When mixed with hot water it doesnt smell bad, it almost has no smell.

Okay, how much dry media are you putting into the cultures?

 

[mordoria]

I use 2 TBS of media to 1/3 cup of boiling water. Ill also drop in 2-3 coffee filters and use a pinch of yeast. My cultures never smell. Sometimes there is a bit of green mold but it never smells.

Are your cultures in a really humid spot?

 

[Darrell S]

I had troubles once with some cultures, I dumped the cultures and all flys, bleached everything and started with fresh flys from a different vendor, I have never had the trouble repeat. This was when I first started using repashy and I think I was transferring unwanted bacteria from my homemade media. Repashy superfly has made life for me very simple, the cultures never crash, turn stinky, or anaerobic. I use a 3rd cup of dry media and add heated R.O. water untill it thickens like oatmeal, let it cool in the fridge, add flys and I'm done.

 

[bsr8129]

I am using the recomended amount on the bag 1/3rd cup to 2/3water if I am remembering it correcly, after mixing it is not overly wet.

The Cultures are not in an overly Humid spot, they are on the top shelf of my rack in a plastic storage box, with the lid off. This is where i have stored all my cultures

 

[Ed]

Foul odors in media are typically the result of decompositon of protiens or growth under anaerobic conditions. I suspect that you have a contaminent that is being carried from one culture to the next and the two week time line is the incubation time.

You can try adding more active yeast to the media before the flies are added to try and increase the competition and try to screen out the microbe or you can do as noted above, and try flies from a new source.

Ed

 

[ConFuCiuZ]

I use 2 TBS of media to 1/3 cup of boiling water. Ill also drop in 2-3 coffee filters and use a pinch of yeast. My cultures never smell. Sometimes there is a bit of green mold but it never smells.

Are your cultures in a really humid spot?

To make that batch, is it for hydei?
Im having a problem where my cultures over produce which kills the cultures.

 

[Reef_Haven]

To make that batch, is it for hydei?
Im having a problem where my cultures over produce which kills the cultures.

How many flies do you add for a culture?
Might help to increase the amount of media or reduce the number of flies you start the culture with. Too many mags can produce high levels of ammonia and drive the mags out of the media before they are ready to pupate.

 

[ConFuCiuZ]

How many flies do you add for a culture?
Might help to increase the amount of media or reduce the number of flies you start the culture with. Too many mags can produce high levels of ammonia and drive the mags out of the media before they are ready to pupate.

The amount of flies i feed is way less than the flies it produces. The remaining flies die b4 it is time to feed my frogs again. When it time to feed again, i have alot of dead flies making it nearly impossible to pull out the new flies. I put around 50 flies in each container.I use the 3 tlbs to 2/3rd water ratio.

 

[Ed]

How many flies do you add for a culture?
Might help to increase the amount of media or reduce the number of flies you start the culture with. Too many mags can produce high levels of ammonia and drive the mags out of the media before they are ready to pupate.

This is true if you are selecting your flies to be intolerant in crowded conditions in the cultures..

Ed

 

[Reef_Haven]

Yeah,
Guess I should get my flies from LA or NYC; or maybe Manila?