[Guest]

Hey gang,

I have been making my own cultures for a while now, and never had an issue untill this month. I have 3 active cultures right now that have gotten so moist that the media is like soup. I have no A/C so the humidity of midwest june must have gotten to them. The strange thing is that they are producing like normal, i just cant get the little buggers out without pouring my media into the tank! Anyone have any suggestions on salvageing these cultures or removing flies from them without tipping the container (24oz plastic deli cup)? Should i just scrap them and start with a new culture, or can i add more dry media to the mix to dry it out?

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't just scrap the cultures, but I would definitely make the cultures a little more dry next time. I know exactly what you are talking about because every time I have been making cultures in the past month, about 2-3 a week get real moist. Then the medium slides all over the places and engulfs some flies. What I have done is setup up my dehumidifier in my basement, and set the moist cultures out away from the others. Then I just leave them for a couple of days, and then they are a lot more solid and they dry out. So you may want to find some way to take the humidity out of the air, or just make the medium a lot more dry. Keeping the medium dry hardly works because the larvae get everything all moist. You can also try using coffee filters if you already dont, they help keep a little structure in the culture. I hope any of this helps, If I find a better way that works, I will definitely let you know. Happy froggin.

 

[mindcrash]

Just move to colorado, here i have to worry about my cultures drying out.

 

[Guest]

Put your cultures in front of a desk fan for a day. The moving air will help dry them out.

 

[melissa68]

When our cultures get like that I add extra coffee filters to the cultures, this helps absorb some of the moisture in the cultures.

Melis

 

[Guest]

lotsa great ideas! i will put more coffee filters in and put them in front of a fan! that should do the trick.

Thanks a mil

 

[Ed Martin]

Drunkmonkey, I usually just roll up a piece of paper towel and slide it into
the media, it absorbs the liquid but stays moist. My cultures often get watery but these seen to be the cultures that produce the most. Even if the culture turns completely to water don't throw it out, put the culture in a clear plastic bag and open the culture inside the bag. The flies will climb up and out of the culture. If you leave it like this for a few minutes the majority of the of the flies will come out of the culture. Bang off the culture and pull it out of the bag. You can use these flies to feed or start a new culture.
Ed

 

[bgexotics]

I also add more coffee filters, I hate when they not only get soupy but full of slimy larvae. My hydei cultures get pretty nasty sometimes and then the coffee filter disintergrates as well. Usually after placing new coffee filters in the cup, a few days later there is a population explosion. I am wondering if you cna feed the larvae,they look kinda like waxworms only slimy.

 

[froglady]

I also add more coffee filters, I hate when they not only get soupy but full of slimy larvae. My hydei cultures get pretty nasty sometimes and then the coffee filter disintergrates as well. Usually after placing new coffee filters in the cup, a few days later there is a population explosion. I am wondering if you cna feed the larvae,they look kinda like waxworms only slimy.

We've gotten into a pinch before and had to feed larvae. The frogs love them. Unfortunately it takes a ton of time to feed because you have to get them out of the medium and clean them off a bit (wouldn't be too bad if you only had a few frogs though). We just purposely make the culture really soupy in order to get them out easier. Hopefully we'll never have to do that again.............

 

[Guest]

Soupy Cultures

If it is real soupy I just put the lid on a poke some eraser size holes in the top and place the whole thing in one of my growout tanks. The flies will just keep migrating out into the tank for weeks and this will allow even more food to be available.

If it happens to more than a few I dry them out by putting a couple pieces of crumpled paper towel in the culture. It provides a place for the flies to not drown and a place for the larvae to pupate.

 

[benmz]

These are awesome ideas. I've been having the same problems with not only soupy, but downright watery cultures. They produce like crazy, but I can't get the flies out of them without drowning flies or getting that disgusting soup all over the place. So I either kill my flies or they overpopulate the cultre and die and make it even more nasty. I will definatley try the plastic bag idea. Also I'm thinking of switching to oatmeal as opposed to Potato flakes to make them less stinky. What have been peoples experiences with that.