Dart Den

I have been making this culture for a little while now with good success, but I figured I would ask here for people who know better. I am wondering if this is good.

I take a 16oz cup that can be placed on a stove.

I place 1 tablespoon Methylparaben
½ tablespoon Rep-Cal Calcium
½ tablespoon Rep-Cal multivitamin
I tablespoon of a roach gutload from cricket food since it is high protein and everything else
1 capful vinegar
I mix it in the cup with a little more than 1 1/2 cup of water. I bring it to a boil until the water is a little more than 1 cup. (15 or so minutes) figuring this will kill any bacteria.

I than take my culture cup and put 1 cup instant mashed potatoes and dump the liquid with the vitamins over the potatoes and stir. I wait until it cools and sprinkle a brewer’s yeast over it and place several coffee filters in. I wait another 20 or so minutes and than place 50 or so FF’s. date the container and wait.

I used to buy a media from a pet shop which seemed to mostly be the instant mashed potatoes. I was wondering if this is good from any PDFs.

Thank you everyone in advance.

I don't think I would bother with the vitamins, as you will still need to dust the fruit flies. The amount of vitamins a fruit fly will absorb through the intestinal tract in insignificant.

Also brewers yeast and bakers yeast are two different yeasts. Brewers is an inactive nutritional supplement that most people add to their mix. Bakers is an active yeast that you sprinkle on top of the culture to start the fermentation so the larva can slurp it up. Use the bakers yeast very sparingly, carbon dioxide is a by product of the fermentation process, too much and you will suffocate your flys.

Another question Thank you so much for your help Cindy.

You suggest bakers yeast. What if I am using active brewers yeast? I am a home brewer and can use left over slurry which has active yeast in it and will cause fermentation. I read some where on here it can be good. It also is full of B-complex vitamin especially b-12 and protein. I would also sprinkle non-active brewers yeast to help nutrition. If I am still supposed to use bakers yeast, as long as, I wait before I put the FFs in the culture would it matter if I use sparingly? Yeast grows exponentially so little or a lot it will produce co2 and continue to expand until no sugar is left is this correct for a culture as it is with beer? If I wait the 20 minutes or so fermentation should be over or slow enough to not be producing much co2. Would adding a tablespoon of sugar help in a culture since it will increase fermentation?

Thanks again

justinc55

Cindy Dicken

justinc55