FF Culture Cups - Glass vs Plastic

[Philsuma]

I've noticed that there is an entirely new culturing dynamic with glass. Glass somehow makes for drier media conditions in 3-4 people that I've talked too. I tried glass years and years ago, and gave it up really soon based on that as well as how hard it is to tap the flies out. Glass is pretty hard to tap, lol.

Believe it or not, glass is actually harder to clean too. It seems the media sticks to it more, and that may help us understand why it gets drier than when inside plastic.

Oh. When we talk about glass....it's usually the typical "Mason Jar".

What does everyone else use, if they use glass, and also what type of lids ?

[Philsuma]

From a few instances I've seen....I think black mold is a little more prevalent in Glass then Plastic, possibly.

[Boondoggle]

Plastic all the way. That way, when they are spent I can throw them in the freezer. When the freezer is full I run the outside of the culture under hot water and squeeze the culture out. It almost all comes out in one piece. Very little washing after that. I think glass would be hard to squeeze out.

Banging out a frozen culture in glass seems like it would be tough because the mason jars opening is the smallest part.

[Philsuma]

Agreed. I'm a huge fan of anything glass, but not in this case.

Plastic is just a LOT better for culturing fruit flies.

[fieldsmith]

I can see why people would want to use glass but plastic cups last long enough...don't see how the benefit (longer-lasting) outweighs the cons (not flexible, harder to clean, etc...). I'm happy with my plastic cups.

[Philsuma]

FF culturing is just about the only instance where I think plastic is MUCH better to use, than glass.

[Philsuma]

Plastic can last just as long as glass - I have some cups and lids over 8 years old, that have been through at least 50 hot water sprayer cleans. Fabri-coted lids last just as long too. They are not delicate at all.

Glass can shatter.

Glass has a different dynamic with moisture and media...very different and plastic seems more conducive to raising FF.

[DrNick]

I've always used both - large glass jars for the most part and plastic cups when I think I might need a few extras - and to be honest I haven't noticed any difference...

There 'seem' to be more flies in the cups, but I always assumed that was because the cups are smaller and I use more or less the same amount of media/flies to inoculate. I use muslin and an elastic band over both.

My guess would be that changes in the culture dynamic would be due to factors other than the material the pot is made from, but anything's possible!

Nick

[RanaVenenosa]

I have dropped my plastic cups more times than I can count. Plastic is strong, light weight, cheap, easy to clean, and stackable for efficient storage. I also use them for tad cups (prob overkill), but again, cheap and plentiful. Not criticism toward anyone using glass, just highlighting the many pros of plastic for the newbie.

Cheers

[Philsuma]

anyone reporting any noticeable differences when transitioning to glass....or from glass to plastic ?

[Philsuma]

FF culturing is almost the only thing that I still use plastic. Glass and fly culturing ...just doesn't work well, IMO.

[bluefrogtat2]

I have used ball Mason jars since '97..occasionally I replenish my stock and buy a few plastic cultures, but have never liked the production In plastic. .
I sterilize the jars in between each culture, and add both methylparaben and a big scoop of yeast to each. . have yet to see a plastic culture that can even come close to my jar cultures

[Philsuma]

anyone else seeing a new, recent kind of deli cup that is more brittle and cheaply made ?

[Stu&Shaz]

anyone else seeing a new, recent kind of deli cup that is more brittle and cheaply made ?

Here ya go mate, a buy one get a meander free reply :lol:

Actually we are seeing some very thin cups appearing here too Phil !We really wouldn't be aware but for the fact that we have had a bit of a fight with ff this summer. i had the "good idea :roll: " of getting some new strains of flies in. with it they brought the mite from hell,much bigger than any mite I have seen previously. Normally we grab those big old fashioned sweet jars,made of plastic, they serve us well last for ages. Since we had this mite mess,we have used smaller deli cups so max out available cultures. This is why i'm aware of a quality change in them. As a side note and off topic we are almost on top of it now,we needed to aquire just the right size mesh to sieve out the dusted mites,trouble is, they all but fit through the same size hole as a mel,so a precise mesh was needed. Finding that exact mesh was a complete nightmare!! We simply cut a hole in a sweet jar lid,siliconed the mesh to this,pour some vit dust in ,add flies put in meshed lid,swirl and shake...invert dust and mites fall though mesh... and...HOPEFULLY Bob's ya uncle clean flies in the jar ready for culturing...kerching .

So yeah can't wait to get completely back to normal those cups are awful and learnt a valuable lesson QT new flies,not just the ruddy frogs. We lost a strain of mel we had here for 3 years because of this, built out of one bought GOOD culture.


Sorry for the off topic meander,but some one will get out of a spot between a rock and a hard place after reading this. We all get a few mites we all use the usual methods and do ok,sometimes one needs a different method to tackle a problem ,all be it avoidable,sharing mistakes is how we learn

seeya

Stu

[Philsuma]

I still think this is one unusual husbandry case where plastic is actually better to use than glass.

[imzenko]

the problems I have with plastic is some of the containers are thinner. when you try to close the container quickly you "smash" sides by squeezing it. not all lids/tops fit the containers. the different companies make there stuff a bit different than the competitor. am I making sense.

[Philsuma]

Yes, you are correct. There is one company that produces just such an inferior product. I'll try to find the name of that particular company.

[Philsuma]

I still think this is one unusual husbandry case where plastic is actually better to use than glass.