# fruit fly culture smelling out my room :(



## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

hi,

I have a fruitfly culture which has about 50-100 adults and loads of larvae.. however now its starting to stink out the room of like a fishy smell, it is fairly strong and would like it to go:lol2:, and im worried if i spray the rooom with room spray it could be dangerous to the animals?

what can i do to stop the smell? please any ideas would be great

thanks










(i didnt use yeast)


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## shell2909 (Jun 30, 2008)

mine smells like vomit (when i put it in a warm area) so moved it to the kitchen on top of the fridge. It would stop your room smelling if you put them in the kitchen too


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

just move it to garage or shed


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## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

my sheds freezing will they even be able to breed in cold temps?


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

no but thats why you put a heatmat under them


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## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

theres no electric sockets in my shed:lol2:

but i think its just trial and error tbh:2thumb:


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

It depends what exactly is causing the smell and what the smell is.
Fruit-fly cultures should not smell that bad if they are in good condition (unless one doesn't like the smell of vinegar or oranges or whatever the growth-media is)

What are you using as a growth-media?

If it is a putrefying smell, then get rid of it and start again. Add vinegar or oranges and brewers yeast to help (OK, so brewers yeast doesn't smell nice)

ian


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Use pure Instant Hot Oat Cereal (Ready Brek or supermarket own brand) for the media and it hardly smells at all, productivity is only marginally less than the stinky mixes!


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## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

i use redy brek


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

Spencer95 said:


> i use redy brek


Ready Brek is a good media, but if it stinks then something is growing that shouldn't be.

Maybe too wet or got too much bacteria or unwanted fungus in there.

ian


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## Paul112 (Apr 6, 2007)

I used to use instant hot oat cereal (tesco's equivalent of readybrek), plus fruit juice, plus a tablespoon of vinegar. The vinegar really helps keep the mould at bay 

Paul


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## shell2909 (Jun 30, 2008)

i use ready brek and apple juice for the media, i think i went wrong by putting them on top of my beardie viv at the hot end :bash:


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

My recipe is basically similar to Paul112's.

The fruit may vary (from banana to tinned mandarines), a bit of sugar, and vinegar. 
The ready brek, or tesco oatmeal, or even instant mash are good bodies for helping reduce the wetness of the fruit and in absorbing moisture.

If, for some reason, the mix is one that has a tendency to go a bit 'off' then brewers yeats should be added.

I also lay cotton wool over the media.

ian


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> i use redy brek


Ah, then something is obviously not right! Are you mixing it with just water, nothing else? At most I might mix a teaspoon of OJ in with it in addition to water, just to help get the culture going quicker.

As suggested it could be too wet, it becomes wetter as the culture develops and if you have it too wet to start with that might be the problem.


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## Spencer95 (Feb 20, 2010)

I used this method:
Make your own fruit fly culture guide. - UK Mantis Forums

in the future however I will be using a bit of apple/orange juice aswell


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