Race Drosophilia et chargeur

Ce point suivant a été un travail d'amour pour moi au cours des derniers mois. Son design est maintenant dans sa phase finale, mais je pourrais aussi bien commencer au début de votre forum pour vous permettre de tous les voir comment elle s'est développée depuis mon concept initial.

J'aime race Drosophila melanogaster, mais pour moi l'alimentation en live est un problème majeur. J'utilise flottante plantes d'aquarium comme Salvinia natans dans la plupart de mes aquariums, ce qui contribue le Drosophilia pour échapper assez facilement avant d'être mangé. Ce n'est pas bon et il peut causer des problèmes si vous garder à l'intérieur.

Je suis sûr que beaucoup d'entre vous barré les amateurs peuvent se rapporter à ce que je dis. Beaucoup de gens sont découragés d'utiliser ce type de livefood en raison de la fuite des insectes.

Alors maintenant, j'ai mis au point un petit appareil qui servira à élever et nourrir cette ressource excellente nourriture.

Vous êtes invités à laisser des commentaires que je vais le long.

Je vais de nouveau message en anglais car c'est un long morceau de travail, mais je vais essayer de traduire pour ceux qui ne comprennent pas l'aide de traducteur de Google. (bien que ce n'est pas précis à 100%)

Certains peuvent penser que je suis fou ....

[b][size=12pt]The Prospect of Constructing a Fruitfly Breeder/Feeder[/size][/b]
by
Colin McCourt

[b]Has he finally flipped his lid!!![/b]
I have been culturing wingless Drosphilia melanogaster now for quite while now. Whilst I have gazillions of flies I only really feed them when they die. Why you ask!...Simply because of that age old problem of escaping insects. This, believe me is an absolute bane and one which can give rise to heated discussions between me and my wife  :D

So with thinking cap in hand I started to plan for a method which would allow me to utilise my fly stocks to a better advantage.
I needed to fashion something that would allow me to feed Fruitfly the way they were intended to be fed..."LIVE"
The project would have to meet the following certain criteria.

[list]The item (in whatever form) would have fit externally to an aquarium / vivarium.
It would, perhaps possess double interconnected chambers, with sliding door.
It needed to be ventilated
It had to have some means of getting food/egg laying media in and out.
The second feeding chamber would be semi submerged to prevent escapees.[/list]




This is what I have come up with thus far....

  :exclaim: BigC's Fruitfly Feeding Station

As you can see from the above image it is an external unit, a prototype, made from odds and ends that I'm privy too. A work in progress if you like.



The first chamber (the breeding end) has a sliding drawer in which the food and egg laying media will be administered. The top of this section is open but covered by a scrap of muslin or cotton handkerchief held in place by an elastic band. There is a sliding door plate which links to the second chamber. (the feeding end) This can be removed once the flies reach saturation point within there initial home. The usual items such as breeding media and raffia can all be inserted into the first chamber via the top opening.
The second chamber is sealed, and it's base is submerged beneath the waterline. The fish will feed from this point. This is still untried, and as I say a work in progress but I hope there will be enough condensation within chamber two to allow the flies to slip down into the water without having to resort to drilling the top and inserting an air-valve to blow the insects down to their impending doom.

Here follows some more images of the unit in it's current state.





The only other unit I have seen to date involves the use of a lunchbox with a hole burnt into the centre of its base, media is placed into the box and this is floated in the aquarium. This takes up valuable surface area and the fish can jump into the box. So it too has its design faults.

In it's current form, it is quite heavy (made from 4mm float glass). If the concept comes to some kind of fruition then it is hoped to have it made from plastic or perspex. I may even offer it to a shool for some lad to use as a project for an exam....who knows.

Has he flipped.....possibly Yes!

Ce fut le premier modèle que j'ai fait et il a évolué depuis lors. Je suis beaucoup plus loin avec ce concept et je vais ajouter d'autres chapitres que je progresse.
  Vos commentaires sont les bienvenus.
Cordialement
Colin

Ceci est devenu la version 2. Toujours pas parfait, mais il est en pleine évolution.

OK, Taking on-board various aspects of what has been said before on this topic. I have proceeded to develop this concept a little further.
I have enlisted a friend who works in an Aerospace company (plastics division) to help me in my quest. Together we have come up with the following rough mock up.



There are a few design differences from the original model.
Most noticeably is that the main unit is now of one section and is totally made from plastic materials.

*[b]The Media Drawer[/b] is now on the side rather than the front, this enables me to mount the unit to the left or to the right of an aquarium. (still need to fashion some kind of small thumb handle).

*[b]The Sliding Door Mechanism[/b] is now positioned outside the unit and is tight fitting so as not to allow any escapees. (However a small plastic thumbscrew needs to be added to raise and lower this and keep it in position).
I can now open the aperture externally.

*[b]The Opening Lid[/b] to "chamber one", is flanged and tight fitting. (still needs to be drilled for ventilation)

So not wishing to let this slide, I am constantly working to make this a better concept than it already is. The glass prototype worked well (pics will follow later) but the plastic model is much lighter and has a better feel to it. Admittedly it is not that aesthetically pleasing on the eye at the moment but that will come as further refinements are made.


More images of my burning obsession...


Maybe I'm just plain bonkers in pursuing something like this, I'll let you all decide that aspect  :lol:
"Bloody Fruitflies...who'd ave em"!
Regards
C

[b][color=red]Quelques images avant le procès de l'alimentateur Fruitfly v1[/color][/b]


(1) Front view, seated on pre-cut glass cover.
(2) Below the waterline view of the feeding tube.


(3) Side on view.
(4) Above view, showing drilled ventilation holes in lid which will soon be amended.

Dans le chapitre suivant i souhaitez afficher des images vidéo mais je ne sais pas si vous autorisez les vidéos de YouTube d'être embarqués sur ce forum forum.
Merci d'avoir suivi mes exploits
Cordialement
C

Et pas mal cette inovation ;), dit dont t'es un sacré bricoleur, très inovant le système, je trouve que c'est très intéréssant^^, mais bon n'étant pas encore bricoleur je me modère à quelque travaux simples, parce que la découpe du verre c'est pas encore pour moi, mais c'est très interessant et pratique surtout.
Faut demander un brevé^^, non je plaisante^^.
Merci est encore bravo pour cette réalisation^^.

:lamp: [b]EUREKA!!!!![/b]

I performed a little dry run tonight by utilising the v1 feeder with a quantity of Drosphilia. I did not include any food or medium in the drawer, nor did I include any fish in the small tank. I set this experiment up purely and simply for the purpose to see if the flies would venture into the second chamber once the aperture was opened. Please excuse the crappy out of focus video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wQ1ChW4EMg[/youtube]
Shows front view, the hatch has already been opened

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ogg8jNSHQw[/youtube]
Shows Rear View, feeding tube, fruitfly are already on the meniscus.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_DyL34qEVU[/youtube]
A similar view as the previous clip....they cannot escape....prime pickings.


I think the images speak for themselves, in that it does work, and it's a creditable venture. The flies perform as expected and they do tend to take that all important "leap of fate". This for me at-least, was an excellent result knowing that this unit WORKS! as intended.

Disclaimer: No flies were hurt in the making of the above videos.... Of-camera was a different matter though   :D

Cordialement
Colin

[b]If you build it....they will come![/b]

I wasn't really going to publish this video clip, but seeing as this is a on going concept I might as well share.
This clip was taken right back at the beginning of this quest when I made the first glass version. Wondering was it a viable proposition and wither or not to carry on. This little clip convinced me that it [i]was[/i] going to be worthwhile.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z6zxloXoiU[/youtube]

I set the media up in the drawer and let a batch of fly evolve through their lifecycle, I then removed the internal glass shutter and set the video camera up in front of a small tank containing a spawning group of [b]Aphanius mento Zengren[/b] (Turkey) This is what transpired immediately after flies were released, no waiting about, the fish were literally feeding on the flies within 10 seconds of release.

I hope this goes some way to proving that this works, it's not yet finished by a long way and I will update as I have been doing. I just wanted to show that I would not have continued with this venture if initial trials had failed.
I am still experimenting with different breeding/feeding media, ever looking for a longer lasting soup to enable a few generations of fly to emerge and be fed to the fish before renewal. By doing so this little feeder could well manage our fishes dietary needs whilst we are away on holiday.

It will be interesting to see how Version 2 performs in operation, I'm currently waiting for new supplies of Acrylic to be delivered to enable me to proceed with all the modifications I have envisaged to make this a better unit than it's predecessors.

Merci d'avoir pris un intérêt dans cette quête permanente.
Cordialement
Colin

Tu as ma voix pour le concours Lépine !

Impressive!  ???

[color=pink]Certains peuvent penser que je suis fou ....
[/color]
Mais non, mais non...
Carry on Colin, keep up the good work!  ;)

Merci les gars.....

It was mentioned to me that Rivulus species may be able to climb through the aperture and into the breeding box so I have amended the opening.


Slotted opening to prevent fish.

We needed to address some aspects, I have included some more ventilation, fixed the lid so as it cannot be knocked off. Instead of having a completely wide aperture. The shutter door needed a way of opening and closing in increments and I have also come up with an ingenius way of solving that issue. (images of this to follow) Finally the drawer didn't have a handle, so that too has been ammended.
All little aspects that should tidy up some loose ends and give the model a little better usability and functionality.
Here is where I'm at at the moment


The production router in my friends shed.


Part of the main section of v2 - Shows added ventilation and slotted compartment wall.


The ventilation grilles are made from 25mm pipe screens

This week should see us almost at completion of this interesting project. I feel the model has certainly come a long way since the all glass version and has undergone many small transformations along the way whilst still retaining its original form. I am astounded at where this simple idea has ended up, I cannot wait to get v2 finished and perform a full trial, put it through it's paces and catalogue the events from start to finish.

[color=red][b]C'est là où je suis actuellement[/b][/color]

Firstly I would like to thank folks for all their responses to this venture, thus far. This part will commence the beginning of the end of this thread (as I'm sure your all fed up with this by now  :lol: ) It sure has come a long way since the start and the amount of hits it has generated for the forum must show that there is an interest somewhere even if it's only for curiosity. 

I now have version 2 in my possession and whilst it may still need a few tweaks here and there, its pretty close to what I initially set out to achieve.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2skxlz8FfY[/youtube]
[b]Version 2 of the Fruitfly Breed & Feed project[/b]

A few subtle changes have already been made since v1. notably the aperture is now slotted (4mm gaps) and the sliding door is controlled by a series of very small magnets which give me the option of opening this shutter in 5mm increments. These were inlaid into the body of the unit with a single entity inserted into the shutter door itself.


[b]Playing around with magnets[/b]

Admittedly the glueing was a little messy as these magnets are very, very small but are more than capable of supporting the door mechanism.
The lid and the drawer are now machined and recessed, they are very tight fitting so no room for escapees.
The sliding drawer has now been given a little knob/handle by which to open and close this feature. In the lid and side walls I commissioned to have a little more ventilation, This was achieved by recessing some very fine 25mm stainless steel mesh strainers.

I now am about to fully test this model, start to finish. I envisage utilising a new all in one type of media which is claimed to include all the nutrients a Drosophila culture could ever need. The manufacturers also claim that it lasts longer and it is virtually odour free. The media in question is [b]Namiba Terra CanivoRep Drosophila[/b]



I hope to conduct a full in-depth trial of this unit over the coming weeks, allowing a batch of fly to breed and pupate within the confines of the unit and subsequently to release them to the awaiting fish. After which I will bow out with a short paragraph on the cleaning and re-priming of this updated model.
I hope you will keep following my efforts for just a little while longer to bring this topic to its conclusion.

Cordialement
Colin

Juste waou ! un distributeur de nourriture pour les vacances !

Mais c'est pas plus fou que la construction du château de Chambord !

??? Impressionnant.

Tout çà pour quelques mouches....

C'est tout simplement magnifique

Cordialement
C

Méthode proposée par Phoenix sur ce même sujet :
ici
Moins élaboré peut-être, mais efficace pour les aptères !  :)

Alors là, je m'incline.... (merci Dom cats)
Du graaannnd art !!!
Avec une belle machine comme cela pour découper, pas de limite à la créativité !

Je ne dirais qu'un mot : CHAPEAU !

This is our up-graded v3 of the Breed "n" Feed concept.
Just a few modifications, mainly to the lid (now with a tight sliding mechanism, much the same as the old wooden pencil cases, if you can remember  :lol: )
Less magnets in the shutter (un-needed)
The ventilation grilles we have retained for now. but it is perfectly easy to modify and adapt them for warmer climates at a later date.
Although still a little bit raw in some aspects, I believe it looks pretty smart now. What do you all think............




Regards
C