# isopds? springtails?



## Reding E (Sep 20, 2010)

What is the difference between isopods and springtails? Some people say they are the same and some people say there the different.


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## oneshot (Mar 5, 2010)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/beginner-discussion/90123-beginners-guide-microfauna.html


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

well, the difference is that they are extremely different. Taxonomically, they aren't closely related at all. 
Arthropoda-> Crustacea -> Hexapoda-> Collembola (springtails are not insects) 
Arthropoda -> Crustacea -> Isopoda


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

Oh yah...like that was a good explanation for us non-scientific types.......all I know is they eat junk in the vivs....but, hey...educate us!!!


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## Buddysfrogs (Mar 29, 2012)

Springtails are little white bugs, smaller than isopods. Isopods are rolley poleys. They both eat junk in vivs but springtails eat mold while isopods eat decaying matter. Hope this helped.
Buddy


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

springtails are 6 legged arthropods...but are not classified as insects. They have a furcula (tail like appendage that allows them to "spring") 

isopods are rolly-polly type invertebrates and have 14 legs. 



The difference between them that most people will care about is that while isopods eat leaf litter, fuit, veggies, mushooms etc, springtails eat only the bacteria/fungi that grow on the decomposing matter itself.


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## reptileguru2135 (Dec 10, 2012)

idk if this is the right spot to post this question but i see that you are talking about isopods and spring tails...

so my question is whats the difference between the colored isopods?? is it just the color or do each colored species hold its own niche in a Viv?? also dwarf and large, i assume you purchase the size that your frogs are able to eat?

i also know that there are temperate and tropical springtails(hope i remembered that correctly) and one is better for warmer temps and other not so much? is that correct??


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## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

reptileguru2135 said:


> so my question is whats the difference between the colored isopods?? is it just the color or do each colored species hold its own niche in a Viv?? also dwarf and large, i assume you purchase the size that your frogs are able to eat?
> 
> i also know that there are temperate and tropical springtails(hope i remembered that correctly) and one is better for warmer temps and other not so much? is that correct??


Lets take two different isopods for comparison -- dwarf white and giant orange. These are two different species of isopods from two different parts of the world (like comparing a gorilla with a spider monkey). From what I've sen in my own viv, they do fulfill slightly different (although overlapping I'm sure) niches in the viv. I often see the giant oranges above the leaf litter (where the frog poop is), while I've almost never seen the whites crawling on the surface (while it's light out anyway).

Generally from what I've seen with temperate white (folsoma) and tropical pink (collembola) is that the whites reproduce much faster in culture. I think the whites also generally stay in the soil more often than the pinks, which I've seen above the leaf litter on occasion.


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## reptileguru2135 (Dec 10, 2012)

Would u place both "top dwelling and bottom dwelling" Isopods in your Viv or just stick to one kind?


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## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

reptileguru2135 said:


> Would u place both "top dwelling and bottom dwelling" Isopods in your Viv or just stick to one kind?


I have added both giant orange and dwarf white in my viv. I started out with just the whites, but I noticed a lot of uneaten poop above the leaf litter. When I added the oranges I saw that they cleaned up a lot of the poop the other isos left behind.


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