# Harvesting Springtails



## Atrox1214 (Sep 28, 2014)

Just wondering if anyone has ever harvested spring tails from a vivarium? In my setups with adult Terribilis and Tinctorius, the soil is overflowing with springtails since the larger frogs don't eat them, it's to the point that if I move a piece of leaf litter springtails scatter everywhere. Since my thumbnails and pumilio tend to keep the springtail populations down, I was considering harvesting springs from these tanks to culture them and keep re-seeding the tanks with the smaller frogs. Has anyone ever done this? And if so are there any tips?


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Keep in mind that if you do this, you'll also be harvesting any pathogens residing in the tank.


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## srod (Aug 2, 2014)

i wouldn't do that for the same reason above. Why do you not just start a couple springtail cultures and keep them on hand? It will be the safest way for you to make sure you don't cross contaminate your frogs with anything that you can't see but might be troublesome to other species. (pathogens)


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## Atrox1214 (Sep 28, 2014)

I was moreso asking about harvesting from the vivarium to start new cultures, not just dumping them straight into another viv. I figured since I have two tanks that are brimming with springs I could (possibly) harvest a large number to give a jumpstart to some new cultures, which I would then use to re-seed my other vivs.. Wouldn't that eliminate the risk of spreading pathogens?


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## vachyner (Aug 10, 2013)

You can always just blow some off of the leaf litter into a charcoal culture. Let the charcoal culture go for awhile, then transfer the offspring over to a new one after a few weeks.

-Chuck


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## Tazman (May 26, 2013)

Put a sheet of damp cardboard over the bottom of the viv it should be crawling with springtails by the next day.


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