# springtails thrive in vivarium with frogs only



## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

I've had this problem with one type of springtail. I have "black jungle tropical springtails" but for some reason, they culture poorly isolated from frogs.

I'm not joking either-- every time I culture them in a container and keep their substrate moist and feed them, they don't explode like they do in my mantella tanks. They even have gotten into tanks I never seeded like my firebellied toad's tank.

This is frustrating because I need to setup mantella froglet bins in advance, but I have not been successful getting seeded froglet bins to "explode" like in an adult mantella enclosure.

Any suggestions? Could the frogs' poop and the spilled supplement powder be contributing? One thing that is true is that I always use a lot of leaf litter but the firebellied toad tank does not have leaf litter and I see these springtails floating on the water all the time.

However, in froglet bins that I setup with leaf litter nothing happens-- weeks in advance before froglets are introduced.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Mine have an easier time 'booming' in a larger tank, and I do think they are feeding on frog poop and decaying matter, which makes them really take off. A tiny piece of banana wouldn't hurt them, either. That's supposed to increase production. 

I think the reason for the lack of take-off in the froglet setup is that weeks aren't enough to really get a good bit of mold/decay going with the leaves/waste/substrate in their ecosystem. It's probably going to be more like months before it's developed enough to sustain them without your feeding them in the froglet tank. 

It seems in the smaller box you get with them during shipping, the carbon dioxide buildup from the food you put in there slows them down considerably. Cracking the lid a few hours after first putting it in, then twice a day after that seems to boost production in a smaller box, let's say about 4 X 4.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Do you think the plants in the vivarium are the main contributors? Froglet containers usually just have clippings of plants while established vivariums have the initial coco peat, sphagnum, and clay soil that is mostly decaying leaf litter, frog waste, minerals from spilled supplements, and dead plant matter as time goes on. Adult mantellas-- at least mine-- rarely consume springtails and are mostly interested in larger prey. But even my tinc tank has quite a good springtail population if you dig a little deeper. I would try putting froglets directly on springtail colonies with charcoal and sphagnum moss and that didn't help much at all.

Could the plant roots be helping to eliminate the springtail chemicals that limit production?


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

Rain_Frog said:


> Do you think the plants in the vivarium are the main contributors? Froglet containers usually just have clippings of plants while established vivariums have the initial coco peat, sphagnum, and clay soil that is mostly decaying leaf litter, frog waste, minerals from spilled supplements, and dead plant matter as time goes on. Adult mantellas-- at least mine-- rarely consume springtails and are mostly interested in larger prey. But even my tinc tank has quite a good springtail population if you dig a little deeper. I would try putting froglets directly on springtail colonies with charcoal and sphagnum moss and that didn't help much at all.
> 
> Could the plant roots be helping to eliminate the springtail chemicals that limit production?


Yeah, the plants will definitely filter out hormones/chemicals that inhibit growth and production (I'm not sure on springtails, but I've read of this with multiple tadpoles in one enclosure and algae in the mix). 
They seem to rely a lot on the leaves not only for hiding places but for food sources---I think that having leaves on the brink of total decomposition is a key factor here, as well as mold. I've noticed the isopods really thrive on vitamin powder---the springs, not so much. I fed them with it and it did not seem to increase production at all---it was likely causing their decline. I had to wash it out. 
I get a pretty good turnout with enriched cornmeal. I did yeast, and maybe it works well for some, but not so well for me.


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## poison beauties (Mar 1, 2010)

try mixing shredded leaf litter into your media. I have not had truoble keeping froglet bins or vivs seeded. You should also consider mixing clay into it as it have proven beneficial for the micro fauna for me and a few others who have tried it. Check the ABG mix thread it talks about it. 

I also feed the springs in the uninhabited viv's. I just dice up shrooms and toss them in once a week or two.

Iso's thrive on diced mango, potato and cucumber for me. That is all I offer them.
Michael


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## tim13 (Feb 1, 2011)

why not just take out whatever is in your main adult mantella tank and add it to your small froglet containers? A portion of the substrate lost in your main tank and replaced with new of the same kind couldn't hurt much i would think. Especially if done in moderation. Then you would have springtail ready substrate complete with all the aged wastes and fungus of your main tank. It shouldn't take long for the established tank to convert the new substrate added to replace what was taken either. Just a thought.


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## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

I had some luck breeding sprintails by throwing in mushrooms in the blender with some R/O water and spooning this in the tanks in small amounts. Watery to runny. Also bannana peels seem to work as well as they decay fast as the mushrooms do.


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## ChrisK (Oct 28, 2008)

Do you keep them in the same container you got them in? If so transfer them to a larger container with more substrate (peat moss/coco fiber works good for me, peat moss the best).

How moist are you keeping them? I found out that they crash in culturing containers if they're too wet -


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## DartAsylum (Feb 17, 2011)

i had mine for ages in charcoal and water in shoebox size bins. like a lot of the "how to videos" show.
after a year barely any production at all. 

i moved them into a large under bed type box with eco earth crushed leaf litter and the original charcoal. the explosion in 2 weeks was unreal!!

i think they need more space and they seem to multiply faster in sub strait rather than plain charcoal.

i also feed mine fresh mushrooms and fish flakes. 

i made this huge culture about a month ago and now i need to split it. there's that many! i open the box and all i can see is millions and millions of tiny white things . pick up any leaf and there is like 100 on it.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

> why not just take out whatever is in your main adult mantella tank and add it to your small froglet containers? A portion of the substrate lost in your main tank and replaced with new of the same kind couldn't hurt much i would think. Especially if done in moderation. Then you would have springtail ready substrate complete with all the aged wastes and fungus of your main tank. It shouldn't take long for the established tank to convert the new substrate added to replace what was taken either. Just a thought.


That's what I do-- but they never get established. Which is why I'm considering putting some of my adult mantellas in a temporary bin (ones that I'm not breeding this season) and then move them to more permanent setups and let the froglets have the adults' former container.


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## tim13 (Feb 1, 2011)

what about your other variables? photoperiod, temp, humidity? have you tried different containers in case its something in the makeup of the container?


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