# little worms in springtail culture :(



## Jayson745 (Dec 13, 2006)

I just went to feed my springtail culture and there are little tiny white worms on the sides of the container. Springtails dont start as little skinny maggots do they?

Is there a way to kill the worms without killing the springs? I might try to seperate some of them into a new container, but I doubt its gonna work very well.

this was bad timing sense my first dart is coming out of the water in a few days. Can froglets go without springs and just eat ffs only?


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## MartyA (Apr 18, 2006)

If your using soil as a media then the worms may be a warning of anearobic bacteria growth. I find that in my springtail cultures that contain worms the worms usually start to climb the sides not long before the culture suffocates.

How do I counter the worms? I make all my new cultures by microwaveing my soil media to a steamy boil then put its lid on and let it sit 24 hours to recool. Its been in my experince that the worms dont actually harm the springtails themselves but become competators for the food you are supplying.


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## bigphish (Sep 25, 2005)

Sounds like you have grindal worms or something similar. They occur naturally in a lot of soil. Fish poeple culture these worms for small fish and fry. I dont think they are harmful, and I'll bet that the frogs would learn to eat them if presented properly. They are supposedly high in fat so becareful not to over do it.

I wonder if the type of food you are feeding is promoting the growth of the the worms. They do well with foods high in carbohydrates like rice or cereal. If this is what your feeding you might want to switch to something like plain old bakers yeast for the springtails, remember they only eat mold/fungi (ie bakers yeast).

If your worried about the culture suffocating just stir it up a little and add something like orchid bark or allow the media to dry out a little to prevent heavy compaction.

--Steve


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## Jayson745 (Dec 13, 2006)

so I dont have to throw out the culture? I was thinking they would be bad to introduce into a viv. I have been using rice, so mabey thats why. I only have brewers yeast on hand at the moment. I guess I'll give it a stir, and try a different food. 

So the worms wont harm a newly morphed froglet? If theres even a chance I'll throw it out, but I'm sure you guys know more about this than I do, so thanx. I had visions of worms crawling all over a vivarium :roll:


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## NathalieB (Apr 23, 2007)

yep, probably grindal worms (my betta's love them)
You are probably keeping your cultures a little bit too wet. Dry them out a little bit and the worms will die.

Nathalie


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## bbrock (May 20, 2004)

Jayson745 said:


> this was bad timing sense my first dart is coming out of the water in a few days. Can froglets go without springs and just eat ffs only?


What species? Many pdf can take ff as newly morphed froglets. If they will accept ff, I prefer to start them on ff and just offer springtails as a supplement.


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## Jayson745 (Dec 13, 2006)

he/she is a little cobalt tinc. 

How long does it usually take for them to start eating ffs? His tail is pretty much gone now(just a stub). I'll be moving him to a clear container tomorrow. He's in one of those plastic shoebox's right now, so I cant see if hes eating ok or not. And if he isn't susposed to be eating yet I dont want to stress him out with ffs, although I did add a few earlier.


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## elmoisfive (Dec 31, 2004)

Froglets usually eat very little in the first few days after morphing as they are still utilizing the nutrients provided by the resorbed tail.

Bill


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