# Springtails - Tropical or Temperate?



## Percularis (Mar 22, 2011)

I redid me viv last night to make a drainage system. My driftwood retains lots of moisture and so does my substrate, so I think I'll have some mold growing soon. I was going to get a springtail culture to seed my tank, though I don't know if I should get temperate or tropical springtails. 

My room temperature is 70F on average, but on a hot day it may go up to 74F. My viv's temp ranges between 70F and 74F, 70F being night and 74F being day. The frogs I have are temperate frogs, but they tolerate hot or cool temperatures very well and will not hibernate if the temperatures are warm. 

I just need the springtails to eat the mold, and possibly give the frogs a snack if they can track one down. 

*Should I go with tropical or temperate?*


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## frogmanchu (Feb 18, 2011)

Try both. I carry both of them.


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## Percularis (Mar 22, 2011)

Joshsfrogs has shipped very quickly with my past orders, so I decided to order from them this time. Since my room is normally in the very high sixties to the very lower seventies, I thought temperate might do better. I filled my viv up with water to a comfortable level in the gravel part of the substrate, so it should be very damp in the next few days and hopefully I'll get some mold growing for them to eat on.


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## frogmanchu (Feb 18, 2011)

try fish food too, they get protiens and everything from it and produce a little faster. I wasn't implying buy them from me just saying. My original cultures came from josh.


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## Percularis (Mar 22, 2011)

So I've seen a couple different ways to set up a springtail culture. Here's what I'm thinking of doing...

I have LOADS of leftover Zilla Coconut Husk expanding bedding stuff which retains moisture pretty well. I'll soak that in water to make it really wet and use that as the culturing substrate. I can mash up some magnolia leaves to add to the substrate as well. *One website said to microwave the mix before squeezing the extra water out. Is that something I should do?* I'll squeeze the extra water out, fluff-up the substrate, and put some food in there for the springtails. *Another website said to put enough water in the culture to where small, shallow pools form in some areas. It showed a picture with springtails in the water and it said that that will help with collecting them up to move to the vivarium. Should I do that? If not, would it be helpful to put a tiny shallow plastic container at substrate-level that they can crawl into and be transfered to the main viv in?*

*Also, how should I collect the springtails to move them to the main viv without squishing them or dumping their substrate into the viv?*



frogmanchu said:


> try fish food too, they get protiens and everything from it and produce a little faster. I wasn't implying buy them from me just saying. My original cultures came from josh.


I'll try some fish food with them and see how it goes.


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## gundaman (May 19, 2011)

I like tropical


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