# springtails



## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

i have been messing around looking for a good food for my springtails and i tried rice and oatmeal cereal for babies and there wasn't an explosion or nothing like that. but i have notice that the cereal cultures are producing a steadier higher yield than any of the others. just for better results i did 3 cultures for each different food and the 3 cereal cultures were the best.


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## Nubster (Jun 16, 2008)

I use fish flakes and I have more springtails than I could ever need.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

I stopped using fish flakes or cereal based foods for my springtails due to problems with mite out breaks. I typically use baker's yeast now. 

Ed


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Does what you feed to the springs increase their nutrional value to the frogs? It "seems" to me that flake food or cereal would be nutrionally better than yeast. Or doesn't it really matter???

Also, what temps do you guys keep your springs at? Do you attemp to keep them warmer than just room temperature during the colder winter months?

Thanks.


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## Pescador (Oct 10, 2008)

I just tried some Collembola food from Josh's, made it into a paste and spread it on a leaf for the springs. Now a week later holy cow the containers look like they are almost solid springs.


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

here is a pic of my harvest every 2 days using the cereal as food.


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Holy Cow Steve 

Thats a good haul!


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

WOW!!!

What kind of springs are those? Are they black?

What are you culturing them on?

Do you sell cultures?


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## TDK (Oct 6, 2007)

Explain in detail what you have done to get this kind of result--amazing the quantity. I've been trying to get temperate ones going but I have to say "WOW". What type cereal, substrate, temperature, etc.??? Plus how did you seperate them from the culture?


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: spring tails*

they are blue globular and i have used bakers yeast for ever and recently tried oatmeal and rice infant cereal and production is perfect. all of toes came from a single shoe box sized culture. i haven't sold any cultures Ive given a few away. the only person i know that sells them is randy (dartsami) he has an excellent selection of feeder insects for sale. personally i got away from tropical and temperate springs and now raise blues for my smaller frogs and pinks for the adults.


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: spring tails*

here is a few shots of how i do my setups, they are Tupperware with 2 inches of 50/50 fine ground peat and sphagnum with a few leaves on top to make harvest easy. thats the extent of it i stopped using charcoal completely. Ive had the best results from just lightly moistened soil. i keep them a little above room temp just from the heat from sitting above my lights. i just sprinkle in the cereal and let the springs turn it into paste.


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## xm41907 (Nov 26, 2007)

*Re: spring tails*

do you put the cereal in as is, or do you do something to it first? like mixing with water to form a paste?


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## PingKing (Sep 28, 2008)

Where did you buy the blue springtails and how big are they?

Thanks 

Xavier


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## sounddrive (Jan 4, 2007)

they came from randy (dartsami) and they are alittle smaller then the tropicals.


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## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

I am very interested in getting some of these if this is typical production. I seem to be always out of springtails. I have PM'd Randy, but if anyone else has some available, please PM me.


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