# Springtail Containment Issues?



## Smashtoad (Apr 27, 2007)

Hi guys, hope this question isn't laboriously stupid...

Do you guys ventilate these cultures, and if so...do these little guys end up everywhere? I am assuming they can climb glass and plastic walls.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

i ventilate my culture 2xs per week and do wind up everywhere, atleast in every tank, without seeding, but not all over th e house like flues sometimes do.


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## jaysnakes (Jul 5, 2006)

I keep my springs in plastic shoebox containers and enough air flow gets through the lids for the sprigs. They could easily escape these containers if they tried but none of them venture off the substrate. I've never seen any of my springs on the sides of the containers and I've got tons in them. 

If you keep your springs in an air tight container you will one day open it up to a bunch of dead springs (well sort of). If your spring tails don't get enough fresh air they will all stop moving and kind of go into a coma of sorts. This happened to me once before when I first started keeping them. I took the lid off of the container and with in 2hrs I started seeing life again and by the next day all the springs were up and moving again. So as long as the springs haven't been in an air tight container for weeks on end without being opened they will probably come back to life.


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## Smashtoad (Apr 27, 2007)

Thanks guys, that helps. It is interesting too, that a buddy of mine told me one time that scorpions could do the same thing i.e. go into a period of complete inactivity when faced with a lack of oxygen and just start up again when it was available...weird.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

i have a "master culture" of them in a showbox and i just open it up once a week to feed them and they are breeding like crazy. i think the lid does allow for some ventilation also. for the smaller cultures i always check once a week to see that they are doing ok and open it up for a about a minute and one other time to feed them. 

i would just check on them 1-2 times a week and just see how they are doing. if slow then just open it up more often.


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## brettlt (Oct 5, 2006)

In my case the tropical springs need more air flow then the temperate ones. All of my temperates are completely sealed with no problems, but the tropical containers all have holes cut in them for ventilation. When I tried the tropicals without ventilation I almost lost all of them.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Some of my springs are in rather "loose" fitting containers anyways, but I've kept them in air tight containers for a while due to mite infestations. I also tend to open them up a lot for the numerous small feedings I give them.

On thing I've noticed is that in smooth plastic containers is that they don't climb on the sides... until there is something to climb on. They are very good at spreading little mud particles on the sides that they can climb up... eventually getting to the lid. I just make sure to wipe down a good swath of the sides near the lid to keep them clean and dry. As long as there isn't anything for them to easily grip, most of them aren't adamit about climbing.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

i have never seen mine climb the sides, just all over whatever they are eating. they seem to like the airiest part of the soil.


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