# Isopods, are they there?



## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

This seems to be the section where people are posting about their clean up crews. Currently, there are no frogs in my viv and the springtails are very obviously thriving with no predation happening. I see them all over. My dwarf purple isopods have not been visible at all since their introduction. I’m assuming they’re in there, but haven’t seen them at all even through light digging through the substrate (to add a few plants). But I’m not really planning to go thoroughly digging through to check for them. I do plan on definitely adding more springtails before adding frogs, probably keeping a culture longer term. Should I look to add more isopods too, or just assume they’re fine and just being totally aloof, doing their thing?


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## SimonL (Aug 29, 2020)

I also very rarely see my isopods. Pretty sure they are there though, eating away out of sight


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## TeddytheFinger (May 8, 2019)

I rarely see mine, but when I move stuff around or rearrange something I'll see babies scurry about. Which is a good sign!


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Even in my Dwarf white Isopod bins I don't see them without digging... Perfectly normal that you don't see yours in the tank.


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

Ah well, this is all reassuring, and pretty much what I figured...rare sightings are pretty much non-existent, as they disappeared after introduction, but I’ll just have to assume they are in there somewhere...


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## TeddytheFinger (May 8, 2019)

If you set out veggies for the you'll probably see more. I use frozen cucumber and the like to feed mine.


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

TeddytheFinger said:


> If you set out veggies for the you'll probably see more. I use frozen cucumber and the like to feed mine.


I’ll try that. I did have a mushroom in there previously, lots of springtails all over that for sure.


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## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

The "dwarf" isopod species almost exclusively stay within the substrate. You'll almost never catch one above the leaf litter.


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

hypostatic said:


> The "dwarf" isopod species almost exclusively stay within the substrate. You'll almost never catch one above the leaf litter.


Makes sense!


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## Patterhorn (Oct 4, 2019)

You can try and throw in some avacado skin.


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

Patterhorn said:


> You can try and throw in some avacado skin.


I’ll try that, thanks!


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## Beesfroggos (Feb 9, 2021)

I have a tank set to the side with just soil where I just keep random extra wood and stuff, but it has soil and I'll just put an avacado skin or random veggies I don't eat once in a while and always see the springtails in there munching away. I put a culture in that soil about half a year ago. Still goin just in the dark.


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

Well, my partner alleges he has seen the isopods, but I don’t know...


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

Beesfroggos said:


> I have a tank set to the side with just soil where I just keep random extra wood and stuff, but it has soil and I'll just put an avacado skin or random veggies I don't eat once in a while and always see the springtails in there munching away. I put a culture in that soil about half a year ago. Still goin just in the dark.


Any sort of veggie scraps in particular? Just picked up a container of springtails and I’d like to stick something in there for them to swarm, get an idea of how many are in there before adding it to my main culture container.


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## Vargoje3 (Oct 5, 2020)

Lovelyk said:


> Any sort of veggie scraps in particular? Just picked up a container of springtails and I’d like to stick something in there for them to swarm, get an idea of how many are in there before adding it to my main culture container.


Mine love to eat the freeze dried peas and sweet potato in my isopod bins.


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