# Best Food For Springtails?



## BASSMS1726 (Apr 29, 2008)

I have a handful of temp. Cultures going and wanted to know what would make them explode? What type of food our you others using?

I have tried:
Fish flakes
cucumbers

thanks for the help,
bassman


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## melas (Oct 24, 2007)

I use dry macaroni and sliced mushrooms. I'd be interested in hearing what others use as well!


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## GeeEssFore (Jan 19, 2009)

Lettuce, yeast, fish flakes


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

GREAT topic to use the search feature on. There's a lot of really good information in other posts already.

Having said that I've used fish flake foods, baby cereal, and button mushrooms.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

As others have said, you can use _almost_ any fruit/veggie. 

I have used cucumbers and mushrooms in the past, but lately I have been using a mix of ground up potato flakes, and yeast. Its a lot less messy, its cheap, and the production is always more than when I used other foods.


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

Organic dog food. Soak it is water and then squish it as flat as possible. Way cheap than fish food. It also depends on the kind of springtail.
-mark


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## salix (Mar 28, 2008)

A couple of slices of mushrooms and a pinch of baker's yeast each week. They are constantly booming with springtails. I feed heavily out of my cultures once per week.

I keep them on wet chunk charcoal.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

What about temps? Anybody see a difference in production based on the springs being a little warmer?


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## markbudde (Jan 4, 2008)

It depends on the species of springtails. The white springtails grew faster at 28C than room temp in a controlled experiment I did.

This website says 30C is the best temperature for reproduction.
Checklist of the Collembola: Culturing Sinella curviseta Brooks (Collembola: Entomobryidae)


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## bobberly1 (Jul 16, 2008)

I've used the same two. They seemed to like the cucumber better, or at least they thived because there was more available, but I use fish flakes because I have so much that's too old for my fish.


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## Ed Holder (Sep 26, 2008)

I use dried powdered mushrooms and yeast, alternating between the two and feed once a week. Works great! 

Ed


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