# Isopods



## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

I have read that some people seed the substrate of a new viv. with isopods. Where do you get them?
Candy


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## Dangerously (Dec 19, 2007)

They are common called roly-poly or pillbugs. Go outside and turn over a gutter downspout splash guard. You'll probably find some. 

There are some vendors that carry the tropicals, which are a little smaller and have a softer 'shell' than the ones you might find outside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse

Be aware that they culture *very* slowly.


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## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

Oh wow - I feel silly. I was out in the woods yesterday looking for pieces of slate rock for my waterfall and saw a ton of these out there. Can I just get some and put them in the viv? I saw a red one running around along side the grey ones. Are they a different species or just a different color?
Candy


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## Dangerously (Dec 19, 2007)

There are a lot of different species. Common dwarfs are good - small, anyway, and probably more likely to be taken by frogs because of that (you can always feed out the juveniles if you need smaller ones). 

http://frogroom-podcast.blogspot.com/20 ... tures.html

http://www.pollywog.co.uk/woodlice.html

I like the tropicals best, though.

Thats one thing about this hobby.. you'll be educated on some bugs.


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## divingne1 (Mar 21, 2008)

Is it best to seed the bed with these just use them to feed the frogs on occassion? I have a culture of springtails to seed the substrate with right now. Can I seed with both kinds of bugs?
Candy


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

> Can I seed with both kinds of bugs?


Absolutely- biodiversity is a good thing. I use two different types of isopods in my tanks/enclosures- dwarf whites and Spanish Reds. The Spanish Red adults are much too large as feeders except for Phyllobates and large Epipedobates (though my thumbs will eat the small ones as well as the dwarf whites), so I culture them exclusively as tank janitors. The various salamanders I keep handle the adults easily when they come across them, though.


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## SLEDDER23 (Mar 17, 2005)

I've got local caught, the spanish reds, & white dwarfs in all my tanks. I keep large cultures of each. 

I also have some really big ones, about 1/2 inch long that I put in my tinc tanks that I got from a biological supply company years ago. They won't eat the adults, but will the younger ones. The larger ones help break down decaying plant matter. I'm much better at culturing isopods than plants, so that comes in handy.


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## bLue_reverie (Mar 2, 2008)

Just be wary of the location in which you collect them (pesticides, fertilizer, etc.)

I buy my dwarf whites from vivariumconcepts. They become the occasional snacks. Now I have the large ones as well I collect. But I don't trust the area so I'm culturing them, hoping to seed the tanks with later generations. They just take forever to do so.


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