# Too Many Springtails?



## Frank H (Nov 3, 2005)

I have a 20 gallon that I seeded with springtails about a month and a half ago. The vivarium is the same age, 1.5 months, and now there are springtails everywhere! I see them in the small pond, on the coco hut, everywhere in the substrate, on plant leaves, EVERYWHERE. I have one azureus in there since day 1. I dont think she eats many of them, but I have seen her eat a few. Can too many springtails be stressfull? I havnt fed her flies in 2 days now, but the springtails dont seem to be dissappearing.
What should I do.


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

Don't worry about the springs. If there is some outrageously amazing food source for them which is causing this huge boom, they'll eat it all up soon enough. But, I highly doubt they'd stress her out (unless she's ill). You could always get more frogs to help with population control :wink:


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

The spring boom will disapate unless you keep their food source going, likely its just that she isn't a very active feeder on them, and you've got a mold/fungus bloom in the soil (normal stuff in a new tank) and they are just chowing down on the buffet and breeding like crazy.


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## Frank H (Nov 3, 2005)

OK cool, thanks.

I just syphoned out the excess water in the pond and lyca drainage and as the water got shallow, the springtails grouped up in small circles of thick amounts of springtails. My azureus took advantage for a couple mouthfulls. It looked like she was getting 5 each bite! lol Thanks again for the reasuring me,, I was gonna take her out and put some week old azureus babies in there to eat em up. Glad I dont have to. -
-Frank


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## DaSlackMan (Feb 3, 2006)

Wow... I'm hoping that the springtail seeding colony that I added in today does as well in my viv...


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## Frank H (Nov 3, 2005)

I ended up getting spoon fulls out at a time and made some fresh springtail cultures, and seeded a new temporary setup for my morphing azureus froglets/tadpoles. The fresh morphed azureus froglets eat flies the first day out of water, but I also see them picking off the springtails..

An update on the 20 gallon with the overpopulation of springtails.. Its still blooming MASSIVE amounts of springtails in there. I see the almost adult female azureus picking off springtails at least once a day.

Dane, if you see this, all these springtails came from the little culture you started me with. 

I find my springtail cultures with leca balls work best over the coco brick dirt ones. I use fish food to feed my cultures, and they multiply like crazy.
To feed, I just tilt and poor water with springtails.. Works great.

-Frank


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