# Isopod-Springtail Species Temprature Preperation (And Population Control/Species Compatability)



## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

Hi! For population control, would it work to starve the isopod for a little while and spray chamomile tea in the terrarium to slow down the isopod and springtail population (chamomile tea slows fungus/mold growth which is what springtails consume)? I plan on making a terrarium with isopod and springtail species. I'm not careless and care about my animals so I came to this site. I usually have my AC(air conditioner) at 68F - 78F (I rarely have it on 68F, 78F, 77F, and 76F). Will the springtail breed, "Collembola Tropical Springtails", which I have heard to live at 64.4F (18 C) to 77F (25C), be okay at 68 - 78 degrees and still reproduce? There will be a healthy amount of springtail in there and I'll be hosting them in a big plastic, clear box. The species of isopod that I plan on making a terrarium with are porcellio laevis black (live at 64.4F/18C - 78.8F/26C), armadillidium maculatum zebra pillbug (live at 71.6F/22C - 78,8F/26C), porcellio laevis white (live at 64.4F/18C - 78.8F/26C), and porcellio echinatus (live at 71.6F/22C - 77F/25C). There will be 12 of each species introduced to the terrarium at the same time. Will the temperatures I leave air conditioner at extremely affect the isopod and springtail? I'm fine with them reproducing less (as long as the population isn't decreasing overtime). Will I have to make 1 - 3 more terrariums because of the temperatures/amount of species or will it all be fine? (Also, I'm perfectly fine with crossbreeding). Will springtails escape through small ventilation on the top and sides of the box?


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Is this vivarium going to be housing dart frogs?


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## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

No it will not. I assume dart frogs would eat them. I'm not putting any predators in the terrarium.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

I think the crossbreeding of isos is less controversial on this site, so that isn't much of a worry (to me, anyway) However, I will say that it is possible that one of the isopod species outcompetes the other over time. As for the springtails, I can't answer your question with experience, but you might try finding someone else local that also keeps springtails and get whatever species they are breeding since their house conditions may be similar to yours.

Best of luck,

Mark


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

ArisIsopod said:


> No it will not. I assume dart frogs would eat them. I'm not putting any predators in the terrarium. Should I move this to another thread that is more related to them?


I'm not sure where I'd move it. 

I was asking just to get a bead on what you're trying to accomplish. For more input from keepers who aren't raising these for food (though you might get some here, too), you might also try arachnoboards.


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## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

Thanks for replying. The reason I have springtails in there is to take care of mold/fungi. I don't want them escaping through ventilation (or through anywhere) and into my house though so it's a concern for me. I'll be quarantining everything I put in the terrarium (except for the crustacea). Do you know if all isopod eat their poop because mold can grow on the poop if left there for a while. I can also spray chamomile tea to prevent mold/fungi from growing. I know mold grows well between 25C(77F) to 30C(86F) and it grows well in humid places so terrariums are basically mold breeding grounds. The breeding grounds won't be perfect though because there will be ventilation. Will I have to keep cleaning the terrarium or will it be fine? If I ever feed the colony fresh fruits/vegetables, I'll make sure to put very small pieces to prevent fruit flies from being tempted to come in and prevent mold from growing. I know it's very hard to prevent mold from growing in a terrarium, but with crustacea like isopod, especially a colony of them, I don't want to have to keep moving things around in their terrarium or deep cleaning it. If mold will still grow/still has a high chance of growing, I'll probably switch to snails. If the chances are none/very low/low with only isopod, I'll probably keep the isopod and try to move most or at least 1/5th of them into a fresh container while I trash/or try to fix the other one. I think the chances of a species overcoming another species is relatively lower than at least 45% (not actually mathematically calculated) because porcellio laevis white and black reproduce quickly and don't need to be fully grown to reproduce. Armadillidium maculatum zebra pillbugs also reproduce quickly (though they reproduce 1 - 2 months before the porcellios), and I know porcellio echinatus produce quickly, I'm just not sure if it aligns in a timeframe with the other isopods.


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## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

Thanks for the suggestion and trying to help!


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I keep single species isopod growout bins, and don't have mold. I suggest you keep a bin of each of a couple species for a while, and get the hang of them. I suspect you are way overthinking this -- it doesn't have to be complicated at all. Bin with substrate, toss in some mushrooms once in a while, that's it. 

@fishingguy12345 , any input?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

@SM thanks for tagging me, I'm happy to talk about Isopods and springtails  (I keep 20 types of Isopods)

OP: I wouldn't try cohabitating these species, you will find that one out competes the others and you'll be down to one species. 

The Armadillidium maculatum also like their conditions drier than porcellio laevis do.

I have springtails in all my Isopod bins, they spread from one bid to the others but I don't find them in any other place in my house, springtails needs really high humidity to survive, to the point that they only inhabit the areas of my Isopod bins that are the wettest. 

I hope this helps, if you have any other questions, let me know and I'll try my best to help.


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## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

What type of mushrooms are they? Also, I just noticed that you (Socratic Monologue) and fishingguy12345 joined on the same day with just a year gap-


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## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

Yeah, this definitely helps when deciding. I'm one of those people who like having terrariums, especially ones with insects in them but don't like when they're outside-in my terrarium (my house) lol. I'm going to test the humidity in my house using: Place two or three ice cubes into a glass, add water and stir. Wait three to four minutes. If moisture does not form on the outside of the glass, the air is too dry. If moisture does form outside of the glass, the chances of me getting springtails are less because I know that they can live without food, reproduce quickly, and will get the moisture they need outside of their terrarium. Since they hop from terrarium to terrarium and the zebras will like their conditions drier than the porcellios, I'll probably make two terrariums if I end up getting the springtails. If the chances of mold growing and low to none, I probably won't get the springtails because it's the main reason I thought about getting them.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

ArisIsopod said:


> Yeah, this definitely helps when deciding. I'm one of those people who like having terrariums, especially ones with insects in them but don't like when they're outside-in my terrarium (my house) lol. I'm going to test the humidity in my house using: Place two or three ice cubes into a glass, add water and stir. Wait three to four minutes. If moisture does not form on the outside of the glass, the air is too dry. If moisture does form outside of the glass, the chances of me getting springtails are less because I know that they can live without food, reproduce quickly, and will get the moisture they need outside of their terrarium. Since they hop from terrarium to terrarium and the zebras will like their conditions drier than the porcellios, I'll probably make two terrariums if I end up getting the springtails. If the chances of mold growing and low to none, I probably won't get the springtails because it's the main reason I thought about getting them.


None of my Isopod bins have mold in them on any regular basis. If you're trying to keep the terrariums really humid then you will get mold, otherwise it's not super common in my experience. 

I'll pm you a link to an Isopod caresheet I wrote. 

I have some suggestions for the best Isopods to put into a terrarium (or several terrariums lol) but you should "get your feet wet" with ones like _Armadillidium maculatum_ and _Porcellio laevis_ first.


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

ArisIsopod said:


> Also, I just noticed that you (Socratic Monologue) and fishingguy12345 joined on the same day with just a year gap-


This is super fishy (I mean, look at fishingguy's name!!). I call for a blue ribbon panel to see just how deep this conspiracy goes!

Mark


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

I agree with SM and FG. There is nothing to worry about here. If you have a functioning vivarium with plants that are doing well, you won't have wide swings in mold, etc. after an initial break-in period. Springtails stay confined to areas where they can grow effectively and that rules out the vast majority of your house outside of the viv. I would just go with one species of isopod for the time being and I think it wouldn't hurt to have springtails in there, too. You have nothing to worry about from a pest standpoint with either of those critters. As SM said, you are way overthinking this thing 

Mark


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## ArisIsopod (Jan 5, 2021)

Thank you three for helping me decide and giving me information. I'm fine with cleaning mold as long as it's not regular. To get the hand of it, I'll stick with porcellio laevis white and black because they are fairly similar. (Edit: and easier to take care of)


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

If you have decent ventilation, I would guess that mold will mostly go away after the initial break-in period of the tank.

Mark


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