# How To Remove Springtails From Container?



## Azureus84 (Nov 26, 2008)

I've had my darts for about a year and have been feeding them fruit flies, termites, small crickets and field plankton up until now. I recently got my first springtail culture in the mail. I know this must seem like a silly question, but how do I get the tiny things out to give them to my frogs? If I tried to simply shake them out (like fruit flies), I'd end up dumping charcoal into my vivariums.


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## Jason (Oct 14, 2004)

Flood them out. Fill up the container you have them in half way with water and pour them into the vivarium. They float and plenty will remain behind to keep the population going. You can also use a turkey baster to suck them out along with some water.


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

Add water to the culture and dump out the water into the terrarium as the springtails float.


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## disiwolf (Oct 1, 2008)

I just use a spoon to scoop them out. It seem to work well enough for me.


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## Faceless (Sep 11, 2008)

The water way is one way for sure....
or if your culture is thriving i usually
keep a few leaves in the top and sides
of the culture then just pull em out
and put it in the tank.... i've noticed my
frogs react well to this cause they know
where the springs are all at


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## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

I just grab some of the chunkier stuff and tap them in - works wonders!


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## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

And don't forget....buy a spring culture....make a spring culture.

In other words. Never dump your entire culture into a tank and always make a second or third culture out of the one you just bought. This will help in even of a crash or problem with the first culture and ensure that you always have springs (in theory)..


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## chesney (Jan 18, 2007)

I tip the container on its side and use a straw to blow them into the tank.


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## Mac (Aug 14, 2007)

Okay, these are great tips and all but, I have seen so many of these threads, I think if you did a simple search on "Springtail feeding" you would come up with all of these answers and more.

Use the search function...


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## hobbyuniverse (Jun 22, 2008)

I just keep a few leaves in my culture. When I know Im going to want to remove some, I just sprinkle a little yeast on the leaves and mist with water. A couple hours later the leaves are covered with springtails. I put one or two leafs covered with springtails in the viv. As soon as the frogs see the leaf, they know theres food on them. They absolutely love those tiny treats! The next day I remove the leaves and put them back in the culture.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

There are many ways to do it, floating them out with water works if you want a lot of sprigs. Scooping some dirt out works for a quick snack, but I usually spread the dirt out in a petri dish so it doesn't make the tank look dirty. And the frogs seem to be able to find them easier in there. But what I do most of the time is just tilt the culture towards the tank and blow on it a few times. All the sprigs on the top go flying into the tank. Its non-invasive compared to some of the other ways and it doesn't take much away from the culture in regards to substrate.


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## holidayhanson (Apr 25, 2007)

I sprinkle yeast on some magnolia leaves, spray them with water and leave them on top of the charcoal in my cultures. After a day they are covered with springs and I just grab the whole leaf and toss it into the viv. I keep these leaves on a rotation and my tank remains pretty well seeded with springs.


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

Leaves are definitely my preferred method. Serves a few purposes: firstly, it helps keep the springtails fed in the culture, as new leaves produce new mold blooms which the springs consequentially eat; secondly, you can just pull leaves from the top and easily reseed your tank with springs AND keep the leaf litter up in the tank, making you frogs REALLY happy; thirdly you don't have to worry about the mess of excess water, etc. It's all organic springtail gardening!


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