# Easy way to feed springtails



## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

While feeding my springtails their veggies (and consequently feeding them to the frogs), I stumbled upon an easy way to get springtails out of the culture and into the viv - just keep a slice of apple in there! For the first week or so that its in there, the apple will stay solid enough to pick up so you can shake off all the springs into your viv.


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## topaz017 (Jul 30, 2006)

Works perfectly with cucumber peels too, pick up with tweesers and shake them all off into the viv


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Cool, thanks guys! John


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## MegophryidaeMan (Oct 22, 2006)

I hold the culture in their enclosure and take a straw and blow. The springtails fly into the vivarium. It's pretty easy.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

I just add a little bit of water to the culture then pour it out into the viv. you get a flood of floating springs.


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## JL-Exotics (Nov 10, 2005)

bellerophon said:


> I just add a little bit of water to the culture then pour it out into the viv. you get a flood of floating springs.


Careful with that technique. It works great, but I've accidently dumped a few cultures right out doing it that way. I'm a turkey baster man now.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I keep my cultures way too dry to try that. I used to keep my cultures wet, but now I just spray lightly every 1-2 weeks, and my production is about 10fold what it was.


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## robrainney (Jan 4, 2007)

I just keep a lid from my fruitfly cups in with my springtails. I add a little flake fish food to it. When I need to feed them to my frogs, I just take the lid out, and dump the springtails in. The fish food sticks to the lid, so it stays put.


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## octo (Mar 4, 2006)

Make your springtails on cocos chips, then you can harvest them with a sieve, by far the best way, they produce like crazy on cocos chips


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## dartfrogs (May 26, 2004)

The best way to feed out springtails also depends a lot on which type you are culturing. The temperate species are much more difficult to get out without using some sort of transfer media, i.e. vegetable peels, fruit etc... This is because they tend to hide down in the media. The tropicals are completely different. They tend to spend much more time on the surface of the media and can even be blown into the tank just by opening the container and blowing gently across it. Flooding the tropicals is not a good option either as they do not want it nearly as wet as the temperates do. Since the tropicals are so much easier and faster to culture, are bigger in size, and easier to feed they are the only ones we culture any more.

Richard


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

The best way I have found is using film canisters. *This only works with dry type springtail media* 

1. Place empty film canisters into the media so that the rim of the film cup is level with the media
2. add just enough water to cover the bottom of the film cup. 
3. Wait 1-2 days and you have enough springs in each cup to feed several frogs.
4. take out and poor in. 

I keep my springs in Sterilite containers and stack them up it makes rotating between feedings much easier


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

> The best way I have found is using film canisters. This only works with dry type springtail media
> 
> 1. Place empty film canisters into the media so that the rim of the film cup is level with the media
> 2. add just enough water to cover the bottom of the film cup.
> ...


is this the tropical springtail you have? Wouldn't the springtails drown by then if you wait 1-2 days?


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

I decided to do some mini springtail cultures.

I started out with a small 9.5oz container.










To that I added just a little coco fiber, dry. On top of that I put a wet magnolia leaf, a little sprinkle of food, and a few springtails.










I just keep the magnolia leaf a little wet with a little food on it. In a few weeks when the springtails have multiplied sufficiently I place the small container right into the viv and let the thumbs have at it for a few days.










Then I remove it and let the springtails start multiplying all over again.


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## JoshKaptur (Feb 17, 2004)

I put a pice of aquarium filter sponge in there... easy to remove and LOADED with springtails... a few taps and they are out into the tank or my dusting cup.

Josh


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

JoshKaptur has a good method. I use one similar in that I use a chunk of treefern fiber. The springtails creep in there, I remove it, tap it o the sides of the tank and shower springtails into my tanks.


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

> The best way I have found is using film canisters. This only works with dry type springtail media
> 
> 1. Place empty film canisters into the media so that the rim of the film cup is level with the media
> 2. add just enough water to cover the bottom of the film cup.
> ...


Here is a pic.









This photo was taken about 4hrs after placing empty cups into the media. this is great for those lazy frogs. You can dump the springs right in front of them with no mess.This has made my life much eisier.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Frognut - I REALLY like your method. What is your culture media? It looks like spagnum moss. Do you really keep it dry or moist but not wet?


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Gary
the media is coco brick and some fine grated spagnum moss. breaking apart the moss into fine particals can be a bit messy. I mix them together at about 50/50. I do this all dry. I then add enough of this media to a culture box the same depth as a film canister. I then moisen it by spraying it. but just enough to keep it moist not wet. I will then seed the new culture. wait till it is well established before adding film cups.


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

here is another thought!

for those who travel to vend there frogs. Put the lid on the film cups and travel without taking up alot of space. (I have not tried this yet) If anyone tries this post back on how well it works.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Thanks for the info Scott.

Are you also adding food for the springtails or do they just feed off your culture media?


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Yes! Dont forget to feed them!


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## jejton (Sep 3, 2006)

I use a larger sterilite container ( the sweater box size ) to culture mine and I have a few pieces of charcoal ( the real kind, not the briquettes ). To serve them up, i just take a couple of pieces of charcoal and tap them together over the open viv.


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## JBR (May 8, 2006)

he, he,


> So long and thanks for all the flies!


 I love it


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

> he, he, Quote:
> So long and thanks for all the flies!
> I love it


Just a twist on Douglas Adams :lol:


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## JBR (May 8, 2006)

actually in the middle of reading them right now


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## OneTwentySix (Nov 11, 2004)

Rather than adding water to the culture, it's easier to take a spoonful of dirt and dump it into a cup of water. Pour out the floating springs (or entire thing, including dirt if you're not picky), and watch the feeding frenzy.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Frognut said:


> the media is coco brick and some fine grated spagnum moss. breaking apart the moss into fine particals can be a bit messy. I mix them together at about 50/50. I do this all dry. I then add enough of this media to a culture box the same depth as a film canister. I then moisen it by spraying it. but just enough to keep it moist not wet. I will then seed the new culture. wait till it is well established before adding film cups.


Very interesting method, what type of springs are you using? Also what stops the media from caving in when the cups are removed? Or is the entire media damp rather than just the top? Also what do you feed them that prevents the top of the media from getting all nasty?


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

> Very interesting method, what type of springs are you using? Also what stops the media from caving in when the cups are removed? Or is the entire media damp rather than just the top? Also what do you feed them that prevents the top of the media from getting all nasty?
> _________________
> Lee


The springs are Collembola. The media is quite loose and damp throughout no water collects on the bottom, but you can still poke your finger into it and make the depression for the cup without it caving in. the moss is important for this as it will hold the water for a long time and still keep the media form setteling. I feed them with what ED'S sells. No mess or rotting food this way. Im sure there is alot of different dry type media recipies you could also use.


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## defaced (May 23, 2005)

Very cool feeding method Scott. I'm going to have to give it a whirl.


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## bellerophon (Sep 18, 2006)

Thanks Scott. I'll give it a shot and see how it compares to my wet method which I'm getting sick of. I setup two smaller cultures yesterday (only fit one film canister) but I've yet to add the springtails. Hopefully rice cereal wont make too much of a mess of the culture media. My which type question was referring to tropical or temperate. :lol:


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Lee 

I dont add the film cups untill the culture is realy booming. Im prety sure they are tropical springs :lol:


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## Sokretys (Dec 16, 2007)

Scott i like the idea of your substrate/method. im making my first method right now and am going to go that route. do you feed yours yeast? also..anyone have any idea if you can feed your springtails anything that has calcium?

also, Scott, how deep is your bed? sweater box sixe being...like 12x15"s? ish..? thanks.

-Nate


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Nate
I wouldnt recomend calcium feeding. I have read several times that it will crash your cultures and I havent experimented with this. I have dusted springs using the method above dropping them into my dusting cup (not easy but it can be done). I have been also adding shreaded leaf litter to the mix, this seems to help a bunch. rember there are alot of differing springs in the hobby now and they seem to all need differing culture practices.


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## Sokretys (Dec 16, 2007)

Any idea what species of springtail black jungle sells? 

http://www.blackjungle.com/Merchant2/me ... gory_Code=


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## flyangler18 (Oct 26, 2007)

> Any idea what species of springtail black jungle sells?


Your guess is as good as mine! Knowing the specific species isn't necessary for culturing though, as culturing methods don't really vary that much between different types. You could always ask Rich & Mike at BlackJungle.


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## Sokretys (Dec 16, 2007)

Hey there everyone...it was a while ago since reading up on this post. the general consensus i gotr was that there was about 1000 different ways to raise these guys. i tried a few different things i guess. 

I used a ton of coco fiber. i used these badass cutco scissors to cut sphagnum into fluff. then mixed that with the fiber. kept on adding until texture was what i was looking for. i was trying to match the appearance of Scotts substrate. the bed is about 3" and i just stuffed some sphagnum on top to hold moisture. they seem to be laying a lot of eggs in there as well...



























one side.









other side

I tried using charcoal..and found it to be messy. so i broke up a piece of cork bark..expecting them to climb all around it..but they only go onto the inside of the bark...



















So this last one i tapped out and then put back into the culture for about 10-15 seconds...


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## Frognut (Jan 31, 2005)

Nate:
If I were a springtail I would pack for vacation to your nice little substrate resort! Great job. the messy way I feed is with small chunks of tree fern pannel. I place a mushroom chunk on top the day before and the firn chunk is completly loaded, enough to feed a few vivs with, I tap them into a deli cup then feed out. but the film cup method is still mess free.


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## Sokretys (Dec 16, 2007)

hahaha..yeah they seem to be having a good time. thats a wicked good idea with the deli cup..less trips for sure..im gonna have to try that one on for size. it sounds like it would be easier to have an idea of how much you are feeding as well.


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