# Just got springtails, getting more + isopods tomorrow!!



## daggekko (Jun 27, 2011)

I got a couple Mantellas from a friend back in August. His girlfriend hated their little chirp. Anyhow, I was/still am excited to have frogs again. I started looking around this site and found a lot of info about springtails and isopods. Last weekend I ordered some springtails from a place that might have been hit by Sandy, so I found another place and ordered more! It is VERY exciting! I might explode when I get some more frogs here soon. 

Just wanting to see if anybody has any good tips I may have missed. 

1. Don't overfeed! Wait till the food is gone and then feed again
2. Distilled/Dechlorinated water
3. Place on mite paper to prevent infestation.

Well, that seems pretty straight forward!


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## BlueRidge (Jun 12, 2010)

Stick with brewers yeast, dont bother with fish food or mushrooms. Youll be much happier.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/66991-how-culture-isopods-woodlice-springtails.html
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/fo...clean-your-mite-contaminated-springtails.html


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Read those threads that pumilio posted, there is lots of valuable info and experience there.

Another tip is to have several culture containers going just in case one crashes or get mites.


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## daggekko (Jun 27, 2011)

Thanks all. I've read through a lot your threads Doug! I really appreciate you going through all the time/troubles to get so much info posted on the site

I've got a TON of active dry yeast. I think anyhow(threw the bag out-stored in a gallon ziplock bag). Time to revisit the differences in the yeasts, unless anybody wants to dumb it down real fast


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## Nath514 (Jul 8, 2012)

I wouldn't use distilled water. I use spring water for handmisting. When I eventually move to a mistking then I will use R/O water.


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## BlueRidge (Jun 12, 2010)

To be honest with you, I always use tapwater to fill my spray bottles and I've never had a culture die off. Then again, I havent tested the water here in HB either compared to VB. Maybe they don't use as much chlorine. I just hate buying bottled water, it's kind of dumb IMO. They always label it as springwater or something but it really comes from faucet. LOL.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Bakers yeast, active yeast, bread yeast, live active bakers yeast...these are all the same product.
Typically, the reason some recommend using *active bakers yeast*, and NOT *brewers yeast* for your springtails, is to help eliminate a source of mites. Bakers yeast has to be a very pure culture or your breads could develop bad flavors. Brewers yeast, on the other hand, is a waste product from the beer brewing industry. It's a waste product. All they have to do is make sure it's clean enough for FDA. 
You feed bakers yeast to eliminate one possible source of mites. If you don't care about mites, then why feed yeast at all? I am of the opinion feeding brewers yeast is counter productive. 

Brewers yeast is generally reserved for our fruit fly cultures. Nutrition yeast is basically brewers yeast, but is produced as it's own product, rather than being a waste product. I still would not trust it for springtail cultures.

Isopods do MUCH better on a wider variety of foods. You'll see Max's isopod food thread linked in the threads I gave you. Sure, you can run an isopod culture on nothing but yeast and mushrooms, but it will produce extremely slowly. Isopods would much rather eat cardboard, and would probably do better eating cardboard, than the yeast you were recommended to use.


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

^^^ On the subject brewers yeast & springtails, I have a slightly different opinion... We've been feeding nothing but brewers yeast to our springtail cultures since we started, and we've seen mites happen just_ once due to human error_ in the past 5 years. From what I understand, that's a pretty good record at the end of the day. We culture on charcoal only, and feeding only brewers yeast, we've had great results. (It's worth mentioning that not one customer (to my knowledge) has ever had an issue w/mites in a spring culture from us...)

Having said that, I would definitely agree about NOT feeding yeast to isopods... It would probably end with a really great mite culture that has a mild isopod problem.  For isopods we use bug burger & cardboard... Culturing very similar to Doug's method.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

MeiKVR6 said:


> ^^^ On the subject brewers yeast & springtails, I have a slightly different opinion... We've been feeding nothing but brewers yeast to our springtail cultures since we started, and we've seen mites happen just_ once due to human error_ in the past 5 years. From what I understand, that's a pretty good record at the end of the day. We culture on charcoal only, and feeding only brewers yeast, we've had great results. (It's worth mentioning that not one customer (to my knowledge) has ever had an issue w/mites in a spring culture from us...)
> 
> Having said that, I would definitely agree about NOT feeding yeast to isopods... It would probably end with a really great mite culture that has a mild isopod problem.  For isopods we use bug burger & cardboard... Culturing very similar to Doug's method.


I have not heard of any reports of mites in your cultures either. Just for kicks and grins, you should try a test culture of Pink Tropical Springtails on a mix of around 2/3 leaf litter, and 1/3 coco fiber (both well sterilized). I have found that the Pinks and also the Silvers, do better in it, than on charcoal. I do find my White Temperates still do better on charcoal.


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## BlueRidge (Jun 12, 2010)

I seem to get more of a population boom with the brewers yeast than with anything else.


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

Pumilo said:


> I have not heard of any reports of mites in your cultures either. Just for kicks and grins, you should try a test culture of Pink Tropical Springtails on a mix of around 2/3 leaf litter, and 1/3 coco fiber (both well sterilized). I have found that the Pinks and also the Silvers, do better in it, than on charcoal. I do find my White Temperates still do better on charcoal.


That could definitely explain the differences in experience! We've only worked with the tropical white and temperate white species on a large enough scale for me to consider giving advice for.  PM sent about those pinks!


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

MeiKVR6 said:


> That could definitely explain the differences in experience! We've only worked with the tropical white and temperate white species on a large enough scale for me to consider giving advice for.  PM sent about those pinks!


I could get you some headed out on Tuesday. I'd love to see the Silvers in wider circulation. I finally have a couple of clean starts and one's got your name on it...


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## dartfanatic (Sep 24, 2012)

1. don't overfeed, especially because decaying organic matter generally gives off methane and will kill your cultures. 

2. Everyone will tell you differently in terms of food goes. I've tried them all and had best success with high quality fish food, mushrooms, and yeast. Ups and downs to them all I believe. I would suggest keeping the food for your springs in the freezer as a precaution to avoid mites getting in your food supply.

3. Water doesn't matter all that much. Again I've used both R/O and tap, never tried well water though, and same outcome. Biggest thing is depending on species of springs/substrate delegates how wet your springs should be. For ex. I keep temperate whites in charcoal and leaf litter and keep about half the container full of water. For tropical springs using an ABG mix keep it about as wet as a freshly opened bag of topsoil, just a bit wet but definitely not soaking. 

Also, Keeping them on mite paper is a good idea. When feeding baby frogs I prefer to put a very small piece of mushroom into the container for the springs to congregate to. Make a backup culture of each type just in case one crashes. I like to fill the container with the same substrate as the species, microwave it in the container you're using for roughly 1:45, let it cool down, and add a few springs and maybe a super tiny bit of food, and wait. Good luck, you'll do fine with all this info you got from all the informative members. Just remember there are always more than 1 way to do something. Good luck


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