# what is this little bug?



## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

I discovered a tiny :shock: - seriously tiny little bitty creature in the dish under the co-co hut. It is white? and at first glance it just looked like moss hair. But then I noticed it moving and bouncing? on the surface of the water. I tried to take a pic but my camera won't zoom in that far. 
What is it? is it harmful? do i need to worry? how do i get rid of it if I need to?


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

That's a springtail.


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2006)

Springtail, extra frog food, good decomposers. You need them, you want them. You cant have a healthy viv, IMHO, without them. Celebrate.
You will probably find some in you potted plants if you have any. Just blow on the soil the next time you water. You should see them by the tons. I always do.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

I would have thought they were springtails too, but I never put any in this viv and they are soooooooo much smaller that the ones I have gotten in a culture before.

On the brighter side if they are springtails , they are too small for my azureus to even notice and will have a chance to get established in the substrate before they are big enough to be food for the frogs :wink: so should I just dump out the water in the little dish so they can get into the moss and soil?

another :?: I actually saw a surviving springtail (large enough to id) in my other viv that I had seeded. I thought I had lost the entire culture due to high temps. And I only saw the one, Is this a case where if there is one good size adult crawling around on one of the plants there are likely to be more in the substrate?


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2006)

yea, dump the water on the moss.
Yes, there probably are more, you should see the the tank chuck full of springs in no time.
What kind of springs were the ones in you viv? Tropical? I've heard these are bigger than the ones you might get by accident in you newer viv. I'm willing to bet you got temprate zone springtails, which are really really small. Like speck of dust small. My little toads are always flicking their tongues at the substrate, at first I couldnt figure out what they were eating then I realised it was springtails. These toads are about 1 inch long, so how big are your azureus? I'm not sure but I think anything bigger than 1 1/2" wouldnt be much interested in springs.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

my female azureus is rather large  1 1/2 inch. the male is smaller just over 1 inch? They are aprox 10 months old. but I'm not totally sure. 

The supplies for this viv all came from TandC terrariums in Fla so I don't know what kind of springtails are in the moss. But these little thing are sooooooooo tiny! I got a culture from Joshsfrogs and they were larger, but the "babies" were this tiny. So maybe the ones in the water are just babies? Its cool they are in their though, I have a tone of fuzzy stuff growing on the wood right now 8)


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2006)

Like I said, the ones from Joshsfrogs were probably tropical springtails, while the ones that came from T&C Terrariums are likely to be temperate springtails which are smaller in size.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

I didn't actually order any springtails from TandC. They must have been stoaways in the moss. LOL And I have never put any springtails in that viv either. in any case I evidently have them now. :lol: and there is definately enough mold for them to feed, so hopefully they will thrive in there.

What I notice is that I suddenly see them only days after moving the viv down to the basement where the temp is cooler :? were they hibernating during the "warm" season? hmmmmm.. I still have so much to learn about this hobby :wink:


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## Guest (Apr 18, 2006)

Tadpole4 said:


> I didn't actually order any springtails from TandC. They must have been stoaways in the moss. LOL And I have never put any springtails in that viv either. in any case I evidently have them now. :lol: and there is definately enough mold for them to feed, so hopefully they will thrive in there.


Yea, I fogured you didnt buy them, they always come in the soil that comes with the plants you buy. Now what would be interesting to me would be to know if the biger tropical springs can out compete the smaller temprate springs. Anyone know?

I don't think they hibernate in the summer. So I think you just happened to notice them now. Or the cooler temps allowed them to feel more comfortable at the.


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## joshsfrogs (May 6, 2004)

> Like I said, the ones from Joshsfrogs were probably tropical springtails,


I'm currently only selling temperate springtails as I wait on the USDA permit on the tropical.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2006)

Ok, so now im totally confused, I've never heard of smaller than temperate small sprintails.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

maybe they are younglings?


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2006)

I guess, you were right after all.
Check for little Light sabers. :lol:


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

:lol: :lol: hahahaha :lol:


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

funny thing- I have dumped out the water three times now a refilled the dish with fresh water and everyday the surface is crawling with these little guys!


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2006)

I always find them in the pond too.


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## Tadpole4 (Mar 16, 2006)

I guess i will just let it be then. they will most likely find their own way out when they want to.


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