# easy way to harvest tropical springtails



## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Ok. Here are some tips I have discovered to harvest them. First, make sure your substrate isn't getting too wet (since they don't like that).

Get a film canister and lay it on its side. Put some soil in it, not a lot. Just enough to form "a bridge" to temp them further. Place some fish flakes in the container.

Wait about a day or two, then check the following morning (because they are more active at night). It should be swarming with them.

Another option is to put a damp, unbleached paper towel ontop of the substrate. Sprinkle the fish food in the center.

I have noticed they attack fish food much, MUCH faster than the springtail food.

Now, just simply dump the little film canister in your frog's tank. Mist it lightly where you put the clutch of soil, because the frogs will have a hard time feeding because lots of substrate may get in their mouth.

You get A LOT of young springtails (they were crawling all over my tricolor), and this would be very useful for froglets.


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## 41714049 (Feb 23, 2006)

Great tip! Thanks.

I got one too!

For those harvesting them on charcoal, add a little more water to the culture, hold the charcoal down against the container (I hold a small board to keep it the charcoal in place), and pour out the water through a fine fish net or a pantyhose net over a sink. Tons of springtails of various ages will get poured out and caught since they float. All a little bit of water back to the culture and put it away until next time. On average I get about 1 spoon full of springtails. Then simply spill the springtails out of the net into your tank... or catapult them in (what I do sometimes to get them all over the tank!).


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

I just place a piece of fresh veggie (cucumber, squash, something like that) then wait a few days. When its getting swarmed by springs, I scoop it and a little bit fo the soil around it, place it in a petri dish, and stick it in the viv. After the frogs have had at it for a couple days, I flood the petri dish to get all the springs out, then clean the dish in the sink.


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## sports_doc (Nov 15, 2004)

OK I'll show you mine, since you already showed me yours 

I cx in coco, straight up...

but I add a clump of moist sphagnum moss to the middle of the cx container...just lay it on top the moist coco (not wet)...sprinkle a little yeast on the moss, or a few fish flakes...

when I want springs, I just pull out the clump of sphagnum...drop it in the tanks...and add some more to the spring cx.

S


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Here's what I do. I place a few mag leaves on top of the culture. In general the springs just like the leaves especially when they start to decay. But I will also sprinkle a little flake food on the leaf and by the next day there's plenty of springs on the leaf. I then just tap the leaf over the viv to feed.


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## cobra_gerard (Apr 29, 2007)

gary1218 said:


> Here's what I do. I place a few mag leaves on top of the culture. In general the springs just like the leaves especially when they start to decay. But I will also sprinkle a little flake food on the leaf and by the next day there's plenty of springs on the leaf. I then just tap the leaf over the viv to feed.


I do it the same way!


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## Android1313 (Dec 15, 2006)

^x3 :wink:


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## RBarsati (Jun 22, 2013)

WoW. Lots of working ideas. Its feeding time.


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