# How do you know if your clean up crew is still around?



## Itsadeepbluesea (Jun 6, 2020)

I put some Isopods and springtails in the vivarium 1-2 months prior to adding frogs and have seen no sign of them ever since. Is there a way to know if they are still alive and doing their job?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Itsadeepbluesea said:


> I put some Isopods and springtails in the vivarium 1-2 months prior to adding frogs and have seen no sign of them ever since. Is there a way to know if they are still alive and doing their job?


Lift up leaves and look under them. Same for pieces of wood that come in contact with the substrate.


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## bulbophyllum (Feb 6, 2012)

Even if you don't see them they probably are still in there. They are hard to find sometimes until the numbers are high.


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## Drosera (Oct 26, 2021)

A few years ago, I discovered a few baby isopods in my tank. After a few months, their number kept growing because, a few times each week, I just threw a little lettuce leaf. Less than one hour after, all the isopods were eating that leaf so I knew there was a bunch of them.

So make a try and throw a lettuce or salad leaf just before the light goes out and I am sure you will see some of them.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I thought the dwarf whites/purples I'd added to every viv weren't really keeping their numbers up. A while back I took the frogs (imitators) out of one viv to tear the viv down, but didn't get around to tearing it down for some time (handful of weeks). Sure enough, the isopods were out and about after a while. I think frogs eat them more than we suspect.


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## IShouldGetSomeSleep (Sep 23, 2021)

Socratic Monologue said:


> I thought the dwarf whites/purples I'd added to every viv weren't really keeping their numbers up. A while back I took the frogs (imitators) out of one viv to tear the viv down, but didn't get around to tearing it down for some time (handful of weeks). Sure enough, the isopods were out and about after a while. I think frogs eat them more than we suspect.


Quick question is there any merit to using different types of springtails. Do some do better in say a dry enclosure? "like with morning geckos?" Is there a difference?


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I don't know if there are any springs that tolerate drier conditions better. I think the current standby for all uses are temperate springs (_Folsomia candida)._


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## Itsadeepbluesea (Jun 6, 2020)

Thanks for the replies. I lifted up the leaves in a few areas and I see some signs. I'll keep the lettuce idea in mind for the future just in case.


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Instead of lettuce why not put a piece of banana, pear or apple in the vivarium every once in a while? Microfauna will feed on it and fruit flies that your frogs missed at feeding time will congregate around it rather than trying to exit the vivarium. If you are ever in doubt about your microfauna population, just flip the piece of fruit over. The bottom will likely have springtails and isopods munching away.


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## FrogNewt (8 mo ago)

It would be nearly impossible for springtails to vanish, and the isopods do so much burrowing that it's highly unlikely you'd ever lose your whole colony (especially if you've got the parthenogenetic sort).


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