# Culturing Springs in Viv??



## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

I have been doing some research on how to culture your springs in the viv. I haven't found a whole lot, which leads me to believe that it is not a common practice. If someone is doing this, or knows what the best method is... I would greatly appreciate some feedback.


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## stevenhman (Feb 19, 2008)

I'm confused... as in placing little tubs of springs into the viv? They can just reproduce on their own in the viv (without being in a separate container), the only trick is trying to harvest/collect them


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

I'm recieving some spings tomorrow and I want to start a culture in in tub with charcoal as well as putting some of them in the viv.. Do I just take some of the medium they are packeged in and place them on the substrate in my viv or is there a better method. I want them to repopulate in the viv.


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## enfinite5 (Nov 23, 2011)

cultivating springtails in your viv is extremely simple, you simply just put them in your tank, whether their attached to charcoal or in substrate....either way just dump them in there and they will do the rest, you wont ever have to worry about them again. They will feed and reproduce.


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## kgb (Aug 2, 2011)

When i had newly setup vivs and was seeding for springs before putting frogs in i would place a piece of mushroom under some leaves or bury it in the substrate to give them an immediate food source.


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

kgb said:


> When i had newly setup vivs and was seeding for vivs before putting frogs in i would place a piece of mushroom under some leaves or bury it in the substrate to give them an immediate food source.


This is what I do(mushrooms), the only other thing I would recommend is a layer of pea gravel or hydro balls under the leaf litter to fascilitate the humidity needs. This will also give them a place to hide and not be consumed and breed. They will reproduce and constantly emerge from the depths of the underlayers. If the frogs go to town and desimate your in viv culture, simply reseed.

JBear


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

Is there a specific kind of mushroom I should use?


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## 1963 Falcon Hardtop (Dec 27, 2010)

Just turn them loose. The longer from seeding them to frogs being introduced the better established they will be. The frogs love them in the viv.


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## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

dtown said:


> Is there a specific kind of mushroom I should use?


Any containing Psilocybin are good choices...actually white button are the way to go. You can also add fruit scraps to help boost production. I use banana most of the time, but I threw an apple core in a culture the other day and the pop exploded.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

jbherpin said:


> the only other thing I would recommend is a layer of pea gravel or hydro balls under the leaf litter to fascilitate the humidity needs. This will also give them a place to hide and not be consumed and breed.
> JBear


Clay substrates are actually the way to go... In nature, the interface between the leaf litter and the clay is actually the most active zone for invertebrate action... 

Ed


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

Ed said:


> Clay substrates are actually the way to go... In nature, the interface between the leaf litter and the clay is actually the most active zone for invertebrate action...
> 
> Ed


Aren't Hydro-Balls Clay? 

JBear


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

jbherpin said:


> Aren't Hydro-Balls Clay?
> 
> JBear


They are fired clay. Any clay benefits would be minimal compared to a real, unfired, calcium enriched, clay substrate. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/63732-clay-substrate-how.html http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/22990-ultimate-clay-based-substrate-thread.html


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

Pumilo said:


> They are fired clay. Any clay benefits would be minimal compared to a real, unfired, calcium enriched, clay substrate. http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/63732-clay-substrate-how.html http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/22990-ultimate-clay-based-substrate-thread.html


OK, so you are saying that springs won't culture in tank under the conditions I suggested? I am not trying to be a _____ , but it seems a bit "knit-picky"... After all, I am I only suggesting what IS working for me.

JBear


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

jbherpin said:


> OK, so you are saying that springs won't culture in tank under the conditions I suggested? I am not trying to be a _____ , but it seems a bit "knit-picky"... After all, I am I only suggesting what IS working for me.
> 
> JBear


Not at all JBear. Just saying that if you should try an unfired, homemade, clay substrate, with a good thick layer of leaf litter, your will see microfauna production like you've never seen before. The stuff of froggy dreams my friend.


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

Crazy question... Deos it matter if you use 100% mesquite flovered


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

dtown said:


> Crazy question... Deos it matter if you use 100% mesquite flovered


Posted this elsewhere.


Pumilo said:


> Mesquite is a hardwood. You are looking for real (not chopped and formed briquettes) lump, hardwood charcoal. Cowboy or Frontier from Lowe's work well.


If you are asking again maybe we need to clarify. What do you mean by flavored? If there are artificial flavors, oils, or something in it then no, I wouldn't use it. If it is simply charred Mesquite wood chunks, that is what you are looking for. Lump, hardwood charcoal.


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## FrogNick (May 3, 2009)

i feed my a fish food mix about once a week before adding any frogs the vid below is a month after seeding with no frogs in the viv yet.

Misc :: MVI_0069.mp4 video by frognick - Photobucket


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

Frognick very impressive!! That is what I am shooting for. How did you get your culture started off?


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## kthehun89 (Jul 23, 2009)

seriously just dump some in and they will do their own thing. They will be a healthy population in a month or so, frogless.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Hasn't been mentioned yet, but you can also toss a couple pinches of fleishman's yeast in the viv underneath the leaf litter from time to time. Works well for me.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

varanoid said:


> Hasn't been mentioned yet, but you can also toss a couple pinches of fleishman's yeast in the viv underneath the leaf litter from time to time. Works well for me.


I bury a couple of teaspoons of yeast an inch deep in the substrate when I build and dump the springtails there. Gives them a nice kick start.


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

Thats how you start off, but would that technique work to feed the culture on a weekly basis??


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## oneshot (Mar 5, 2010)

I love this video:

In Tank Composting.wmv - YouTube


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## jbherpin (Oct 16, 2009)

oneshot said:


> I love this video:
> 
> In Tank Composting.wmv - YouTube


VERY cool! Thank you for that! I will have to search(fire away) for the thread regarding compost media.

JBear


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

dtown said:


> Thats how you start off, but would that technique work to feed the culture on a weekly basis??


Personally I only do that upon setup. I don't know if there would be any adverse reaction to the frogs to get active yeast all over him while hunting or not, so I don't take the chance. Other than that I keep plenty of leaf litter in the viv and I throw fruit and veggie scraps in whenever I think of it.


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

oneshot said:


> I love this video:
> 
> In Tank Composting.wmv - YouTube[/QUOTE
> 
> I have spread my newly recieved springs amongst the tank. I also created 3 thimble size holes in the substrate and filled them with bakers yeast. I thought that spreading 1/3 of my new culture throughout my viv would help them reach all corners of the enclosure. When should I start to see a population boom in my viv??


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

You should be able to see baby springtails within a couple of weeks. A month can make a HUGE difference in a springtail population. Isopods take longer.


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

Can I use 100% natural wood chips to get the main culture going?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

dtown said:


> Can I use 100% natural wood chips to get the main culture going?


I've never heard of anybody doing that.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Pumilo said:


> I've never heard of anybody doing that.


It is similar to setting up a colony on ABG or peat moss, both of which were used more commonly in the past. It is just more difficult to collect them in mass, like you can by flooding a charcoal culture. 

Ed


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Man, I just LOVE threads on Springtails!!
Thanks to Doug, Ed and everyone else who had a say in this.

John


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

I got my viv seeded with springs and also got my charcoal tub culture going!! I feel like a have a dynamite set up for the culture in the tank... I have my ABG substrate, then a light layer of pebbles, then a charcoal layer with the springs, and then leaf litter on top. I'm ready for these things to explode


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

fieldnstream said:


> Any containing Psilocybin are good choices...actually white button are the way to go. You can also add fruit scraps to help boost production. I use banana most of the time, but I threw an apple core in a culture the other day and the pop exploded.


I took your advice... I gave the springs and myself some of the "Psilocybin" All of a sudden there are a bunch of springs..............


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

After a couple of weeks my spring pop has blown up in my viv  I am extremely elated and excited about this! A couple of lucky darts will find their new home shortly. As for a interesting side note... I collected a couple pieces of charcoal from Camp Hale up in the mountains of Colorado. This is a historic site where the 10th Mountain Division trained for WWII. There are huge piles of charcoal that they used to fuel the camp that are still sitting there today. I decided to put a couple of these beautiful pieces of history in my viv. It is an amazing site to see all the springs that have decided to reproduce and populate around these pieces of charcoal. Just thought I would share


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## joshg (Apr 4, 2012)

Hey this thread has been very helpful. Ive recently set up my first viv it's only small and I only plan to house a single frog until I get into the swing of things. I bought my springtail culture today, so I just dump some of it into the viv and let the springtails do there thing in there? and leave some in the culture tub? I have an exo-terra and am worried about these climbing out of the small crack between the glass doors. Do these climb around alot? Thanks


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## jeeperrs (Jan 14, 2010)

joshg said:


> Hey this thread has been very helpful. Ive recently set up my first viv it's only small and I only plan to house a single frog until I get into the swing of things. I bought my springtail culture today, so I just dump some of it into the viv and let the springtails do there thing in there? and leave some in the culture tub? I have an exo-terra and am worried about these climbing out of the small crack between the glass doors. Do these climb around alot? Thanks


Some will crawl out but that will not hurt your population in the tank. Since your viv is new you may want to feed them in the tank, too. I would not worry about them getting out


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## joshg (Apr 4, 2012)

ok thanks what do I feed them with? I've heard people saying they hide a slice of mushroom under some leaf litter and the springtails just munch on that?


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## dtown (Jan 5, 2011)

My culuture in my Viv is now exploding!!!! Once a week I sprinkle a little bakers yeast in different parts of the viv. I have also been able to lure the springs into any part of the viv I want. I think that having A LOT of leaf litter is the key.


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