# Clay springtail culture



## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

This is my first time buying a clay culture. I plan to let them grow for a bit since there's not that many. When I got the culture about a week ago, the clay was not cracked. But now it is and there's lots of condensation on the lid. Is this what's supposed to happen? Do I need to add any water? 

I added a tiny bit of springtail food (the powder sprinkled in the corner. Not knowing if the clay is food, or if I have to feed them. Figured it couldn't hurt. 

Is there anything else I need to do? Add water? Leave it alone? Do I need to feed or is the clay their food?


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## Organics (Jan 17, 2020)

Thats probably a lot of food since I don't really see any springtails, I would remove some. You should mist the clay(not soaked just moist). It does seem springtails will consume some clay in the right circumstances but you will need to need to supplement food. Active yeast, fish food, mushrooms, among others are good items to feed.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

Mist every 2 weeks or so, cracks indicate it is drying out a bit too much.


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## Do_Gon (Aug 18, 2018)

Where did you get the culture from? If you don't mind me asking.


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Do_Gon said:


> Where did you get the culture from? If you don't mind me asking.


This came from Houston frogs. It's intended to be my starter culture that I'll begin seeding other clay cultures with. But I'm learning that I'm still learning 😂😂😂


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Karen S. said:


> This came from Houston frogs. It's intended to be my starter culture that I'll begin seeding other clay cultures with. But I'm learning that I'm still learning 😂😂😂


This is not vendor feedback:

I would not buy cultures from them again. When you purchase a culture, especially a clay culture, they should be booming. Loss during shipment with charcoal cultures is pretty common but clay cultures ship well. There is at least one hobbyist selling great clay cultures.


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## Do_Gon (Aug 18, 2018)

Karen S. said:


> This came from Houston frogs. It's intended to be my starter culture that I'll begin seeding other clay cultures with. But I'm learning that I'm still learning


Cool. Thanks


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

@Karen S. I would contact Houston Frogs. They would probably like to fix this for you. You shouldn't have to pay that much for 12 springtails.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

JasonE said:


> @Karen S. I would contact Houston Frogs. They would probably like to fix this for you. You shouldn't have to pay that much for 12 springtails.


@JasonE is correct, a clay culture should be absolutely booming. You should not be able to even think about counting how many are in there.


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

JasonE said:


> @Karen S. I would contact Houston Frogs. They would probably like to fix this for you. You shouldn't have to pay that much for 12 springtails.


That's really helpful, thanks so much. I will give them a call. I honestly assumed it was normal & they needed to "grow in". Much appreciated!


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Chris S said:


> @JasonE is correct, a clay culture should be absolutely booming. You should not be able to even think about counting how many are in there.


Wow okay, thank you so much. I'll definitely be calling. 

Tbh though, I'll probably have my husband call. I have this phobia of being a "Karen" like a legit complex about it now 😂😭 I have a hard time complaining about an order no matter what it is lol


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## Stiles (Feb 24, 2020)

JasonE said:


> This is not vendor feedback:
> 
> I would not buy cultures from them again. When you purchase a culture, especially a clay culture, they should be booming. Loss during shipment with charcoal cultures is pretty common but clay cultures ship well. There is at least one hobbyist selling great clay cultures.


@JasonE Where can I buy clay or a clay culture with springtails? I was going to buy from houston but for some reason...i didn't. So im hoping you can lead me in the best direction you know.


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

Stiles said:


> @JasonE Where can I buy clay or a clay culture with springtails? I was going to buy from houston but for some reason...i didn't. So im hoping you can lead me in the best direction you know.


Frog daddy sells good ones I've heard. I didn't order from them because I was already ordering something I wanted on Houston frogs


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Stiles said:


> @JasonE Where can I buy clay or a clay culture with springtails? I was going to buy from houston but for some reason...i didn't. So im hoping you can lead me in the best direction you know.


I get mine from another hobbyist. You can PM me if you want his info.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

This is what my clay-based springtail cultures looked like when I received them from a hobbyist here in Canada.


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

How my clay cultures show up.


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Karen S. said:


> I added a tiny bit of springtail food (the powder sprinkled in the corner. Not knowing if the clay is food, or if I have to feed them. Figured it couldn't hurt.


I missed this the first time. I cringe whenever I read "springtail food." Those springtail foods usually contain multiple ingredients that attract mites. Active dry yeast is the best food for springs. First, it's a fungus and they love those. But mites don't eat yeast so you're not putting your cultures at risk.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

JasonE said:


> I missed this the first time. I cringe whenever I read "springtail food." Those springtail foods usually contain multiple ingredients that attract mites. Active dry yeast is the best food for springs. First, it's a fungus and they love those. But mites don't eat yeast so you're not putting your cultures at risk.


To be clear, the springtails don't eat the yeast really, they eat the mold that quickly populates when the yeast combines with moisture. At least this is my understanding.


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Chris S said:


> To be clear, the springtails don't eat the yeast really, they eat the mold that quickly populates when the yeast combines with moisture. At least this is my understanding.


That sounds good too. Either way, it's the best food for them.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

JasonE said:


> That sounds good too. Either way, it's the best food for them.


I use it as my primary food as well. Cheap and works extremely well.


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Chris S said:


> I use it as my primary food as well. Cheap and works extremely well.


Also readily available in any grocery store now that everyone is done with their bread phase of quarantine.


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

JasonE said:


> @Karen S. I would contact Houston Frogs. They would probably like to fix this for you. You shouldn't have to pay that much for 12 springtails.











Here was my response. I'm not going to worry about it really. Things happen I suppose. It was only 8 bucks. Not worth making a stink about it ❤ I bought the stuff to culture my own springtails so as soon as this one booms, I'll be golden grahms


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

JasonE said:


> Also readily available in any grocery store now that everyone is done with their bread phase of quarantine.


So literally just bread yeast? What brand do you use?


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Karen S. said:


> So literally just bread yeast? What brand do you use?


Exactly. I buy the grocery store brand. They usually come with 3 little packets attached together. Just make sure it says dry active. They sell it by the jar too. But the three packets is around 6 months worth of food. I have 4 springtail cultures going. 

The problem with their explanation for that bad culture doesn't hold water. First, your cultures should already be booming. You didn't pay for clay and a wait time. 
Second, clay cultures boom at a significantly slower rate than charcoal cultures. So you could be waiting 4-6 months before your culture is booming enough to feed and seed.
If I were you, and I didn't want to buy another culture, I'd go to like home depot and get a bag of natural lump charcoal (if you don't have it already). Then set up a charcoal culture and dump all the springtails in it. They'll boom in about a month and then you can seed the clay culture. Also, the clay shouldn't be flat and smooth. It should have nooks and crannies for them to breed in. If you see my pic, Josh used his fingers to create space in the clay for them to breed.


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Karen S. said:


> Here was my response. I'm not going to worry about it really. Things happen I suppose. It was only 8 bucks. Not worth making a stink about it ❤ I bought the stuff to culture my own springtails so as soon as this one booms, I'll be golden grahms


I'll still use Houston Frogs but that response is disappointing and not what I thought you'd get. Especially not all that BS. Just say I'm sorry you weren't satisfied. I'll give you store credit for it.

That said, Houston Frogs has a large supply of plants and such, so I'm sure you'll find something to spend the $8 on.


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

JasonE said:


> I'll still use Houston Frogs but that response is disappointing and not what I thought you'd get. Especially not all that BS. Just say I'm sorry you weren't satisfied. I'll give you store credit for it.
> 
> That said, Houston Frogs has a large supply of plants and such, so I'm sure you'll find something to spend the $8 on.


Yeah, for sure. It's not something that would make me never use them again over. I'm sure the culture will grow in and be fine. I know they've got good reviews and tons of happy customers. I don't believe every company should be perfect every single time. And I know the expense of shipping anoyher culture would be more than the whole thing was worth.


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

JasonE said:


> I'll still use Houston Frogs but that response is disappointing and not what I thought you'd get. Especially not all that BS. Just say I'm sorry you weren't satisfied. I'll give you store credit for it.
> 
> That said, Houston Frogs has a large supply of plants and such, so I'm sure you'll find something to spend the $8 on.


I thought the reply was ok. I think the major expense here really is the clay and container. Springtails themselves are not really worth anything, just the substrate and time.

I use solely clay springtail cultures now (I keep a couple master colonies on charcoal still though), but I find they boom just as fast as the charcoal ones. Feed often for better results. I also like them better, as it is so much easier to feed out of them!


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Chris S said:


> I use solely clay springtail cultures now (I keep a couple master colonies on charcoal still though), but I find they boom just as fast as the charcoal ones. Feed often for better results. I also like them better, as it is so much easier to feed out of them!


I have a master in charcoal and then four clay. I have two that are booming good now. But I have another two that I used to seed and they have never bounced back.


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## Karen S. (Jul 30, 2021)

JasonE said:


> I have a master in charcoal and then four clay. I have two that are booming good now. But I have another two that I used to seed and they have never bounced back.


How long should it take to boom?


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## JasonE (Feb 7, 2011)

Karen S. said:


> How long should it take to boom?


Feed them often and it should take 3-5 weeks. Hard to say. I've never started a culture with so few springtails


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## Chris S (Apr 12, 2016)

With the amount if yours, I'd give it a good 5-6 weeks.

I have about 25 cultures on the go at any given time, so I find it hard to keep track anymore!


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## Lovelyk (Feb 7, 2021)

I’ve gotten a couple cultures from HF, both a little on the low side like this one. The first one was similar to this and didn’t last long…I gave up on it. The other one is doing okay, not my best, but it’s a convenient small culture to stick in with my froglets then let bounce back for a couple weeks…


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