# Springtail culture -- larvae?



## whuppity (Jan 10, 2016)

I've been culturing springtails for the last couple of months with the intention of getting a few mantellas in a week or so. I started with a single culture, which I split into three smaller ones, two of which have been absolutely thriving. 

The third, however, seems to be struggling, despite the conditions being identical to the other two. And, recently, I've noticed these little bugs mixed in with the springtails (and which appear to be completely absent in my other two cultures). 

Can anyone shed any light as to what these might be? And could they be the reason the culture isn't doing as well as the others? 

At this point I'm considering scrapping this culture altogether and starting a fresh one just to be safe than sorry.


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## edgeofthefreak (Jan 2, 2014)

I culture springtails too, and have been for a year or two. I get little mites in my cultures occasionally, and they can certainly out eat the springtails for food. They can't go as long without food though, so if I stop feeding that culture, the numbers of both dwindle, and once the mites are far fewer, I start feeding again.

Some of my cultures have completely bounced back, but not all.

Those little creatures you have don't look like my mites, and they don't look like the nematodes I get from the soil either. They might a grub or larvae that I've never seen.

Your best bet is to keep a close watch on this bin, and keep it separate from the other two. They may not be specifically harmful, but if they eat the same food, they may outnumber your 'tails.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

whuppity said:


> The third, however, seems to be struggling, despite the conditions being identical to the other two. And, recently, I've noticed these little bugs mixed in with the springtails (and which appear to be completely absent in my other two cultures).


Those are some kind of fly or gnat larvae (they actually look like fungus gnat larvae). If your getting them in the cultures then you might be overfeeding the culture. What food are you using for it?? 

Some comments 

Ed


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## Jjl (Feb 2, 2014)

Ed said:


> Those are some kind of fly or gnat larvae (they actually look like fungus gnat larvae). If your getting them in the cultures then you might be overfeeding the culture. What food are you using for it??
> 
> Some comments
> 
> Ed


Good call on the food, but in my experience, the substrate is also a big factor. I know fungus gnat eggs sometimes ride around in Eco Earth, for instance. (Guess how I know...)


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Jjl said:


> Good call on the food, but in my experience, the substrate is also a big factor. I know fungus gnat eggs sometimes ride around in Eco Earth, for instance. (Guess how I know...)


If the ecoearth was dry then the eggs should have been non-viable as they are very susceptible to dry conditions. 

Some comments 

Ed


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## whuppity (Jan 10, 2016)

I've been keeping all of my springs on the substrate that they were shipped with, topped with a layer of orchid bark for no reason other than that's what I happened to have in the house at the time. I'm considering moving them over to charcoal once the culture starts to get too overcrowded but we'll see. 

Fungus gnats make perfect sense! I've seen some adult gnats in the tank (and left them alone on the assumption that the mantellas will clear them up for me once they've moved in) and the fact that there don't appear to be any larvae in the other two cultures makes me think an adult must've snuck into this one at some point.

Phew! Now I can relax, thanks guys. I'll just kill the ones I see and hope that my springs bounce back eventually.

As for what I'm feeding them, it's a fine powder of dried oats, fish food and a little bit of calcium. It's possible that I've been overfeeding this culture (since I haven't really compensated for the lack of springs in it) and that that's given the gnat larvae the opportunity to eat the wastage. 

I'll cut back on it and see what happens.


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## Jjl (Feb 2, 2014)

Ed said:


> If the ecoearth was dry then the eggs should have been non-viable as they are very susceptible to dry conditions.
> 
> Some comments
> 
> Ed


Thanks Ed, good to know--I have a couple isopod cultures with Eco Earth as well as a gecko terrarium. The Eco Earth used in them came as dry bricks, but all 3 ended up getting fungus gnats soon after I re-hydrated the Eco Earth and put it in the tank. (Which I haven't observed with other substrates). Sounds like some adults just found their way into my tanks, and found Eco Earth to be a nice media.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

whuppity said:


> t
> As for what I'm feeding them, it's a fine powder of dried oats, fish food and a little bit of calcium. It's possible that I've been overfeeding this culture (since I haven't really compensated for the lack of springs in it) and that that's given the gnat larvae the opportunity to eat th.


The larvae also feed on microbial growths so if there is extra nutrients in the culture its going to support the gnat larvae for some time. 

Some comments 

Ed


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