# Mites or Baby Iso's?



## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

OK so i picked up some cultures of springs and dwaf iso's about 2 months ago now. 

Using Doug's ABG/Leaf litter mix for the iso's and straight charcoal for the springs. (Great thread!)

Have seen very little action in either culture until recently, my iso culture is starting to boom with very small, relatively quick moving critters. I believe them to be young iso's, but have some concern about mites. 

From all the pics and searching I have done on here, mites tend to be slow and very white. These are neither. Could someone confirm my theory? 

On a side note there is very little action in the spring culture, i fear that I did not get them moved into their charcoal home soon enough after they arrived, but time will tell. 

Thanks All.


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## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

What kind of springtails did you get? Can you post a picture?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

If your eyes are any good at all, you can see this with the naked eye. If not, find a magnifying glass or take a digital picture and blow it up on your computer screen.
Some bugs go through stages (larval, instars, whatever--I'm not an entomologist, I just like my bugs!), in which they may look like different bugs. Isopods and springtails do not. A baby isopod looks exactly like a small adult (although the color may be lighter) and a baby springtail looks exactly like a small adult springtail (although the pinks will appear lighter in color). 
At least from the time you can see them with the naked eye, young mites also look exactly like adult mites.
Hope that helps.


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## dartsami (Oct 30, 2006)

, my iso culture is starting to boom with very small, relatively quick moving critters. I believe them to be young iso's, but have some concern about mites. 



Sounds like if they are quick they are springtails in your isopod culture. Try blowing into the culture and see if they jump around. If they dont jump they could be baby isopods.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

hypostatic said:


> What kind of springtails did you get? Can you post a picture?


I have Temperate Springtails and Striped Isopods. 

I'll try to post a picture shortly. Which might answer my question since i can blow it up (Thanks Pumilo). I have not seen a single moving creature in the springtail culture, but the small amount of yeast i add every now and then is disappearing so I'm hoping that culture is coming along...


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

OK Pictures were an epic fail. iPhone photography just won't cut it. 

No surprise there.

However, a quick search through my son's room led to a decent ant fryer that revealed munchkin isopods!! 

First successful culture. (FF's don't count) Now i just need to get these springtails going. 

Thanks for the input and good ideas all.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Good deal. How old is your springtail culture? There is a lot of motion in my springtail cultures every time I pull the lid off.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

Two months. I am fairly certain that it has crashed and/or never got stated at this point. 

The springs spent a couple days in their shipping container until i got the charcoal to get them set up. I believe this may have something to do with it. That or i have too much water in the culture, but from what i have read, that is not likely. 

I am wavering between continued patience or ordering more. . .


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Sounds crashed if it has been two months. Too much water should not be an issue unless you are trying Giant Black Tomocerus.
Isopods may take a couple months to start doing much but springtails should be showing a lot more action by now.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for the confirmation.

I'll take 1 out of 2. 

So who wants to send me a new springtail culture?


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

You could try Tclipse (Teddy) or Jeremy Huff.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

I see Jeremy has a classified up. He sent me the original cultures with no issue. 

Time for Round 2...


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

I would highly recommend <redacted, vendor feedback only belongs in the vendor feedback section, Catfur>. 
My springs took a long time to take off and I think it was because I wasn't feeding enough. At first I was only putting a sprinkle of yeast and the occasional fruit peel in the cultures 1x a week and they barely grew. On a whim I started dusting the whole culture with yeast every day or 2 and they started booming. If you still see any movement in your spring cultures at all try upping the amount and frequency of feedings.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

Already placed my order with <redacted, vendor feedback only belongs in the vendor feedback section, Catfur>. Had a good experience the first go around. 

I'll try the springs again. There were some extenuating circumstances when order came in that I believe led to the culture not taking. ( had nothing to do with Jeremy at all, to be clear)

It's intereating that an increase in feeding got yours to boom as I have read and been advised that overfeeding is a common cause of failure...


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

ckays said:


> Already placed my order with <redacted, vendor feedback only belongs in the vendor feedback section, Catfur>. Had a good experience the first go around.
> 
> I'll try the springs again. There were some extenuating circumstances when order came in that I believe led to the culture not taking. ( had nothing to do with Jeremy at all, to be clear)
> 
> It's intereating that an increase in feeding got yours to boom as I have read and been advised that overfeeding is a common cause of failure...


I don't know why that would be. They eat mold and rotting foods. Unless you have not set it up with ventilation, in which case it is really suffocation rather than overfeeding.
Overfeeding can be an issue with isopods as excessive mold can seem to choke them out if it gets completely out of control.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks for the clarification Doug. I belive it was your thread ( you know the one) that suggested just a pinch of yeast, at least to star. 

Jeremy also advised me not to overfeed. 

In my case this is somewhat moot as i feed moderately. Not too light and not too heavy. I think my inability to get the springs into the charcoal cutlure in a reasonable amount time caused the crash. 

Appreciate the good information though


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

If you install those .3 micron filters, you can drastically increase your feeding for your springtails. The problem with increased feeding is that it increases bacterial action and therefore bacterial respiration. This leads to a culture that suffocates overnight. Install the filters, they can breathe, problem solved.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

Yes sir.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

Oops! 

My first DB wrist slap. . My bad.


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## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

Here is a pic of a baby dwarf grey iso next to some mites for comparison:


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

ckays said:


> Oops!
> 
> My first DB wrist slap. . My bad.


Just so you know why mine didn't get edited, I simply suggested a couple of sources to try. The mentions that got edited were because they were "highly recommended". You can always PM somebody to tell them if you particularly liked a certain vendor.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

fieldnstream said:


> Here is a pic of a baby dwarf grey iso next to some mites for comparison:


Thanks for this. They are definitely not mites, rather a sign of success. I have a booming iso culture going right now. 



Pumilo said:


> Just so you know why mine didn't get edited, I simply suggested a couple of sources to try. The mentions that got edited were because they were "highly recommended". You can always PM somebody to tell them if you particularly liked a certain vendor.


Thanks Doug, I knew right away what my mistake was upon reviewing my comment in the warning PM'ed to me. Although "highly recommended" was not it, mentioning that I had a good experience with so and so still counts.

I did not mean to give vendor feedback, I was just caught up in the conversation. Regardless, it certainly was and I shall be more careful in the future. It's also quite clear (to me) why your post did not get edited. 

Always appreciate the feedback, and more importantly the great bug info.


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

ckays said:


> Oops!
> 
> My first DB wrist slap. . My bad.


You and me, both!

It wasn't intentional or malicious (heck, I just thought I was being nice!) but I was clearly wrong. I appreciate that the mods tell you why you were wrong.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

dartsami said:


> Sounds like if they are quick they are springtails in your isopod culture. Try blowing into the culture and see if they jump around. If they dont jump they could be baby isopods.


I would bet that this is the case. I had a similar experience. I purchased an isopod colony that had a few hitchhikers in there. At first I thought they were mites, but they were springtails (a species that I hadn't owned before and am still not sure what they are). I ended up starting new cultures of both species (isopod and springtail) that weren't mixed.


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

An update. . . 
These are definitely not springtails as my two newer cultures of springtails are booming after only a month or so and they look nothing like the critters in my iso culture. I seeded my viv out of one of these for the first time today. We'll see if they take. . . 

However, there has been no visible progress in my iso culture since I started this thread about two months ago. I still have tons of these little guys in the culture. Fish food is being eaten regurly, but no increase in adult iso's. I know it takes months for these cultures to mature, but we are approaching month 3 or 4...

Am I jumping the gun here or is it more likely that my iso's have been invaded. I will try to get a pic tomorrow with our point and shoot, but I don't have much hope that I will be able to render a decent representation with it.


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

Pictures might help to figure out what's going on.

My oranges took a couple months to start producing and I thought my purples were stagnant until I did some digging through the culture and boy, was I surprised! They're doing great but hide a lot. Can you try digging through the media a bit?


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## ckays (Jul 26, 2011)

I can and that's a good idea. 

I took the day off from work today so I will snap a few photos and do some digging.


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