Dart Den
Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...
Dart Den

Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...

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How I do Collembola / Springtails...
#1
After a bunch of Turkish Glider fruit flies climbed into the KIS container via underneath the lid lip, where it meets the box - a sliver of space but just enough for flies...

and those same flies had a couple mites riding on them, like taking the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan....

I sealed em up in Tupperware - snap on lids and NOW the springs have literally come back and taken over - kicking the tiny asses of the mites.

It wasn't quick...it took 2 months plus...but I was determined to see this "experiment" thru to the end.

anyhoo....here's how I keep my springtails now. ABG-ish soil. Large chunks of cowboy charcoal for feeding out. Semi moist but nowhere near wet.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#2
Do you keep your springtails in the dark? I keep mine in a drawyer. It seems to work the best for me.
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#3
Dark is ok......what I like is the opaque lid of the container.
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#4
Here ya go Mark....my "large" size springtail cultures. I really like this size. They produce so much better for me, than regular deli cup sizes.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#5
Haha, that's great. What size are those containers?

Mark
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#6
Good question.....got em at Walmart.

@ 16 inches long and @ 5 inches deep.

Good "medium" size....not too big, but def not small.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#7
They look about half as wide as they are long. So, if that's about right and they're 16x8x5", they are 2.77 gallons in volume. Not small at all I'd say. Very nice!

Mark

PS. (16*8*5)/231=2.77gallons
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#8
Update:

Both Craig and my Sealed springcultures just crashed / had a massive die-off. Tiny dead bodies everywhere. Weird looking to be honest.

This was after some relatively heavy feeding of fish food (not yeast) and when the populations were booming. I think they suffocated.

I'm thinking of installing a central air hole - like the mesh FF type in the future. Gotta still account/ prevent for FF, and thus mites, getting into the cultures.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#9
I cover my springtail cultures with a towel. I still leave the lid vented a tiny bit, but the towel tends to ward off the nasties.

Also, I discovered that my springs go NUTS over those Flukers orange cricket feeders. The fruitflies like them too, so I place a few in the tanks as feeding stations. Try it and see if you see what I see. I'm very surprised how quickly the springs multiply with those Flukers cubes as food.
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#10
Great tip on those Cricket feeders. They packaway and store nicely too - won't spoil like fruit if you don't use it quick.
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#11
Phil we are having a mixed time with collembola,we get massive build ups then out of the blue bang total crash,tried charcoal mixed subs fed lots of different foods,totally unpredictable results,ha both vented and unvented,we have our natives which help but more relevent to you guys are the seire(spelling) species,so far all win with these we keep them just damp bits of oak bark on top of co co fiber fed sprinkels of readybreak almost daily they are my lifeline at presant untill i can figure out collumbola,which just seem a lottery at presant,a good friend has exactly the same problems as me,i hoped becuase he's done this for so long i might recive enlightenment,oh well. He just had a massive crash just before his holiday nice huh. Can one do this sierra? spring on charcoal?....hmmm do you have them there? :oops: i believe from brazil?
regards
Stu
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#12
Readybreak is supposedly really good - I've heard lots of good things.

Charcoal - big pieces, are good and really handy - easy to shake out and re clean. I think it's good to use.

My latest incarnations were comprised of an ABG type substrate with Charcoal on top and that seemed to work really well.

I just think a huge boom needs to be harvested while it is huge. If left large and unchecked, the massive amounts of springtails kill each other off somehow - suffocation ?
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#13
Philsuma Wrote:Readybreak is supposedly really good - I've heard lots of good things.

Charcoal - big pieces, are good and really handy - easy to shake out and re clean. I think it's good to use.

My latest incarnations were comprised of an ABG type substrate with Charcoal on top and that seemed to work really well.

I just think a huge boom needs to be harvested while it is huge. If left large and unchecked, the massive amounts of springtails kill each other off somehow - suffocation ?
I wonder if its suffocation Phil,personnally i'm not convinced we have had this with well ventilated culture,some form of secretion by collumblla methinks, but hell i don't know just what we see... tried with ventilated cultures same results ...erratic
do you guys use these sierra?
Stu
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#14
Stu&Shaz Wrote:do you guys use these sierra?
Stu

I don't personally know anyone who uses it. Do you like it ?
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#15
Philsuma Wrote:
Stu&Shaz Wrote:do you guys use these sierra?
Stu

I don't personally know anyone who uses it. Do you like it ?
Ahh mate my inadequaces with letters are messing with us here i think. Sincere apologies but i can't see words like other guys do. ok SEIRA ( mate shaz has had to make sure i got spelling 100% right i cannot see it at all :oops: ) are a type of springtail,they herald from Brazil i culture them a bit dryer than collumbolla and they although relatively new to me seem much more stable than collumbolla. they are slightly bigger when full grown,and maybe a bit more surface dwelling.
Pretty embarassing but tis how it is,some words are just a jumble of letters to me every time i write them its different i know its not right but can't see why
i am trying to find out if you guys culture this variety, and how you do it if are allowed to keep them. that is
regards
Stu
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#16
anyone have a link to a site i can purchase different species of springs please?
2.1.0 Cobalt
1.1.0 Aurotaenia
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#17
Here ya go:

http://shop.southeasternff.com/Springtails_c26.htm
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#18
Hey I was wondering if there is any downside to culturing springs in a pure charcoal substrate? I bought them that way from Josh's and he advises to culture them the same way. It is a very easy way to feed as all you have to do is add extra water and tip the springtails out(they float!)
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#19
feeder-insects-nutrition-how-to-feed-your-frogs-f22/springtail-charcoal-only-fail-t4978.html
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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