- Joined
- Feb 22, 2013
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- 3,291
(this is a duplicate thread found here, but I need advice on millipedes in particular)
Alright, I've been maintaining a colony of springtails and isopods for a couple months now, and I have fallen in love. What I got as a cleanup crew for my spiders has turned into something I actually enjoy! And, of course, browsing the classifieds didn't help. I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to set up a vivarium with nothing but detrivores - a large microfauna of isopods and springtails with a handful of millipedes living with a live plant.
I am beyond a greenhorn in this. I wouldn't even know where to begin researching. I have a 10gal aquarium that I'd like to set up with a live plant and plenty of detrivores and possibly mushrooms.
Other than humidity concerns, are there certain isopods/springtails/millipedes that can't be kept together? Are there plants that I should stay away from or look for specifically? What type of soil should I be looking at? I currently have mine on 50/50 topsoil and sphagnum mix, and they seem to be thriving. I'm sure that I'm not asking the right questions... I don't know what I don't know, after all.
One last thing. I do maintain a B. dubia colony (several, actually) and fruit flies have become a constant worry for me. Enough that I had to change the substrate on all of my tarantulas to a peat moss mix to keep them from breeding in there. Is there a way to avoid this in the vivarium? Can heavy peat moss be used, even though it increases the acidity to the point that flies can reproduce?
As always, thank you for any help this corner of the site can offer
Alright, I've been maintaining a colony of springtails and isopods for a couple months now, and I have fallen in love. What I got as a cleanup crew for my spiders has turned into something I actually enjoy! And, of course, browsing the classifieds didn't help. I've come to the conclusion that I'd like to set up a vivarium with nothing but detrivores - a large microfauna of isopods and springtails with a handful of millipedes living with a live plant.
I am beyond a greenhorn in this. I wouldn't even know where to begin researching. I have a 10gal aquarium that I'd like to set up with a live plant and plenty of detrivores and possibly mushrooms.
Other than humidity concerns, are there certain isopods/springtails/millipedes that can't be kept together? Are there plants that I should stay away from or look for specifically? What type of soil should I be looking at? I currently have mine on 50/50 topsoil and sphagnum mix, and they seem to be thriving. I'm sure that I'm not asking the right questions... I don't know what I don't know, after all.
One last thing. I do maintain a B. dubia colony (several, actually) and fruit flies have become a constant worry for me. Enough that I had to change the substrate on all of my tarantulas to a peat moss mix to keep them from breeding in there. Is there a way to avoid this in the vivarium? Can heavy peat moss be used, even though it increases the acidity to the point that flies can reproduce?
As always, thank you for any help this corner of the site can offer