Springtail propagation.

[Rhino1]

I have just purchased several springtail starter colonies online with the intention of keeping some to breed up for my bioactive vivariums, the rest will go into existing enclosures, I need heaps and they are fairly expensive to be buying in bulk like this.
What are the perfect conditions to get these little guys breeding fast?
If any springtail whisperer would like to give me some advice or springtail secrets any input is appreciated.

 

[moricollins]

I keep mine on charcoal with water, keep a bit of water in the bottom of the container, feed them yeast.
I have three cultures going that produce thousands of springtails each week/two weeks.

Warm plus humid plus yeast = productive springtails in my experience

 

[BepopCola]

I am not a springtail expert, but I've had a steady supply for about a year now.
I keep a bunch of chunks of wet charcoal in a sealed tupperware with very little water on the bottom. The water starts getting nasty if you have too much.
I toss in plant clippings, moldy food, fish flakes, or dog food, and I open it every couple of days.

 

[richard22]

I don't bother with the charcoal, I tried it twice and it failed miserably. I am breeding ~6 wild springtails well in moist or soggy enclosures with a base of ecoearth and leaf litter, an additional layer of leaf litter, and bark and moss to top it off. The overly moistened containers eventually start to smell and rot so I end up having to sieve it and separate the springtails and transplant them to a new enclosure. Problem is mites always appear at the beginning, but over time the springtails outcompete them (also I pick off all the mites that climb the sides). Often Hypoaspis miles predatory mites or soil mites coinhabit with the springtails, it doesn't seem to hurt springtail populations though. I am okay with the big predatory mites or tiny soil mites, but not tiny white predatory mites or grain mites. The springtails do fine without extra food, but I have been using ground chick feed, ground grass, and yeast pellets often in the last few weeks. Some springtails (blue-colored) love small chunks of rotting vegetables, but generally the springtails don't need fresh vegetables or a dry supplement unless its yeast-related from my experience. In my experience, if there isn't an established colony of springtails, there will be an established and constantly growing colony of tiny white mites (typically not grain mites) that move fast which might be predatory or maybe omnivorous. They look like this:



Hypoaspis miles:

 

[Ponerinecat]

Don't do charcoal unless necessary. Especially with wild caught species, almost all will die on it. Personally I use bins with a thin layer of soil, and I add whatever is required for that one species to the bin. For example my Entomobrya unostrigata are in a bare bin with some rock pieces, my Neanura spp. are in a bin with wood, and my Entomobrya atrocincta are in a bin with leaves. Soil allows for food to always be available, as it allows fungal hyphae and algae to grow as opposed to charcoal. I've found that many species will not readily eat yeast as well.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Mites can be a problem if predatory but personally I'm fine with detritivores in all my invert bins.

 

[Rhino1]

@richard22 I appreciate those pictures, thanks

 

[RezonantVoid]

This has helped me a lot, i can see ive made a few errors with past colonies. Thx for the info

 

[Rhino1]

This has helped me a lot, i can see ive made a few errors with past colonies. Thx for the info

Hey mate, I was just looking at a US seller and it says that when posted in a charcoal tub 90% will die so that company prefers to send them in sphagnum.
@RezonantVoid I bought mine from the same place you got yours, it cost me $20 each for 2 starter colonies, $18 for postage, almost all have died during transit and I'm probably lucky to have received 50 microscopic juvenile springtails all up.
Almost 60 bucks and it's going to take weeks before I can even release some into all these enclosures.
My wife would kill me if she knew what those two tubs of charcoal cost haha

 

[moricollins]

Hey mate, I was just looking at a US seller and it says that when posted in a charcoal tub 90% will die so that company prefers to send them in sphagnum.
@RezonantVoid I bought mine from the same place you got yours, it cost me $20 each for 2 starter colonies, $18 for postage, almost all have died during transit and I'm probably lucky to have received 50 microscopic juvenile springtails all up.
Almost 60 bucks and it's going to take weeks before I can even release some into all these enclosures.
My wife would kill me if she knew what those two tubs of charcoal cost haha

Through a series of missteps my springtail cultures had basically dropped down to having a few dozen springtails left (this was before I started keeping them on charcoal), a few weeks of keeping with attention to the details and the charcoal method had the population back up to the thousands.

 

[Rhino1]

Through a series of missteps my springtail cultures had basically dropped down to having a few dozen springtails left (this was before I started keeping them on charcoal), a few weeks of keeping with attention to the details and the charcoal method had the population back up to the thousands.

Thanks, Ok I hope so, I needed them sooner rather than later.

 

[Rhino1]

I keep mine on charcoal with water, keep a bit of water in the bottom of the container, feed them yeast.
I have three cultures going that produce thousands of springtails each week/two weeks.

Warm plus humid plus yeast = productive springtails in my experience

How much yeast? How often do I feed them or how do I know when they need more?

 

[moricollins]

I put in a few sprinkles of yeast, like 2ml worth of yeast, and then watch the culture to see when it's gone, then replace it. You ideally want the yeast to be eaten by the third day (in my experience) or else it starts to mold .

Since you only have a few springtails I would just do a pinch of yeast.

 

[Colorado Ts]

I started with a culture of temperate springtails, picked up at a reptile show.

I now have 6 cultures going, great for feeding tiny slings and slings of dwarf species.

Charcoal, distilled water, tight sealing lid.

I feed them a mix of Nutritional Yeast and Powdered Spirilina.

It takes a culture a few weeks to get going, but once they start propagating...wow!!!

 

[Konstantin Konstantinov]

View attachment 343163

I started with a culture of temperate springtails, picked up at a reptile show.

I now have 6 cultures going, great for feeding tiny slings and slings of dwarf species.

Charcoal, distilled water, tight sealing lid.

I feed them a mix of Nutritional Yeast and Powdered Spirilina.

It takes a culture a few weeks to get going, but once they start propagating...wow!!!

Hi
You said sealed lid.
How you vent the tub or just open it once every day or two?

 

[Colorado Ts]

Hi
You said sealed lid.
How you vent the tub or just open it once every day or two?

These things are soooo tiny, you do not want any cracks or openings. I open the containers everyday or every other day and sprinkle enough food to last a couple days. So 3 to 4 times a week I feed them and they are doing very well. I have one large group, that consists of my original culture. Then on Amazon, I bought some large flat deli food containers and I used them to start more cultures. I now have 6 cultures total and a bunch of empty deli containers. Later today or tomorrow, I'll post images of the deli container cultures, they make the best containers for raising cultures of springtails. The deli containers are nice durable containers with tight sealing clear plastic lids.

I've written a PDF document on how to raise Springtails, for my Biology Students and it is very detailed as to how to grow cultures and how to treat the cultures if they become contaminated with mites and other pests.

 

[ccTroi]

These things are soooo tiny, you do not want any cracks or openings. I open the containers everyday or every other day and sprinkle enough food to last a couple days. So 3 to 4 times a week I feed them and they are doing very well. I have one large group, that consists of my original culture. Then on Amazon, I bought some large flat deli food containers and I used them to start more cultures. I now have 6 cultures total and a bunch of empty deli containers. Later today or tomorrow, I'll post images of the deli container cultures, they make the best containers for raising cultures of springtails. The deli containers are nice durable containers with tight sealing clear plastic lids.

I've written a PDF document on how to raise Springtails, for my Biology Students and it is very detailed as to how to grow cultures and how to treat the cultures if they become contaminated with mites and other pests.

Do you mind sharing your pdf? I recently started a springtail culture too for my isopod collection. I tossed in brewer’s yeast and rice grains and notice mild start to appear. The springtails gather around it, but it’s been a week since and they haven’t finished all (mold) of it yet. I open their lids twice a day to make sure they get enough oxygen as the mold keeps growing.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Do you mind sharing your pdf? I recently started a springtail culture too for my isopod collection. I tossed in brewer’s yeast and rice grains and notice mild start to appear. The springtails gather around it, but it’s been a week since and they haven’t finished all (mold) of it yet. I open their lids twice a day to make sure they get enough oxygen as the mold keeps growing.

I'm not sure where or how to share the document.

The content is fairly simple, the original 1st draft of the writing came from my internet research and the updates were edited into the document based on my experiences raising Springtails.

These little guys are one of the secrets used by the tarantula breeders to feed and maintain the really tiny slings that some species produce and then raise those tiny slings to a saleable size. The tiny slings need a moist enclosed environment so do the springtails. So the springtails provide both food for the sling and they clean up the inside of the enclosure, maintain a safe clean environment for the sling.

 

[Ponerinecat]

Interesting how you guys have so much success with charcoal. Perhaps its because all my springtails are native sp. Most of mine are rather large above ground sp too, that could also be a part of it.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Springtails



This container pictured is a deli food container that is about 8” to 10” in diameter. The lid is clear and tight sealing. The bases and the lids are molded do that they stack, very nice detail to have when maintaining multiple cultures. Both halves are durable and tough, so will last a long time...and they are microwaveable...very important when cleaning out an old culture and trying to rid it of invasive pests.



The Springtails propagate readily in these deli containers. They seal very tightly, maintain a high humidity...just perfect for establishing a Springtail culture.

I have a large culture going in a sterylite tub with a fairly good fitting lid. It was very sliw for that culture to take off and establish, as compared to the deli containers.



I feed my Springtails a mixture of Nutritional Yeast and Spirilina Powder. This is mixed in a 1:1 ratio inside a blender so that it comes out as a powder. I put a light dusting of this mixture every few days to feed the springtails.

I have a repurposed shaker, yellow with a green lid in the picture, that I use to hold the Springtail food.

Very easy to start a culture, very easy to maintain.