Why won't my springtails breed??

Nephaleim

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
94
Hi! I've been trying to start a local springtail culture for months now. At the moment I'm at the end of my 4th attempt. Everyone keeps on saying its so easy and it really baffles me how I can fail at a task so simple.
Since I cannot find anyone in Croatia selling springies I had to search for them outside. Luckily I did find a bunch of old logs in my garden. There we're a few springtails there but no more than 20 I suppose. I don't know why there we're so few of them. It's early spring in here and temps already reach 20°C.
I took a clean container, put some charcoal I found in a bag underneath the grill. I cannot tell what kind of charcoal it is because the bag lost it's ink over time but I'd guess lump charcoal. I chrushed it to smaller pieces and put it in the plastic container, added some destiled water and put some yeast and rice on top. Added about 6 springies. Closed the lid with no holes but I'd open the container for fresh air every day. Of course, they lived for a few weeks but eventually died of without any babies.
Tried this 3 more times, each time with a smaller container, thinking they need to be closer to each other to start mating. Again nothing the second and third attempt. Now I'm at the fourth with the smallest container that I could find. Maybe it's a bit too small but damn I want to know why won't they reproduce.
Here are some pictures:
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There is a baby there but it's the one I picked up from outside.
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Please help me out I really want to start a culture. Also my parents don't really care about my hobby and because I'm not allowed to have any money I can't go out and buy what I need so I'm using what I can from outside.

EDIT: These springtails are HUGE. An adult is as big if not bigger than a fruit fly.
 

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pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
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Do you wash off the charcoal really well before using it? I'm wondering if there's some sort of leftover chemical on it from before. Could also be inside the charcoal, which is why the springtails aren't living.
 

Nephaleim

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
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Do you wash off the charcoal really well before using it? I'm wondering if there's some sort of leftover chemical on it from before. Could also be inside the charcoal, which is why the springtails aren't living.
I did rinse them well. About three times with tap water then two times with destiled yeah. I tried using potting soil instead of charcoal but it was the same.
 

moricollins

Arachno search engine
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Are you feeding the springtails? I feed mine with yeast (regular baking yeast) and they thrive in a setup similiar to your pictures
 

Nephaleim

Arachnosquire
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Nov 28, 2019
Messages
94
Yeah I said I use yeast, rice. Tried mushrooms and I even placed some dead leaves and a piece of bark I found them on..
Are you feeding the springtails? I feed mine with yeast (regular baking yeast) and they thrive in a setup similiar to your pictures
 

BepopCola

Arachnobaron
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Oct 14, 2018
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418
Mine boom after a protein-rich dog kibble goes all moldy.

Are you opening that container daily to get fresh oxygen in?
 

pannaking22

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I noticed mine had liked fish flakes as well. Though yeast seems to be the standard, so I'm not sure why they aren't taking to it.
 

Polenth

Arachnobaron
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Sep 29, 2018
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459
There are many species of springtails, so you may have found one that has different requirements. To find smaller soil springtails, toss some soil into a pot of water and mix it around gently. The springtails will float to the surface (they will be tiny). Scoop them off into the tub. See if those do any better.
 

Nephaleim

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 28, 2019
Messages
94
There are many species of springtails, so you may have found one that has different requirements. To find smaller soil springtails, toss some soil into a pot of water and mix it around gently. The springtails will float to the surface (they will be tiny). Scoop them off into the tub. See if those do any better.
Thanks, I actually found those yesterday! I'll be waiting to see if they'll
do better..
 
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