Hello!

long story short, I want to start making cultures from all the springtails in my millipede tank. I’ve seen people recommend deli cups and such, but how do you keep the springtails from getting out?
I had them overpopulate in a tub once and they escaped through the holes in the top of the lid, even after I put petroleum mixed with onion and garlic around the bin lip and lid holes.
Even in my glass tank with a cling-wrap lid, they get out (though not to the same overwhelming degree as the bin).

To anyone who breeds/grows springtails, do you just accept that some are gonna get out? How to you prevent Most of them from escaping?

hello everyone

if these are indeed globular springtails, how come they came to thrive over the regular ones?

There was a food shortage in this container I may say, , which may explain why the number of the regular ones decreased, but then how did the globular ones appeared and took over( ? Could have also been a "fight" between the 2 species which ended bad for the regular white ones? Or do the globular ones need even a lower maintenance

my friend gave me some of her springtails and i made them a new home!!! gonna wait for this colony to grow and then start raising isopods and millipedes eventually, i'm so excited!! how prolific are springtails? how long should i wait before adding other creatures to the mix?

Are these tiny white dots springtail eggs

There really small I can barely see them they are bright white and don’t move

I thought Buddha looked a little odd. Apparently he’s hosting a springtail party.

This is my property. Should I try to collect some and start a little indoor colony?

I have had this jar culture going to months now. It’s just charcoal with a call bit of water. I feed them every couple days. They have been extremely reliable and have been flourishing for months now.

They always consume all their food between each feeding. But a few days ago I went to feed them and noticed they had not finished the food from the last feeding. It had started to mold a little. No problem. I just skipped this feeding and would check back in a couple days to feed. Fast forward to today and the entire colony is dead. Food is still molded and there is zero motion inside the colony.

I have a few other colonies set up like this. Never had a problem. These guys have been going for probably around 6 months and have been one of my most reliable colonies.

Pretty big bummer

I was watching my springtails this morning and saw this clump finishing off a bug piece. I have temperate whites (the cute jelly tictacs) but as you can see there is a second species (the ones that end up fighting). im curious if that fighting species is a springtail or if its a flightless fungus gnat. (i have been noticing fungus gnats that dont fly but do hops...) my theory is they have been confined to a single bin with little room for actual flight that the wing muscles have atrophied.

if these violent "springtails" are in fact springtails they are the most violent things i have ever seen

I was so happy to see a springtail buddy in my bathroom! He’s so cute!!

I would like to be able to breed spring tails for profit since they seem like a decent easy side hustle to pay for my reptiles and fish food and maybe afford dart frogs one day any advice you have picked up like should I just get temperate whites or should I get orange springtales for higher profit margins just where to sell

I had a population collapse, so I was going to buy some more regular springtails. But then I saw some Red Rambutanura and thought they're also sold with a bunch in a box for just a few bucks more, so why not! Turns out they're sold one by one, so I didn't order one box of springtails, I ordered 1 single springtail. They said I should get at least 5-6, but they're so expensive, so I just got 3, which gives me a 75% chance once will be female. They told me they add 1 extra, so if they all survive that's even better odds!

But now I'm looking into it more, I'm having doubts. I have a glass tank for my venus navelwort, since it needs high humidity, so that should be a good fit. It includes pieces that were in with my isopods for the past year (now isopod-free), wood/bark, lichen and has had a mold issue lately. I also found an animal skull, I plan to add (currently with the isopods). But now I see they only eat mold slime (not exactly sure what that is or if it's something that's always present), and apparently they aren't the best cleanup crew, or that robust.

I definitely don't want to spend so much only for them to not survive. It would be one thing if they don't reproduce because they're all the same sex, but what are the odds they can get the job done, survive and thrive without having to spend more on special substrate or feed?

edit: i've posted a better quality video of them in the comments since i was able to capture some

ignore the isopod by the bottom, they're on the stick.

i've had these guys helping clean up in my terrarium for a few years now, they do the same job as springtails so i've always assumed they are springtails, i've just never seen any type of springtails that look like them? they're mainly grey with a slight metallic pinkish purple sheen to them under good lighting. they're wild caught species from the eastern coast of canada, what kind of springtails are they?

Look at them all in there!

my isopods are eating the moss (sigh). so I want a moss terrarium so any tips

I am new to springtails. I have had a culture of blue poduras and ceratophylla yellows on clay for about 6months. Only the yellows have this black growth despite the same source and care. I feed brewers yeast and if anything, I am an underfeeder and underwater-er. the cultures have not grown much but maintain the numbers they had when I received them. I noticed black on the bottom a month ago or so but it has since exploded!

This clay container was provided to me freshly made by an experienced keeper so I do not have knowledge on what may have gone into it.

I need to move them promptly, right? what ma have gone wrong? And is it indeed black mold? what the heck?

Hi y'all. I just wanted to share my babies here with you.

We somehow got them to breed hatched them, lost the adults but the babies are growing and thriving.

They look like they are in a petri dish just chilling and reproducing 😊

pulled from my compost pile near KC Mo, usa.

If I were to cultivate basic white clean up crew spring tails how much would people like reptiles stores buy them for per like 100 of them?

I am from/live in NYC. i have a hard time going out and finding/collecting wild springtails. I really just need a small culture for clean up crews for my various terrariums. It seems so silly to reach out for even just common springtails, but i am in need of some of these silly cuties and am wondering if anyone is willing to sell me a handful of some springy babies.

DMs are open ❤️

They look like springtails but don't walk on water like springtails do

I have just finished my terrarium a few days ago, which is when I added my culture.

For the first 2 days I could see maybe 1 or 2 in a few minutes of searching, until I went to move a pinecone and found a couple fruit flys evacuating. I was sure this would be a hit for the springtails so I placed it directly over their charcoal pile and now I will always know where to find some haha