Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok im thinking of culturing ffs and springtails. well i will, but not right now. any ways, how do you culture spring tails what i have gathered so far, you get a rubber made shoe box (with a lid?) fill it with peat moss. make the peat moss losely packed not tight. mist it until its moist and introduce the springtails. then sprinkle fish flakes on the surface a few times a week.

is that correct? do they climb he sides of the rubbermaid box? and whats the best way to extrac them? a turkey baster? i want to have more then one specie of food incase they turn their noses up at one. and to add veriaty.

i see ed's fly meat has this:
Springtail Kit: This kit includes a 16 oz. container of insects, 1 lb. bag of charcoal, 1 oz. packet of yeast and a plastic shoe box to raise them in. Directions are included and all you need to add is water!

so basically you use charcoal instead of peat moss and you use the yeast instead of fish flakes right?

thank you
aj
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Click Here to See My Dart Tank In The Making UPDATED 6.15.03 SPOILER! Still Needs Moss View At Your Own Risk

kungfu28181: My god. You are insane. -Mon Jun 30 21:41:05

I've had a springtail culture going for quite a while now and it's really very easy. I use a rubbermaid pan (w/lid) about 4-5 inches deep filled with moist peat moss. Even if you don't have an air-tight lid, they don't tend to escape. I sprinkle a layer of cheap fish food on the surface of the peat moss and I cover the substrate w/ a paper towel. Every day you open the box, there will be literally thousands of springtails on the surface of the paper towel, and to get the springtails into the tank I just pick up the towel and shake it over the viv. I got my culture at lfscultures.com
I usually have to feed mine every 4-5 days, and change the towel every couple of weeks (it tends to degrade from the moisture). VERY easy secondary food source.
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Randy
Lawrence, Kansas
1.1 Azureus
1.1 Cobalt
1.1 Fantasticus
1.1 Bastimentos Pumilio

Springtail cultures were super easy to start and maintain! Eds Flymeats kit was perfect. I like the charcol better then the peat moss, less odor. And the brewers yeast is the same as the one you use for the ff so no need to feed another food source. All my froggies, big and small love them except my toads.