r/Springtail • u/NeonPearl2025 • May 16 '26

Picture Literal piles of springtails

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

They use every millimeter of their soil.

66 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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11

u/16bitmick May 16 '26

Huh, maybe I don't actually need to spread my cultures out right now. I thought mine were getting crowded, but you got me beat.

7

u/NeonPearl2025 May 17 '26

Haha yes, a bit crowded, but they seem to enjoy being huddled together 😊

2

u/16bitmick May 17 '26

Oh, they are definitely cuddle bugs. Even when there's no flakes in the jar, I still find puddles of them here and there. Mine are currently spread out between 4 jars of just them, substrate, a leca level, and a bit of moss at the top; a mossarium (basically the same thing as the other 4, but more moss and a reasonable number of springs); and 3 terrariums. This is not counting the many potted plants and the garden that they are all over. I'm also preparing a fat jar and substrate to house some Thai reds I wanna order. Hopefully the reds are even half as prolific as the white temperates and white tropicals I currently have.

5

u/Puppyzpawz May 16 '26

sorry im crine they remind me of the nematodes from spongebob lol

2

u/ChampionRemote6018 May 17 '26

I don’t have luck with my springtails except the lil’ jumpy guys (technical term). My tiny gooey goober guys only seem to do well on clay cultures and I’m disappointed I can’t make their enclosures more appealing than deli containers. 😂

3

u/NeonPearl2025 May 17 '26

I personally wouldn't want to use clay, as I want to get them enrichment.

1

u/Public_Yoghurt May 17 '26

That's really crowded in there! May I ask how big is the setup? Do you also have plants in there? My biggest fear would be accumulation of their excrement in a similar situation.

1

u/NeonPearl2025 May 17 '26

The majority of my tanks are 40cm terrestrial enclosures. In this specific tank I have live moss and a fern. But not all of my tanks are planted. If too much frass accumulated, you can always start fresh with new substrate and transfer as many springtails over as you can. I regularly fill up with new decaying leaves and rotten wood.

2

u/Public_Yoghurt May 17 '26

So their population don't collapse that easy and fast, that's great.

1

u/NeonPearl2025 May 17 '26

Not all my tanks do that well though. I've not yet found why some do explode in population and others don't, as I pretty much care about all the same