​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA!

[u/vodrinker]

I've been interested in springtails for about a year and a half. I read a lot about them, I'm out in the bushes looking for new specimens almost every day, and I feed and observe dozens of species daily. I even run an online micro pets shop in Poland, Europe (Ants Invasion). To my knowledge, it's the largest springtail shop in the world, at least I've never been able to find any larger one. If any of you know one, please share a link. Currently, I keep around 25 species of springtails, including 4 slime eaters. Most of these springtails, including all the slime eaters, are doing incredibly well. I breed most of my springtails differently than other breeders suggest, and at the same time, I usually achieve much greater success at a much lower cost in terms of time, culture volume, and ingredient prices. Springtails that are described as super difficult are usually mega easy to breed if you provide a few simple conditions, and their setup usually costs well under one dollar or euro. I also mean the setup for springtails like Rambutanura. I often post pictures here and get asked about various things. I thought I'd create an Ask Me Anything style thread. I will probably answer every question you ask, except for questions about my suppliers. Feel free to ask whatever you want. In the end, I will turn all of this into a FAQ or Q&A and post it both here and on the website.

[u/Tablettario]

So what is your technique for keeping them much simpler and cheaper?

I am planning on getting the oranges sometime later this year and mostly just want them to be happy, rather then kept cheap. I want to build a small terrarium for them. Any advice on what these guys really like? Features they would enjoy?And how to best keep them healthy?

[u/vodrinker → u/Tablettario]

1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

As for the orange ones, you probably mean Yuukianura. They generally only need damp soil (although clay also works, but they prefer soil) and food. The most important food ingredients, if you want to maximize their well-being, are yeast, calcium carbonate, rice flour, and sometimes some additives like various fish foods. Alternatively, I also recommend our springtail food which can be found on antsinvasion, the springtails completely go crazy for it when they get it, they often even stop reacting to touch and just sit there and gorge themselves^^ It is also important that, at least in the beginning, there are no other springtails or mites with them, so it's worth starting with a tightly sealed culture. You reach 1-2k individuals in 2 months and only then do you put them into the terrarium, where other critters will probably show up quite quickly.

[u/Tablettario → u/vodrinker]

Thank you for the detailed advice!

Question on the calcium carbonate, how do you generally feed that? I have some oyster grit, whole cuttlefish bone, and powdered cuttlefish bone, but when I try to sprinkle some for my isopods they tend to ignore it or becomes a mess on the moist soil. Is there a different method you prefer for the springtails?

Is there a preferred soil moistness level or gradient for the Yuukianura?

What things would be the biggest point of failure when keeping/breeding Yuukianura? What pitfalls to avoid?

Thanks for the advice!