# Fruit Flies or SpringTails?



## Exotic-Mantis (Sep 4, 2005)

Hi guys,

I'm curious to know if anyone has any basic information on springtails? Are they really tiny? Size of an ant, half the size of an ant, size of a fruit fly, or size of a flea? Are they fast to reproduce etc?

Thanks

Eros


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## Ian (Sep 5, 2005)

Yeah. they are pretty much half the size of a small ant, if not smaller. I have never really concentraed on breeding them, they have just turned up. I get a LOT under the oasis in with my sticks, and under pieces of bark under wood etc. I just leave them, and they seem to multiply by the day, lol.

Cheers,

Ian


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## Reeves (Sep 5, 2005)

I haven't had any experience culturing them, but I have collected them for feeding my animals before. I used to have a chestnut tree behind my house, and you could find them in the dozens in old chestnut shells.

Apparently they need plenty of moisture to keep alive.


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## Leah (Sep 6, 2005)

They are terribly simple to culture. They need moist, organically rich soil. You can culture them in a tank with live creatures (they eat organic matter = droppings) - we have them in all of our live planted tanks. Or you can keep them in a deli cup type setup and feed them crushed fish flakes. They are smaller than all of the creatures you mentioned, about this big " - "

You can buy them at www.lfscultures.com.


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