Springtail culturing

[Mystymantis]

Greetings,

So I am planning on setting up a springtail culture.What is the best way to set up a springtail culture for use as tiny feeders? Best type of medium to use? charcoal? another substrate? Also how do you avoid grain mites? If the Springtail culture is in distilled water how do grain mites even get into it? wouldn't the water prevent them from getting in?

Best type of food to feed them? and how much care do they need? weekly feedings? or longer? if using water and charcoal do you change out the water on any particular schedule?

Also do you have to use distilled water? or can you use tap water and put in a declorinator like aquasafe like you would use for fish? Or can I just use filtered water?

What are any of your setups like? if anyone here is culturing them?

Also how do you get the springtails out to use as feeders, especially if you are using water?

 

[hibiscusmile]

I think your questions were a bit much, no one seems to want to answer them .

All u need is some charcoal and a container with a lid for them. poke a few holes in the lid for air. Use distilled

or day old water. Just spray the inside really good and put in some food. Leave them alone for a week and do

it again. In no time the culture will explode and you will have plenty. I don't have mites in mine, and I do feed grains.

Moisture draws mites. For some reason I don' have them. Could be the mite paper they sit on, just don't know.

I make a special mix with yeast fish food and other things for mine. I started one culture in a gallon ice cream tub for

each species and never had to rebuy them , they just keep producing maybe 10 years now, but did not notice when

I started.

 

[Mystymantis]

Thanks so much for answering my questions @hibiscusmile!

Yeah maybe I asked too many specific questions. LOL.

 

[Introvertebrate]

Are these as a clean up crew, or to feed to nymphs?

 

[Mystymantis]

to feed nymphs @Introvertebrate

 

[Introvertebrate]

Got it.  This video looked helpful:

 

[Mystymantis]

Thanks so much for the video @Introvertebrate! It really helped!

 

[Grapple_Apple]

Don't know if you still need help, but I send out my caresheet to customers that buy cultures from me or starter cultures: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bBjx3DudxJpOaaDmkSz30t5vzswRNe4nL_eq0LVwMeI/edit?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!