Have you been noticing the population of springtails blowing up? Can You Have Too Many Springtails in Terrarium?
Will they take over and become a nuisance? How are they useful and how can we control their reproduction so it doesn’t get out of hand?
In this article, we’ll discuss if you can have too many springtails in a terrarium.
Can You Have Too Many Springtails in Terrarium?
Springtails are an excellent addition to a healthy terrarium by controlling mold outbreaks. It is rare to have too many springtails.
If you notice springtails crawling all over frogs in the terrarium and it seems to bother them, then you might have too many. Keep an eye out for terrariums engulfing froglets.
You can always place some moistened fish flakes overnight and scoop out the springtails around them in the morning.
Are Springtails Good for Terrariums?
Yes. In enclosed terrarium environments, springtails work well to keep a healthy bio-active ecosystem. You can also use springtails in an open terrarium environment as well.
Just make sure that the humidity and moisture is comfortable for them to reproduce and remain active in the ecosystem that you have set up.
We enjoy using springtails in our terrariums for the main purpose of controlling mold. Terrariums get hot and humid, which is natural, but employing springtails to eat the mold that results from it is beneficial to you and to the wildlife that you are maintaining.
Will Springtails Reproduce in Terrarium?
Yes. Springtails will reproduce in open or closed terrariums. You can dump them into your bio-active substrate and watch them expand their population.
Springtails are an excellent source of food for many different types of frogs and other animals that you are keeping in this environment as well. They make a great supplemental food in between the feedings that you are offering.
They help control the environment to keep it free of mold. The more space that you provide, the more likely it is for springtails to reproduce. We recommend a 6 quart plastic container to start a culture for springtail. The larger the culture the less prone it is to a buildup of carbon dioxide.
How Quickly Do Springtails Reproduce?
Springtails reproduce fairly quickly as they go through the stages in their life cycle. It can take anywhere between 4 to 6 weeks for them to start as an egg and reach at adulthood.
You may notice tiny packets of sperm cells in the soil deposited by mature male springtails. The females notice these packets, they pick them up and lay their eggs.
Some eggs are laid outside of the packets, but most of them are meant to be combined by entering the packet of sperm in order for each egg to be fertilized to produce more springtails.
What to Do With Extra Springtails?
Springtails can easily be transferred from one culture to another. You can start with a charcoal culture for example, and dump it into a new one once you have too many springtails.
You can start with a smaller culture and add water to it. Springtails will float and they will begin to pour out into a new culture.
Overall, you should not have to do much to prevent the spread of extra springtails. The frogs will help you take care of the extra population of springtails.
Bonus Tip To Get Rid Of Springtails
If you want to get rid of some springtails, you can easily sprinkle some fish flakes overnight and moisten them first.
Springtails will gather around these fish flakes and by the morning, you will be able to scoop them all out if you want to.
Do I Need Both Isopods and Springtails?
No. You don’t need to use springtails and isopods together in a successful terrarium setup. Keeping them both together is not a problem however, because they are going to help you control the mold and fungal spores that develop naturally.
Both springtails and isopods can work independently and they can help each other synergistically. As they are both employed together to help make your terrarium and ecosystem stronger.
The extra food that you offer isopods will increase the amount of isopod frass. Springtails will eat the frass that develops from isopods which helps to spread more fertilization to the plants that require it in your terrarium.
Since isopods enjoy eating pieces of decayed fruits or vegetables, which are susceptible to mold outbreaks, springtails come in to help manage that.
Springtails and isopods will both be able to outcompete unwanted mites or gnats for food, making their stay useful in your terrarium.
Will Springtails Eat Mold?
Yes. Springtails are employed in a terrarium as an effective measure to control any mold outbreaks. They are not trying to eat the food that you are feeding the culture. Springtails are looking to feast and devour any mold that grows on culture instead of the culture itself.
If you are offering decayed plant matter, fruits, vegetables and other types of foods that can easily develop into mold, springtails are there to help you clean up any residue or fungal spores that result from it.
This is why we enjoy the addition of springtails in successful terrarium setups. The only concern we’ve ever had is when too many springtails engulf little froglets, but these cases are rare and can easily be avoided by transferring springtails to another culture or scooping them out.
Conclusion
You should not have to be concerned about having too many springtails. The active life in your terrarium will help consume the addition of too many springtails.
If you need to scoop some out, watch how they gather around mold or a moist fish flake that you put there on purpose. Once they congregate there, you can scoop them out.
We prefer to let the terrarium’s ecosystem run its course and allow for the frogs or other terrarium life to manage themselves in order to control the springtail population.
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