Step-by-Step Springtail breeders guide

Here is my simple guide with photos that describe how I set up my springtail cultures in a good way that has been working pretty good for me during a couple of years. It's not the only way that will work, but it is an easy way for setting up the cultures. I can also recomend you to use some cultures for experiements, mabie you will find out something that works better for you.

You need this to start with:

Plastic boxes with lid without airholes (Candy-type about 20x20x12cm width/length/height)
Flower pot Soil or cocos fibre soil
Cous-cous, grinded cat food pellets, fishfood flakes or a ready "springtail food mix".
Start culture of springtails

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Fill a candybox with about this much soil or cocos fibre soil. I use normal flowerpot soils myself since I think it works best but other people is using cocos fibres with good result.

Add water but not more than it is only moist. If there is to much try to get it out of there.
The way I remove the water if I get to much is to take out the soil with my hands and press out water over the sink.

Press the moist soil hard against the bottom of the candybox so it is easier to harvest the springtails when they are ready.
The springtail culture will probably work just as good without this but you will not be able to harvest them that easy.

After the soil is pressed, put the box into the micro to get rid of as much as possible of odd kind of creatures that normally can come from regular soil. I normally set the micro for 7 minutes at full power. This time is probably individual for the micro you have so let the box stay there for as long as you think is necesary without melting the the candybox down.

Here is a photo of a "ready baked dirt box". There shouldn't be anything unexpected worms of flies comming out of it for a while.

New baked dirt-box

Cultures waiting to get cooled off

Important! Let the new cultures cool of before you add springtails to it! Otherwise the springtails won't survive.

This is about how much springtails I add to the new culture. The more springtails you add, the faster is it up running.

Minimum amount of springtails added to a new culture

Tropical Springtails

Here is a closeup at some of the common tropical springtails that is my favorite springtails.

When I feed my new springtail cultures I always feed a little less than I do in an etablished culture. I always try to use a very fine grinded springtail food and I try to spread it alower the surface in a very thin layer. See the photo to see a new culture that I have been feeding.

If you feed them to much it will only result in mold that will kill the culture in the worst case. Never feed more than they can eat it within a week or less and the chances is better for not getting mold in the cultures.

New culture that has been feeded

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