How to culture Orange springtails

How to culture Orange springtails

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Some, very testy Greek yogurt comes in nice glass jars. 

I ate the yogurt and saved the 8oz jar with the cover for making a terrarium. 

Wash the jar clean. 

This jar is about 7cm diameter and about 6cm deep. 

I am going to use this jar for making a small terrarium that can be placed anywhere! 

First let's put some gravel to cover the bottom of the jar. 

Add dechlorinated water to cover the gravel. 

Now let's add a layer of Sphagnum peat moss. 

3-4 heaped teaspoons should be enough for this size jar. 

Peat moss has great water retaining qualities. 

And the excess of water will stay in the gravel layer. 

I like to add a piece of tree bark that would serve as a feeding spot for critters. 

Tree bark also retains water. 

Now we can add live moss. 

I've been growing land moss in high humidity on the platform in my enclosed aquarium. 

This land moss can grow underwater as well. 

Mosses look very nice in terrariums. 

Lava rock or any rock can be used for decoration.

 Let's cover the terrarium and let it sit overnight for the peat moss to get moist. 

I checked the terrarium the next day. 

The top part of the peat moss layer is still dry. 

Let's moist it more and let it sit one more night. 

The next day I pick a couple dozen springtails from one of my old well established cultures. 

You can pick springtails one by one using a soft brush. 

Or simply shake them off from the feeding spot. 

You can seed the new culture by splitting the medium of the old culture as well. 

I keep 3 different strains of springtails in the same enclosures. 

For this terrarium I separated Orange springtails one by one using a soft brush. 

The terrarium is ready and seeded with Orange springtails on January 14th, 2024. 

Let's feed springtails with a bit of cereal flake. 

Also, I set up another terrarium in exactly the same way on the same day. 

I feed springtails 3 times a week with cereal flakes or baker's yeast. 

3 weeks later on February 8th I noticed a lot of Orange baby Springtails.

 It was a pleasant surprise! 

Usually it takes 3-4 months for the population of Orange springtails to grow. 

Feeding spots are the best place for observing springtails.

 In the following weeks I set up a couple more terrariums. 

In the following months I've been transferring adult Orange springtails into new terrariums prepared in advance. 

Using a soft brush is the easiest way to pick Orange springtails one by one. 

And it takes a dozen or more springtails to establish a new colony. 

I prefer Cheerios cereal for feeding my springtails.

 It's odorless compared to any type of yeast. 

One flake is enough for one feeding of about 10 cultures of this size. 

And I feed Springtails only 3 times a week. 

Overfeeding brings problems.

 Mold is one of the most common problems that could destroy the terrarium with all springtails in it.

 I will explain how I deal with mold in future videos.

 Avoid growth of mold by feeding less - that's simple and the most effective. 

3 months after the initial setup I added more tree bark. 

Tree bark makes it easier transferring springtails into other containers. 

5 months later in May 2024 I have more than a dozen cultures of Orange springtails you can see here.

 Also, I keep White and Silver springtails in the same containers with Orange springtails. 

Mix of three different species in each container. 

Adult Orange springtails are the largest and the most noticeable among all.

 All my terrariums and aquariums get only indirect sunlight from the window. 

Orange Springtails are nice and simple to take care of pets. 

Funny, moving around cheetos they are :)

 Have fun and happy Springtails :)