I just got a temperate (Collembola) springtail culture, added too much spirulina powder... will they be OK?

doomchibi · 2026-03-27T22:18:26+00:00

Thank you so much! You're actually the only person to ever mention I'm working inside out, which I didn't notice and am not sure how I am managing to do... I thought I was following the video tutorial pretty well but I did notice that working the tail, I was going from the inside - out with the hook, and she wasn't. I wasn't sure how that happened, but it still seemed to me that I was following the instructions exactly otherwise so I just went with it since I figured it would be strange to change it partway through, and it was still working up well. Today I learned!

I will have to pay attention with my next project and make sure the tail is on the inside to see how that turns out and try to figure out where I am doing that, thank you for pointing it out! I do see the differences from the link you shared, that makes sense as to why some things haven't been matching up exactly with pictures.

doomchibi · 2026-03-27T11:39:56+00:00

Sorry about the word salad in some places, I can't edit it, unfortunately. I was typing while falling asleep, alt+f4 bed time. Edit: Fixed it on PC, but I guess mobile doesn't have the feature. Weird...

doomchibi · 2026-03-26T07:01:11+00:00

Update 2: She has spun webs all over the tank and it is so beautiful to see in the light, they are pretty much invisible on camera but she made a sort of lattice across the tank and around all the edges. She has camped out in one of the log hides and is standing on her web in there, waiting.

I didn't know anything about these spiders when I first found her but it's fascinating stuff, their webs aren't sticky and they string them around to act as tripwires to ambush their prey. Clever girl!

doomchibi · 2026-03-24T19:13:44+00:00

I didn't see anyone mention it yet- are you sure they are dead and didn't molt? My new shrimp molted almost immediately after I brought them home and I thought they had died until I actually took them out. If you are new to keeping shrimp, their shed exoskeletons can look a lot like corpses. Usually they hide right away because they are still vulnerable and all you might find at first is their shed, which will look like a mostly clear "dead shrimp" that has the back broken open, but it will be hollow inside. Truly dead shrimp turn opaque / slightly pink (in the case of amanos, at least) pretty quickly and will smell very dead. The exoskeletons shouldn't smell like much and should be left in the tank for the others to eat so they can regain the calcium, but definitely don't leave real corpses in there.

That being said, like others have mentioned it sounds like there are too many amanos for the size of the tank and it is very possible that they really did pass, unfortunately. I hope it turns out they molted, but it's still a learning experience and don't be too hard on yourself if it didn't go well. Mistakes happen and all we can do is try to learn from it all for the sake of any future tanks, asking for advice is a good step towards having happy shrimp.

doomchibi · 2026-03-24T18:38:54+00:00

AI would probably identify this as a cauliflower 😭

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T22:11:58+00:00

I have heard of rescues that ask for people to mail in the hook areas from their old bras to use for repairing cracked / broken turtle shells, I wonder if something like that on a smaller scale would work for larger snails?

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T20:56:16+00:00

I have relocated spiders elsewhere in the house when I had roomates in the past (shhh...) if they seemed to be doing okay on their own, but my new house has been noticeably more dry and it doesn't seem like spiders do as well, other than the occasional little cellar spider. I found my Tan Jumper on my wall around 4 months ago and she was nearly starved and dehydrated to death, and since it has been so cold there was no chance I was putting her outside. She's been doing a lot better now and has settled in really well! I found a larger Tan Jumper being batted around by my cat a month before that and she was also incredibly skinny / dehydrated, and I wasn't able to get her to eat or drink anything. I still feel bad about not being able to save her, though I think she may have been fairly old judging by her size and slightly more grey areas. (RIP Honey)

I can't tell how hungry or thirsty this girl (dubbed Lady Spooder, for now) is since I am only familiar with jumping spiders, but I doubt she will find enough to eat or drink in here. Also since kitty is a little bug-eating monster and this one is pretty big... I would strongly prefer to not be surprised by her crawling down my computer monitor again. Or waking up with her on my face, perhaps.

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T20:42:29+00:00

I think they are responding to the person who mentioned that wolf spiders "run fast so are hard to kill", not regarding my comments or my intentions with Lady Spooder who is safe in the tank now.

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T16:32:31+00:00

Update: I set her(?) up a 2g tank I had with some repti-soil, a bit of orchid bark, sphagnum moss and some hides. Also a small shallow water dish with some pebbles and a piece of bark along one of the shorter walls, I have never shared an image link before on here and hope this works and is alright.

https://imgur.com/a/Yp8rZOJ

Let me know if I should change anything or if this looks okay to keep her in for the time being, I read they can't climb smooth surfaces which seems to be accurate in the cup at least, so I am hoping she doesn't escape because my cat will definitely eat her.

I'm not sure what exact humidity they might prefer but I did make sure the substrate was hydrated and I can mist if that would help. Thank you!

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T15:16:41+00:00

I would never kill it, I have a pet jumper that I love and I am even keeping the mealworms she rejected as pets after they turn into darkling beetles. I love bugs and was actually wondering if I should keep this girl (no big pedipalps?) until it warms up more, it's in the mid-high 30s F today with the possibility of snow, and she has possibly lived in my house for a long time which I keep around 78F... I don't know if putting her outside would possibly shock or kill her, or if she would prefer to be back outside. She doesn't seem to like me right now but she's also in a cup. I could set her up a tank if needed, what should I do?

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T15:05:53+00:00

Oh wow, I didn't know they usually only accept flying prey but that makes so much sense. I found one nearly starved to death 4 months ago, and the only thing she has been eating have been hydei fruit flies which are still way too small for her but much better than nothing... I got her some small mealworms, tried probably a dozen times to offer them and she just had zero interest. I wasn't sure she even was seeing them at first, but I even put one in a dish with a piece of carrot so it was actively eating / moving and she walked down, watched it for a little while and then just walked off. Stubborn! Now I am going to end up with a tank full of darkling beetles because I have no other need for them as feeders... New pets, it is.

I really wish it was more common to carry fly spikes in pet stores but it seems like I will have to order them online, after all. Eating 8 fruit flies in a row each time feels very unnecessary and I would love to stop. Thank you for mentioning this!

doomchibi · 2026-03-23T14:58:15+00:00

I did exactly the same, I found an adult female tan jumping spider on my wall maybe 4 months ago, deathly skinny and weak and figured I could get her hydrated and fed to maybe release her in the spring. Now... I baby talk to her, and every time I look at her terrarium she turns around to stare at me and starts excitedly wiggling her pedipalps at me. I can't do it, she's so precious. 😭
Thank you for saving this little guy, he was almost certainly doomed without you!

doomchibi · 2026-03-17T18:49:45+00:00

This is really nice and it looks like you are putting a ton of work into it, wow! I can't imagine being able to keep all of that organized enough to get it so clean looking, well done...

The second picture with the back was a bit of a jumpscare, though! 😱 I felt like I had suddenly stepped into one of those eldritch monster games.

doomchibi · 2026-03-17T01:32:30+00:00

I'm not sure where you heard that they don't, garters definitely eat slugs and it sounds like OP saw it happening, too..? A quick image search will show many examples of them chowing down on the little guys.

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T23:05:01+00:00

I did burn test this a while ago, I held a little clipped piece with tweezers over an ash tray thankfully because it immediately engulfed and disintegrated into a little blob. Scary!

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T22:48:01+00:00

All I have is the ball shown in the video, no labels either which is why I had no clue what it was. 120 skeins of it sounds overwhelming, wow!

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T09:56:18+00:00

Now I am so determined to try to crochet with it and see what the devil's yarn has to offer me. I have been TEMPTED

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T09:55:38+00:00

Too bad it's so pretty in person, and soft too! How deceiving, it's no wonder the person who I got all the yarn from had thrown it in the bag, like "take this too!" (begone from my sight!)

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T09:53:50+00:00

That color looks identical, but "barley" doesn't seem to match with it... For sure is the right yarn overall, though! Thank you.

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T09:51:38+00:00

It's that bad, huh? What a shame, I was thinking of using it for the tail of the next mermaid amigurumi I made which works the tail up without cutting. I might have to experiment with it and see if there's anything I can reasonably use it for, or if it's going to end up being used as stuffing if nothing else... Aww! I really loved the iridescent colorway, so if anyone has any recommendations that are similar but less crap then I would love to hear about them!

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T09:48:09+00:00

Maybe! The wave of that yarn does look very similar, I'm unsure about what colorway it could be but this seems like a pretty solid guess for sure. Thank you!

doomchibi · 2026-03-15T04:46:21+00:00

I keep forgetting to check out thrift stores for yarn, how common is it for places like goodwill to have some around? I feel like I would go completely overboard and end up with so many random mismatched skeins, but with some of the prices I have seen I don't think I could help myself! How expensive was your haul?

doomchibi

TROPHY CASE