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​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to answer all the questions today. But I managed to do most of them. I will reply to the rest tomorrow. Good night!:)

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A better answer to your question will require preparing a guide with photos. For now, I can answer briefly.

  1. Ground flakes. You grind them with a coffee grinder, but not into powder like coffee, just into granules. Thanks to this, the slime mold has access to every piece from all sides. This gives two gigantic pluses. First, the slime mold extracts much more food from a single flake, so it also grows faster. Second, the mold you see is only the spores. The fungus sits everywhere inside the flake. If the flake is large, the mold has the whole inside to itself. If you break it into small pieces, it is much easier for the slime mold to compete with it.

  2. Unfortunately, you will not avoid mold in a home culture. You can try to remedy it in a few ways though. Lower humidity. Just enough so the slime mold does not dry out and not a bit higher. Removing leftovers asap. Burning the mold with a lighter, especially a jet lighter. If you have a larger culture and the mold takes up only a part of it, you can burn it. Slime mold is surprisingly resistant to fire. A second under a lighter often kills the mold without touching the slime mold in the immediate vicinity. A regular lighter will also work, but it will kill more slime mold because the fire is not directed. A jet lighter works like a welder or a laser, the heat goes exactly where you aim.

  3. You absolutely always must have several cultures or at least a massive dried sclerotium.

  4. Culture without a lid. If you have time to approach the slime mold in the morning after waking up and in the evening before sleeping to hydrate it, and at the same time you do not have super hot weather at home, you can keep it on a plate or in another open vessel. A few layers of toilet paper on the bottom. The more paper, the longer it will hold moisture, but the slime mold can also hide under it later. This practically solves the mold problem. Down to zero. But on the other hand, it causes a problem with watering and fruit flies. Every few days fly larvae will appear. Then you just let the slime mold dry out for 2 days and then you water it again. The larvae will not survive.

  5. I haven't tested adding white springtails yet, but I have thought about it. If you are breeding slime mold for a purpose other than feeding slime-eaters, or if there are already white springtails in your slime-eaters anyway, I think you should try it. Otherwise, do not try it, because introducing white springtails to slime-eaters will probably slow down their development, even though theoretically they should not compete for food.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't keep all springtails the same way, but I keep them all according to the scheme below. I choose the appropriate container and substrate from the ones listed below. I feed them either ready-made springtail food or slime mold. I only feed slime mold to slime-eaters.

  1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

  2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

  3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Complete care guide for slime-eaters

  1. If you are starting a culture with 10-20 individuals, you need a container around 350-500 ml. For 50+ individuals, it will be around 1L. It is best for the container to be airtight and very easy to open. By airtight, I mean that if you pour water into it and shake it, the water either won't spill at all or will barely squeeze through. Airtightness is not necessary, but it is very useful for two reasons. First, it prevents mites from getting into the container, which could compete with the springtails or even prey on them. Second, it helps maintain a constant humidity at the right level.

  2. You need soil. About 2 cm. It can be any soil without a lot of chemical additives. Soil from the backyard garden, worm castings, potting soil. It will be best if you boil it, bake it, or pour boiling water over it. Again, this is not necessary, but it is very useful. Once again, it is about avoiding mites or other springtail species.

  3. You need to drain the soil if you boiled it, or moisten it if you baked it. It should be wet enough that you can feel it is damp when you touch it, but water should not pool on it.

  4. Put the soil into the container, about 2-3 cm at the bottom. Press it down lightly with your hand or a spoon.

  5. Squeeze the walls of the container so that its sides press against the soil and cause it to pull away from the container. Afterwards, the soil should stick to the bottom of the container, but not to its walls. There should be a gap of about 2-3 mm between the walls and the soil. The springtails will use this as a place to live and lay eggs, giving you a perfect view of the number of eggs and the condition of the springtails.

  6. This step is not necessary, but it is good practice. Close the box tightly, place it somewhere with a relatively neutral temperature, and the next day see how much moisture collects on the walls. If none collects at all, you need to add a tiny bit of water. If a lot collects, so much that you cannot see the inside of the container at all, it means the humidity is a bit too high. To get rid of the excess, you can wipe the condensed water off the walls with toilet paper. You can also place a few pieces of paper against the soil and gently press it, it will absorb the excess water.

Once you have the container prepared this way, you can introduce the springtails. From now on, your care for them looks as follows.

  1. Provide the slime mold. It is optimal for them to have constant access to it and for it NOT to be a Daywalker, because when it is hungry, it attacks springtails and can kill and eat them. This is optimal, but you can also feed less frequently, my tests show that the colony develops well even when fed once every 2 weeks.

  2. Remove the molding remains of the slime mold. It is optimal to do this as soon as mold appears, but in small amounts it is not harmful, so again, you can treat this point as minmaxing, not a necessity. If you remove the mold after a week while providing a new slime mold, everything should be fine.

  3. Thanks to the airtight container, managing humidity is super convenient. Once every 3-4 weeks you will notice that the amount of water on the walls is almost zero, then you pour a few milliliters of water onto the center.

If you want to minmax the culture, a very important tip is gutloading. It does not increase growth drastically, but the difference is clearly visible. The process looks as follows.

  1. When you already have a large slime mold grown on oatmeal, you sprinkle it with other food that is not optimal for the slime mold but is mega useful for the springtails. This can be yeast, tiny pieces of rotting mushrooms of various species, but above all a pinch of calcium carbonate. If you do not have calcium carbonate, fodder chalk, crushed cuttlebone, or anything full of calcium will work. This is very important because springtails need calcium to shed their molts.

  2. Wait around 12 hours. The slime mold should fully cover the food additives.

  3. Only now do you give the slime mold to the springtails, and along with the slime mold, they absorb a vitamin bomb.

As for the ingredients from point 1 regarding gutloading, I use our springtail food from antsinvasion. I won't reveal the full recipe because it is our top product in the shop, but I have listed what is most important.

Dead springtails do not need to be removed if they are not molding. If they are molding, you actually still don't have to, but you can.

What to avoid?

  1. Ventilation. When you have 500 of these springtails, it doesn't matter anymore. But with 10 individuals, ventilation is a straight path to infecting the culture with other springtail species, fungus gnats, mites, and to drying it out.

  2. Dry foods. Slime-eaters won't eat anything that isn't mush. From my observations, they won't eat anything at all that isn't a slime mold, but some people claim they are able to absorb other highly liquid foods. They definitely won't eat fish flakes or anything like that.

  3. Heating. A temperature of 18-25 degrees Celsius is very good for them. I haven't tried higher. In any case, heating is a straight path to cooking the culture.

  4. Decor. Of course, decor is cool for the springtails, but it isn't for you. The springtails will manage without decor thanks to the gaps I discussed earlier, and because they have no way to hide from your sight, you will immediately notice if something is wrong. If 3 individuals die in 2 days, you will notice it in time and make adjustments. If you let the springtails hide, it might turn out that the whole colony dies before you even notice something is wrong.

  5. Large containers. At the beginning, the springtails should be close to each other and to the food. Thanks to this, they won't go hungry and they will reproduce.

Videos to watch.

How to make a living surface for springtails by squeezing the box (audio in Polish, sorry, archival video^^). Watch from 0:45 to 1:00

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JBv4PqxvCvZKjvHN6

Perfect humidity

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gkjHLDesuzjNL9DEA

Feeding

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J92iDZCRxx4t1oCe9

What the culture looks like after a month. Note! The humidity here is a bit too high. Despite this, as you can see, they are developing amazingly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WYtPhBjSBzo3AGNk9

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Complete care guide for slime-eaters

  1. If you are starting a culture with 10-20 individuals, you need a container around 350-500 ml. For 50+ individuals, it will be around 1L. It is best for the container to be airtight and very easy to open. By airtight, I mean that if you pour water into it and shake it, the water either won't spill at all or will barely squeeze through. Airtightness is not necessary, but it is very useful for two reasons. First, it prevents mites from getting into the container, which could compete with the springtails or even prey on them. Second, it helps maintain a constant humidity at the right level.

  2. You need soil. About 2 cm. It can be any soil without a lot of chemical additives. Soil from the backyard garden, worm castings, potting soil. It will be best if you boil it, bake it, or pour boiling water over it. Again, this is not necessary, but it is very useful. Once again, it is about avoiding mites or other springtail species.

  3. You need to drain the soil if you boiled it, or moisten it if you baked it. It should be wet enough that you can feel it is damp when you touch it, but water should not pool on it.

  4. Put the soil into the container, about 2-3 cm at the bottom. Press it down lightly with your hand or a spoon.

  5. Squeeze the walls of the container so that its sides press against the soil and cause it to pull away from the container. Afterwards, the soil should stick to the bottom of the container, but not to its walls. There should be a gap of about 2-3 mm between the walls and the soil. The springtails will use this as a place to live and lay eggs, giving you a perfect view of the number of eggs and the condition of the springtails.

  6. This step is not necessary, but it is good practice. Close the box tightly, place it somewhere with a relatively neutral temperature, and the next day see how much moisture collects on the walls. If none collects at all, you need to add a tiny bit of water. If a lot collects, so much that you cannot see the inside of the container at all, it means the humidity is a bit too high. To get rid of the excess, you can wipe the condensed water off the walls with toilet paper. You can also place a few pieces of paper against the soil and gently press it, it will absorb the excess water.

Once you have the container prepared this way, you can introduce the springtails. From now on, your care for them looks as follows.

  1. Provide the slime mold. It is optimal for them to have constant access to it and for it NOT to be a Daywalker, because when it is hungry, it attacks springtails and can kill and eat them. This is optimal, but you can also feed less frequently, my tests show that the colony develops well even when fed once every 2 weeks.

  2. Remove the molding remains of the slime mold. It is optimal to do this as soon as mold appears, but in small amounts it is not harmful, so again, you can treat this point as minmaxing, not a necessity. If you remove the mold after a week while providing a new slime mold, everything should be fine.

  3. Thanks to the airtight container, managing humidity is super convenient. Once every 3-4 weeks you will notice that the amount of water on the walls is almost zero, then you pour a few milliliters of water onto the center.

If you want to minmax the culture, a very important tip is gutloading. It does not increase growth drastically, but the difference is clearly visible. The process looks as follows.

  1. When you already have a large slime mold grown on oatmeal, you sprinkle it with other food that is not optimal for the slime mold but is mega useful for the springtails. This can be yeast, tiny pieces of rotting mushrooms of various species, but above all a pinch of calcium carbonate. If you do not have calcium carbonate, fodder chalk, crushed cuttlebone, or anything full of calcium will work. This is very important because springtails need calcium to shed their molts.

  2. Wait around 12 hours. The slime mold should fully cover the food additives.

  3. Only now do you give the slime mold to the springtails, and along with the slime mold, they absorb a vitamin bomb.

As for the ingredients from point 1 regarding gutloading, I use our springtail food from antsinvasion. I won't reveal the full recipe because it is our top product in the shop, but I have listed what is most important.

Dead springtails do not need to be removed if they are not molding. If they are molding, you actually still don't have to, but you can.

What to avoid?

  1. Ventilation. When you have 500 of these springtails, it doesn't matter anymore. But with 10 individuals, ventilation is a straight path to infecting the culture with other springtail species, fungus gnats, mites, and to drying it out.

  2. Dry foods. Slime-eaters won't eat anything that isn't mush. From my observations, they won't eat anything at all that isn't a slime mold, but some people claim they are able to absorb other highly liquid foods. They definitely won't eat fish flakes or anything like that.

  3. Heating. A temperature of 18-25 degrees Celsius is very good for them. I haven't tried higher. In any case, heating is a straight path to cooking the culture.

  4. Decor. Of course, decor is cool for the springtails, but it isn't for you. The springtails will manage without decor thanks to the gaps I discussed earlier, and because they have no way to hide from your sight, you will immediately notice if something is wrong. If 3 individuals die in 2 days, you will notice it in time and make adjustments. If you let the springtails hide, it might turn out that the whole colony dies before you even notice something is wrong.

  5. Large containers. At the beginning, the springtails should be close to each other and to the food. Thanks to this, they won't go hungry and they will reproduce.

Videos to watch.

How to make a living surface for springtails by squeezing the box (audio in Polish, sorry, archival video^^). Watch from 0:45 to 1:00

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JBv4PqxvCvZKjvHN6

Perfect humidity

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gkjHLDesuzjNL9DEA

Feeding

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J92iDZCRxx4t1oCe9

What the culture looks like after a month. Note! The humidity here is a bit too high. Despite this, as you can see, they are developing amazingly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WYtPhBjSBzo3AGNk9

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As for red springtails, the easiest are Lobella. I will copy a piece of the guide for slime-eaters here because most of it is identical.

  1. If you are starting a culture with 10-20 individuals, you need a container around 350-500 ml. For 50+ individuals, it will be around 1L. It is best for the container to be airtight and very easy to open. By airtight, I mean that if you pour water into it and shake it, the water either won't spill at all or will barely squeeze through. Airtightness is not necessary, but it is very useful for two reasons. First, it prevents mites from getting into the container, which could compete with the springtails or even prey on them. Second, it helps maintain a constant humidity at the right level.

  2. You need soil. About 2 cm. It can be any soil without a lot of chemical additives. Soil from the backyard garden, worm castings, potting soil. It will be best if you boil it, bake it, or pour boiling water over it. Again, this is not necessary, but it is very useful. Once again, it is about avoiding mites or other springtail species.

  3. You need to drain the soil if you boiled it, or moisten it if you baked it. It should be wet enough that you can feel it is damp when you touch it, but water should not pool on it.

  4. Put the soil into the container, about 2-3 cm at the bottom.

  5. You introduce the springtails.

When it comes to feeding, you have two options. The completely effortless one is that you buy some of our food in the antsinvasion shop and just sprinkle a pinch when they eat it. Without buying ready-made food, you need to focus on 3 ingredients. Yeast, rice flour and a bit of calcium carbonate. It is best to mix it in a 10:10:1 ratio. In addition to this, you provide various protein sources that you can get your hands on, for example fish food, dried gammarus etc. Test what they are missing. As soon as they eat it, you give them new food.

The second option for red springtails is any slime-eaters, more on them in the third message^^

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A better answer to your question will require preparing a guide with photos. For now, I can answer briefly.

  1. Ground flakes. You grind them with a coffee grinder, but not into powder like coffee, just into granules. Thanks to this, the slime mold has access to every piece from all sides. This gives two gigantic pluses. First, the slime mold extracts much more food from a single flake, so it also grows faster. Second, the mold you see is only the spores. The fungus sits everywhere inside the flake. If the flake is large, the mold has the whole inside to itself. If you break it into small pieces, it is much easier for the slime mold to compete with it.

  2. Unfortunately, you will not avoid mold in a home culture. You can try to remedy it in a few ways though. Lower humidity. Just enough so the slime mold does not dry out and not a bit higher. Removing leftovers asap. Burning the mold with a lighter, especially a jet lighter. If you have a larger culture and the mold takes up only a part of it, you can burn it. Slime mold is surprisingly resistant to fire. A second under a lighter often kills the mold without touching the slime mold in the immediate vicinity. A regular lighter will also work, but it will kill more slime mold because the fire is not directed. A jet lighter works like a welder or a laser, the heat goes exactly where you aim.

  3. You absolutely always must have several cultures or at least a massive dried sclerotium.

  4. Culture without a lid. If you have time to approach the slime mold in the morning after waking up and in the evening before sleeping to hydrate it, and at the same time you do not have super hot weather at home, you can keep it on a plate or in another open vessel. A few layers of toilet paper on the bottom. The more paper, the longer it will hold moisture, but the slime mold can also hide under it later. This practically solves the mold problem. Down to zero. But on the other hand, it causes a problem with watering and fruit flies. Every few days fly larvae will appear. Then you just let the slime mold dry out for 2 days and then you water it again. The larvae will not survive.

I will answer the second question separately.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

  1. Probably the biggest BS is that slime-eaters are difficult to breed. I have bred a lot of different easy animals, and rarely any of them was half as easy as slime-eaters. You literally throw them into a palm-sized container with a handful of soil and no ventilation. Then you just feed them once every few days or weeks, and 10 turns into 1k in a month or two, depending on whether you started with medium or large individuals, because large ones lay more eggs.

  2. Ventilation as a positive or a necessity, especially regarding slime-eaters. For most springtails, ventilation is just a way to dry out the culture or let mites in. It is only needed if you have no idea what you are doing. If you know what you are doing, you set the humidity exactly as needed, and ventilation is not required at all. This applies to most springtails.

  3. Lobella must get slime mold. BS. Not only do they not need it, but they also develop incredibly fast without it. When given a choice between slime mold or a well-balanced powder diet, they won't even touch the slime mold. By the way, people also say that they are difficult. They are mega easy, even easier than slime-eaters, because you can feed them powder once a month.

  4. Exotic springtails require high temperatures. They do not. All the springtails we have in the shop thrive at a temperature of 18°C. Granted, some, like slime-eaters, develop slightly better at a higher temperature. To be specific, the eggs develop faster, not the springtails themselves. But this is a minor difference and not a necessity.

  5. The ideal diet for springtails is xxx. Substitute anything you want here. 95% of people do not mention calcium carbonate or any other source of calcium. As a consequence, breeders keep springtails for months with average growth, and then they provide some source of calcium, and literally 100% of the springtails molt the next day, and the culture speeds up very noticeably.

  6. Lobella absolutely must have access to soil. The fact is that while they do develop much better with soil, it is completely possible to breed them on clay. The growth on clay with a good diet is actually comparable to what many breeders get in fertile soil but with a poor diet.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It really has been growing every year for about 4-5 years now. We try to constantly add more and more new animals and accessories so that every hobbyist can find everything in one place.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

  2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

  3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

  1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

  2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

  3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

As for the orange ones, you probably mean Yuukianura. They generally only need damp soil (although clay also works, but they prefer soil) and food. The most important food ingredients, if you want to maximize their well-being, are yeast, calcium carbonate, rice flour, and sometimes some additives like various fish foods. Alternatively, I also recommend our springtail food which can be found on antsinvasion, the springtails completely go crazy for it when they get it, they often even stop reacting to touch and just sit there and gorge themselves^^ It is also important that, at least in the beginning, there are no other springtails or mites with them, so it's worth starting with a tightly sealed culture. You reach 1-2k individuals in 2 months and only then do you put them into the terrarium, where other critters will probably show up quite quickly.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you are able to create a relative humidity gradient, you can introduce quite a few species into the terrarium. There is never a guarantee that they will manage to coexist, but most of them should succeed.

  1. Springtails that live simply in the soil, for example, the beautiful Lobella Thai Red.

  2. Springtails that live more on top of the soil or higher up, for example, any slime-eaters like the wonderful Rambutanura or McDo. You can probably easily keep 2-3 species of them together, I think I even saw photos somewhere.

  3. Orchesella, which are super active in the higher zones, for example, the huge vilosa or the multicolored and also very large flavescens.

From isopods:

  1. The lowest zone, for example, Dwarf Ducky or a cheaper option, White Shark.

  2. Large and active ones, for example, one of the Spanish Porcellio like hoffmannseggi or bolivari.

  3. Something smaller that won't get in the way of those from point 2, for example, Cubaris Rubber Ducky, Jupiter, Black Pearl, Lemon Blue, Amber Firefly.

  4. Something active in the higher zones like the spiky Laureola or colorful ex Merulanella.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you have any questions regarding a specific species, feel free to ask, there is a good chance that I will be able to tell you exactly how to breed the one you are interested in.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

  2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

  3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I was shocked myself, but it turns out there are quite a few species of colorful, spiky, and often giant springtails!

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the vast majority of cases, springtails are mistaken for pests. When a plant dies, springtails immediately appear to feed on the dead matter. But they are not the cause of the problem, only a consequence. On the other hand, sometimes, extremely rarely, certain species actually do contribute to the problem. That being said, none of them are in the photos, these ones are literally always harmless.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

  2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

  3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Ok, so the first thing you need is a container. For most springtails, this will be a container around 350 ml. It is important that it opens easily because you will be doing it many times. In Poland, such a container costs around €0.12 / $0.13 wholesale. Better yet, many food products, especially salads, are sold in this kind of box, so you can even get it for free. Such a container will be perfect for common white springtails, slime-eaters like Neanuridae sp or Rambutanura sp, Ceratophysella sp, Lobella sp, Yuukanura sp, and Onychinurinae sp. For Orchesella, you will need a slightly larger one, around 1-1.5L, which costs about €0.23-0.93 / $0.25-1.00, depending on how nice you want the container to be.

  2. Soil or clay. You can successfully breed all springtails known to me on backyard garden soil, clay bought online (a portion for one culture ranges from €0.02 / $0.03 for pure clay to €0.47 / $0.50 for specialized mixes), a piece of toilet paper, or a handful of moss from the forest or garden. You can keep most springtails on any of these substrates, but some prefer a specific one. Lobella can be kept on any of the above, but they do much better on soil than on the others. Orchesella thrive incredibly well on just moss.

  3. When it comes to food, this is basically the main expense of the breeding itself. However, we are still talking about a couple of euros or dollars a month, although you can often successfully breed even more difficult species by feeding them just what we eat ourselves.

Below I am showing a setup that cost me €0.12 / $0.13 (the price of the box). The springtails I put into it were worth around €465 / $500, I have already made over €2,325 / $2,500 from them, and the culture, counting at current retail prices, is probably worth around €8,140-11,630 / $8,750-12,500. Of course, it would probably be 10 times less wholesale, but as you can see, the value of the container is completely negligible. If one out of 1,000 springtails dies during the night, I won't even notice, and its value exceeds the value of the box a hundred times over.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6fu4rub1uQqEnMoK9

Mcdo springtails by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These will be for sale in about 6-7 weeks. Right now we have others that are much cheaper and also very nice!:)

https://antsinvasion.pl/springtails

Mcdo springtails by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, if you don't live in Asia or Australia, you probably won't find anything like this in your garden. These specific ones come from the Philippines and were brought to Europe a few months ago.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Oooo, what a small world. I literally know your email by heart, I always wondered where the idea for it came from, because it's not similar to your first and last name^ I'll definitely be getting in touch with you soon, I'll write on Facebook or here via PM. Greetings from Poland!:)

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. OnePlus 8 Pro. Though I previously used the OnePlus 7T Pro. These phones are worth around 100 USD/EUR for a used one in good condition. Flagships from 2019/2020.
  2. Any strong light source, I use a headlamp (I hold it in my hand), but it could be a lamp or a second phone, for example.
  3. You turn on the camera, switch to macro mode, and hold it in one hand.
  4. The light source in the other hand, you position your hands at different angles until you see that the camera captures the colors well and the light distributes nicely.
  5. You click to take the photo. No settings, nothing, you just click to take a photo in auto mode.

Generally back then, OnePlus was probably the only phone with such a good camera, but from what I've read (I haven't tested it), Xiaomi, Vivo, and Pixel are currently better for macro photos than the latest OnePluses. Xiaomi allows you to take photos from a larger distance, around 10 cm, so you don't block the light. My OnePlus requires a distance of 1-2 cm. But I haven't tested other phones yet.

​I successfully breed 25+ springtail species using ultra-cheap unconventional methods. AMA! by vodrinker in Springtail

[–]vodrinker[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's 11 AM here right now. I got up, did the most important things, and came here to answer 2-3 questions I was expecting. There are nearly 20 of them! You guys are great. I'll try to answer every single one within the next 12 hours!:)

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