The Cleaning Crew

Species
Isopods
Springtails

Isopods and Springtails can be added to almost any vivarium. They will thrive if kept damp feeding on any fungus, decaying plant material (wood and leaves), dead crickets and any other uneaten food laying around the tank. These little janitors multiply with ease. I usually keep a culture of them to the side just in case. They can also control mite and nematode populations by eating the detritus that the mites and nematodes thrive on. This is the most ecological approach when it comes to controlling these pests.

Isopods and springtails in the vivarium.

Vivarium inhabitants will also eat them. Isopods are high in calcium and are readily eaten by everything from the obvious frogs and lizards to hermit crabs. Isopod young as well as springtails are also the perfect size for developing young lizards and frogs. Although there may be predation of these invertebrates they reproduce so quickly that it won’t impact the population dramatically.

 

Isopods are not actually insects but crustaceans like 

crabs and lobsters.

Depending on the species Isopods reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically (meaning it takes only one to reproduce). They can be found under leaves, logs , rocks and any damp place they have access to. They can be collected by picking them up with a spoon or your hands

Springtails are found on all 7 continents even Antarctica.

Springtails share the same environment as isopods. They reproduce sexually burying eggs in the substrate. They are also very tiny (normally less than 6 mm long) making them hard to see and jump relatively far for their size making them hard to collect. When I collect them I usually pick them up with a spoon along with any dirt or debris they are walking on to keep them from jumping off. I place that in a container and fill the container with water. Springtails tend to use the surface tension of water to walk and float on the water. Then using a straw I pick up the spring tails by placing one end of the straw over the insect then cover the other end with my finger. I then place the end with the springtail over the container where I want them and remove my finger. This releases the suction and the springtails fall into the new container.

Isopods and springtails clean up messes made by terrarium inhabitants by eating decaying material present in the vivarium and control other pest such as mites nematodes and fungi. This combination is invaluable to any naturalistic vivarium.