Bioactive Vivarium and Communal Tank Setups
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2024
- Bioactive vivariums are the keeper's attempt to recreate a balanced ecosystem in a closed system. By definition, all tanks are bioactive in the sense that if there are living organisms in a space they will be feeding and excreting waste. Microorganisms and fungi are always present in such cases as decomposers to break organic materials down. The goal with what are popularly referred to as bioactive vivariums is to achieve a better balance where the waste produced in our tanks are broken down more quickly by carefully chosen scavengers and detritivores. Typically, isopods and springtails are the clean up crews in pet hobby vivariums where they both eat waste products generated by the primary pet in the tank, as well as feed on the extra food our pets don't eat including bits of feeders insects that drop to the tank floor. In this way they break materials down into levels that microorganisms and fungi can better contend with. This helps a lot to minimize mold in the tank which can get a start on a piece of waste and then begin to grow into the substrate itself.
Keepers with many tanks near to one another will usually find that springtails and mites will jump tanks and populate the new tanks. As the reptile and frog and pet bug communities have grown and learned from one another, it has become standard for people to want to set up a bioactive tank from scratch. All that really means is they want a higher level of control in what happens in the tank and of course we are in control of everything that goes in to the tank, and comes out of it. Organic matter is placed in an organized way into a space that appears to be empty. Often the bioactive tank will be built around the care needs of a single pet species, like a reptile. Its temperature and humidity needs then dictate what substrate is used, and that is generally the first thing added to the tank. Then hides like cork bark or slabs of bark or rocks or other natural looking materials that provide shelter to the animals in the tank are added, and sometimes plants which also help to cycle nutrients in the tank. Then the clean up crew is added in. Isopods and springtails are the two most commonly used cleaners where they play a role in breaking down the waste and the mold that grows on waste from the primary pet reptile, etc. They also consume uneaten food leftover by the primary pet and that helps to keep it from spoiling in the tank, and even their constant foot traffic moving across the surface of the vivarium deters mold from spreading. Isopods and springtails live very well communally in bioactive tanks and also work to keep other tank "pests" under control like fungus gnats and mites.
As the hobby continues to evolve and the concept of a bioactive tank does with it, new versions of what bioactive tanks mean will emerge. New terms are coming into the hobby to further break them down into categories including bioactive vivarium, bioactive paludarium, bioactive desert vivarium, desertscape tank and others. Communal tanks are generally ones that are built around an even broader concept that focuses on at least two primary pet animals in the tank, like desert hairy scorpions and blue death feigning beetles, for example.
In the future I will be doing a video about how to setup a bioactive vivarium with popular bugs.
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You really do give your isopods gourmet treatment! A variety of food like that makes for some happy isopods!
I buy more vegetables than I eat. ;)
your so cool Ang naturalistic shout out from Phillipines
Thanks a bunch, Justin. Hope to visit your amazing country someday and eat lots of great food. I made Sinigang Sa Sampalok soup recently!
Whenever a new animal I get is going to stay moist, I put in springtails. Especially all of my snails. The springtails do a great job of cleaning up any mold and debris that is left. It also seems like they help with the snail slime.
Very I've millipedes to. Love seeing all of your stuff.
Thanks Creidsy! I often see springtails in association with slugs and snails in the wild and so that's not surprising at all. Couple snail/slug lovers here in the comments today!
Great video. Thank You. Those Feather Millipedes are amazing. Cheers.
Thank you, Bob!
isopods seem to absolutely love eating Swede, it is the best feeding response I have witnessed when feeding isopods veg and I haven't found a species that doesn't react quickly to it yet.
Oh, how interesting. I had to look it up to figure out a swede is another name for a rutabaga. I might buy one just to try it and share it with the isopods. I assume you eat them (or grow them). What's the best way to eat one? (as a human)
@@bugsincyberspace boiled and mashed with carrots and butter is how I normally eat them but they are tough raw so they take a while to chop and cook (longer than carrot or potato), the isopods do not seem to mind but giving them longer rather than taller chunks gives them more surface area to eat from.
Love the video those feather millerpede are so cool first time ever seeing those thank you so much for sharing this video
They are a real asset to the pet millipede hobby with their unusual shape. Most of the popularly kept species are round millipedes of course and few of the so-called flat millipedes or "polydesmids" do well as pets. But these feathers, though rather small in stature, are well suited to tank life. I appreciate your enthusiasm for them, Crystal. Thank you!
Looking forward to more information in the future about all over these topics 🙂 love to learn as much as possible
Awesome video. Can't wait to see the desert springtails population get big enough they are available online. Everytime I see the colours on the Thai Rainbow Millipedes I fall in love again 😍
Yeah, I collected them in February and I'm very pleased that with minimal care their population has grown. I've been meaning to move them into a larger container and may very well do that tomorrow! I appreciate your help in motivating me because it's been on my to do list for several weeks.
And I very much agree. They quality of that part of this video was very satisfying for me too, and the feathers came out nicely too. Of course, it was a bit late in the day for me to be out in the backyard with half my face shaded but we're all here for the bugs anyway. Thanks, as always, GC!
@@bugsincyberspace I remember watching you mention them while out on the trip to see your folks and thinking oh that's so cool. Always willing to give a motivational nudge 😁
@@gingecharmander Thanks for remembering! I half want to go back and watch that video but it will only remind me in this moment how trapped we all are inside. Next week I think I'll go for a drive and do some hiking with you guys though. I really need to get some fresh air and see some bugs in nature!
@@bugsincyberspace there's always time for a hike! Look forward to the video if you do go out. Plus it's a "business trip"
@@gingecharmander lol, you are not wrong about any of that but it will just be a day trip. I will still have to come home and spend many hours editing, processing and uploading the video. I had to upload today's video to CZcams 3 times because it got stuck in processing two times. It takes about 2 hours to upload a 23 minute video. But it's always worth it, even when the same technology that makes it all possible is working against us a bit. Thanks again for making it worth it!
There’s so many cool isopods out there, one of these days I’m gonna finally get around to having a bioactive tank 🤞🏻
They are really fun to creep up on at night when the activity levels are higher. I really should have taken some night shots just for comparison's sake. Thanks Jen!
Will feather millipedes be available on your site Any time soon? I would love to get some!
I'm not sure if I just always have really bad timing but every time I've checked they've been sold out. Very beautiful specimens! Thank you for the video
Rumor has it I will be getting more soon. The ones in the video are spoken for, I believe. Shoot me an email through the site later this coming week and check in. They are usually in rather short supply. Thanks Carly!
I really wish you would work with Polistes wasps, and mole crickets. Mole crickets especially could be fascinating if one can set them up so you can watch them underground. They are rather long lived as crickets go, and some are actually predatory. (Neoscapteriscus vicinu and Neocurtilla hexadactyla are pretty impressive.
Polistes wasps are self explanatory, awesome pets, and can actually be tamed, if you brave or fool hardy enough to try. ;)
Excellent video!
It’s like you read my mind and answer questions I haven’t asked yet.
Keep up the amazing work.
Well, the truth is I just sort of turn the camera on and ramble but having had my website up since 1997 I've been asked a lot of the same questions repeatedly and probably have some sense for what people want to know. Of course, the reason we are all here is to figure out what our pets are thinking and needing, eh? Thanks GB!
@@bugsincyberspace Its not really rambling if you're speaking from 20+ years of experience! :)
@@scottadams157 lol, you'd be surprised what I don't know about the larger human world. I've never even seen Silence of the Lambs or most movies that bug people and people in general reference all the time. I always have to laugh at myself when I'm in a group of people and they are talking about some part of popular culture and I have no idea what they are talking about. *casually steps away too see if there is a bug lurking somewhere nearby 😂
Bioactive is the way to go! Millipedes and isopods are such awesome species!
It's worth noting that 10,000 species of microbes live in/on our human bodies! We are ourselves amazing bioactive vivariums!
@@bugsincyberspace The secret of life is bioactivity!
i definitely want a nice variety in this first tank im doing, but im starting with 1-2 millipedes and springtails with plants, if it works out im going to think about adding more as long as they can live together alright🙏
Super inspiring and informative video, so happy to have rediscovered you here on youtube. Can I ask what sort of fish food pellets you use, and if you think they'd be good for roaches as well?
Hi Kyle and thanks for your kind words! I use cichlid fish food pellets and I personally like the smallest ones available (mini pellets) because pet bugs will pick them up and carry them off to eat in peace.
@@bugsincyberspace awesome, thanks so much. I'm actually watching your desert beetle video with my wife and pretty sure I heard you mention it there lol. Good to know about the size though, will bear that in mind when I raid my local pet shop. Thanks again!
@@kyleunderwood7213 Happy to help, Kyle and thanks for your continued interest!
I'm currently keeping some wild field crickets (Gryllus veletis), and I put some native springtails in there to help with mold, but it almost seems like those pesky fungus gnats are helping more. Sometimes the old food falls into the corners of the enclosure and the gnat maggots will eat it. Maybe I should try collecting some isopods too.
I think the isopods are a good idea. I'll do a fungus gnat vid. Maybe I have one up already as I made one many years ago and had it on the old version of my channel and on the tank pests page of my website.
Fungus gnats are a temporary problem. In such tanks I take them outside every day or two for a couple weeks and tap the sides of the container until half of of them fly away. The rest I continue to tap at until they reach the side wall of the container and then, well, I usually have a wad of paper towel in my hand and say nice things to them and encourage them to leave. Some are better listeners than others.
All bugs are my guests, until it's time to leave. ;)
Another update on the snakeflies: I went outside with the whole jar to get some aphids for them (terrible idea) and while walking past a bunch of rose bushes I tripped on some rocks and dropped the jar, lost the egg-laying female and most of the eggs got crushed. There are some left but they look dark and possibly rotten. Never going to make that mistake again 😭😡 At least I found 9 swallowtail caterpillars and 2 Polyphemus moth eggs this week.
@@lapisore9190 Not a terrible week then, on...um, balance? ;) At least we know you can repeat the experiment in the future and let us know how it goes!
@@bugsincyberspace Another update: The only female snakefly died, and I released the male, and when I went to put their empty jar away I looked underneath the paper towel and I saw babies! Baby snakeflies! They are about the size of a hatchling mealworm (if you've ever seen those) but thinner. They almost look like maggots. Besides the snakeflies I have 10 swallowtail caterpillars (had 14, but two drown, one mysteriously died, and our cat ate one), two unidentified hairy caterpillars, a Bedstraw Sphinx moth, a Lined Sphinx moth, and a Semirelict Underwing moth that I'm trying to collect eggs from. My wolf spider also recently layed an egg sac. My 2 Polyphemus moth eggs hatched but they didn't eat anything (their host plant or any other plant), so they died. Have no idea why. Still on the hunt for an adult Polyphemus Moth!
This was a great video! Great close ups! And I love the outside shots--your yard is beautiful, Peter.
So, any chance you could find/source a few cockroach spp. that you aren't currently on your sales list and resell? You're the BEST invert guy on the web hands down and I'd rather give you my business if you could track them down rather than all the folks that never answer emails. If its a possibility, let me know and we can chat via email.
Hi Scott and thank you for your kind assessment. I built my business playing the very game you describe through networking and sourcing things that were difficult to find. I've always been a yes person and enjoy making the impossible happen in terms of domestic species, and access to captive bred material within the country. I would be so much better off in managing my time if I practiced the word no more often, but it's just not in my nature. So, put your list right here in this comments area and we'll see what the community can do for you. There are a couple people aside myself who watch my videos and have their ears even nearer to the ground when it comes to the US pet roach hobby.
Thanks Peter. That was helpful. I know roaches aren’t the most popular or lucrative things in the invert hobby, but I’m really trying to broaden my experience with roaches by keeping various different genus.
Currently I’m trying to find several different sand roaches to add to the bug room (Er...closet). Boll’s, Egyptian, Tonkawa, Chinese medicinal...they just seem so hard to find.
Thank you for this video!
You are very welcome, and thanks for watching, Jessica!
Great video! I love those high-yellow Porcellio ornatus. Excellent closeups! I keep the 'Yellow Dot' morph, but I have yet to keep the high yellows.
lol, didn't recognize you in your disguise there, Rus! I've never heard of the Yellow Dots. The isopods hobby is just moving sooo fast these days! Thanks!
When you change the soil for the millipedes put it in an ant farm. Just an idea
Funny enough, if those ants weren't in there I'd have changed the soil long ago. I do partial substrate changes in that tank, but mostly that ivory millipede tank is a temporary holding bin for millipedes of various species that come and go through here. In that sense, it is an ant farm already! I've never really thought too much about them. I just like seeing them and the irony that they are keeping me. Whatever I'm doing as I cycle things through that tank, they seem to like it. Just now I had a vision that there is a monster colony beneath the soil and that one day they might carry me off in my sleep. A fitting end for me, no doubt.
Well done, as always, and full of useful information for everyone. Thanks so much for posting this. I'm sure I will watch it again and take notes for later reference.
@@loisking3536 Thanks a bunch, Lois! Of course, I thought of a half dozen things I should have mentioned. ;)
Thank you for another interesting and informative video 🙂 The ant colony was pretty cool though admittedly I would be one of the people freaking out about it. 🤣
Yeah, they were probably in there for quite a while before I ever even noticed them. I'm not sure how many their numbers are but it takes me a minute to even find them and I've never seen an increase in their population and so I'm really just happy to provide them a home. And besides, in the spirit of the video they do seem to be occupying some niche in the tank's ecosystem, even if I'm not quite sure what it is. I can safely guess they are doing no harm to the transient millipedes though. Thanks for watching, Jennifer! You won a comments prize recently, I think. Not sure if we connected on that or not.
Over the years I've had both good and bad accidents dealing with bioactive tanks for my various pet bugs. Presently I have some unknown sow bugs in my 2 tanks which without fail breed every early summer. Occasionally I'll see some random spring tails as well. I've basically used soil, dead leaves and chunks of rotten wood for my tanks. I also use some live plants including some garlic mustard. Although its invasive its pretty much established here in the east coast. I also tend to use some english ivy it can find some as well as some windowsill flowering plants. These plants are also good for when I keep tree crickets in late summer.
Super neat first of all that you keep tree crickets. Somebody on my instagram just requested an ID for a subadult they found molting on the underside of a leaf, yesterday.
Of course, nothing is ever quite an accident. Pulling things in from outdoors will often bring more than just the chunk of wood in. The unpredictability is half the fun of such tanks. I get very excited on the rare occasion where booklice take up residence in one of my tanks. The funny thing is that when I make a half-hearted attempt to keep them going or set them up in the new tank, they never seem to take off like they did "accidentally" in the source tank I never meant to add them to.
I need to climb down the hill in the backyard here and clip the ivy that is starting to strangle my maple trees. And today is a good day for that too!
Thanks M!
@@bugsincyberspace Identifying young tree crickets is difficult unless its a Oecanthus latipennis which have distinctive red markings on the first few segments of their antennae and part of the head. Most others are usually pale white greenish. I've also collected young tree crickets which late mature and sing and POW! theres my ID.Usually when I go get stuff for my tanks its in the winter so when spring/summer arrives one might be pleasantly surprised. I've even been lucky enough to bring in Carolina ground cricket eggs which sometime mature and i'll hear them chirping in tank. Good luck on getting your ivy. I find that shiny leafed plants usually fare better in tanks. Always a pleasure to share my findings with you Pete. Salute!
@@Morales-nt6vi I'm not sure if you follow my Instagram account or not but I had some tree crickets in videos there a time or two including singing males I think. They were very common at the house I lived at previously and the predominant summer night sound. I really enjoy hearing about the unusual bugs people keep that aren't mainstream. Of course, if I never saw another hissing cockroach for the rest of my life I'd probably get along just fine. Thanks for sharing! I'd love an update down the line if the tree crickets reproduce for you. I never saw any of the females I briefly kept lay a single egg but I didn't really read much about their life history to set the tank up in a particular way either. I was just thinking I might see some eggs on leaves or stems since I tend to see them in the same sorts of settings as I do katydids.
@@bugsincyberspace I've yet to do instagram. If I do I will definitely follow you on it. Have yourself a great weekend my friend. Salute!
@@Morales-nt6vi Salute, my friend!
neato!
Please, do many more additional videos on this topic.
I appreciate your interest and support, Patrick. I'd like to make many more!
I love your videos. I’ve learned a lot watching you and others like you. I’m new to the hobby. I’m raising mantids and have set up some bioactive tanks for them. That has lead to isopods and spring tails. I keep my isopods in their own seeding culture as well as in the bioactive tank set up. My question is in regards to the isopods in particular. They thrive in their individual cultures but seem to not do as well in the larger bioactive set up. Do you have any thoughts about this? I’ll continue to watch to see what tips I can pick up to tweak my balance as it were. I’m interested to learn more about millipedes as well. I wonder how well isopods, mantises and millipedes would live together. I’ll explore that as well.
Thanks for your questions, Ashley. It can be difficult to provide good information without seeing photos however generally the cause for struggling isopods comes down to humidity. I'm just guessing but your soil is possibly too dry and the substrate to air space ratio in your tank is considerably more extreme than in the source containers. Consider making the substrate a little deeper so that it will hold more moisture, and then adding more water to it, and then providing some slabs of bark or cork bark for the isopods to hide under during the day where they will be in little micro-climates within the over tank. At night they will venture out under cover of darkness to perform their clean up duties. You may also consider reducing the amount of ventilation in the lid if it is 100% screen, etc.
I've known a lot of people over the years to keep some really crazy things communally and the three you mention are well within the range of normality. ;)
I'll watch for any replies because I was just sort of shooting arrows in faint light there.
How many millipedes would you suggest for a starter culture? Just for casual keeping, not going to be adding them to a terrarium anytime soon, thanks. Love your content.
Were you referring specifically to the feather millipedes? In any case, the size of the container often dictates the number of millipedes that make sense for it. In the case of a small species like this an 8 ounce deli cup, though not very display-worthy, is a pretty good size in terms of being able to find a few of them and while ensuring they have everything they need in close proximity to them.
What is the little red-brown critter poking its head out of the soil at 23:00?
Will be looking forward to your millipede and isopod videos. I have quite a few species of Isopods (20+? Afraid to count!) and several types of millipedes. Have felt guilty for not tracking which like what kind of supplemental foods, so thanks for saying you don’t track it either. I tried fish pellets, very few liked it. Many like Repashy Morning Wood (left as a powder), but not everyone. So I mostly just rotate the menu and serve dry options in pieces of egg shell so if they hate it, it is easy to remove without mold getting in the substrate. Am thinking I need to add Thai Rainbows to collection...and eventually feather milli’s. Did the feathers ever eat the mushroom?
23:00 is the end of the video but I believe I know the moment you are referring to in the forest springtails tank where they are all going crazy. There was a camera shy soil mite.
As for foods, variety is good in a communal tank and if we are also alike and not sitting there and watching which animals in a communal or bioactive tank are eating which foods, it's good to add a variety. And, in a bioactive communal tank that is given the proper amount of offerings, those offerings will all disappear. Feed the staples of leaf bits and fish food and in some cases wood bits. I also offer fish food pellets to everything, but one trick is to offer them in the right amount and not overfeed. Sometimes my own fridge gets too full and I find myself having to clean it out when I get back from the grocery store before I can reasonably fit the new stuff in.
Oh, thanks for reminding me that I need to put the morning wood up on the site. They sent me samples when the product first came out and I have used it. As with most things, measuring out the right amount in proportion to your colony is key. I purchased some for resale very recently and haven't put it on the site yet. I suppose today is a good day for that. Supplemental foods like this are more costly but for those people that are raising isopods as feeders for amphibians and reptiles, they are both convenient and contribute to the health of the predator eating them. Within the spectrum of keepers nutrition is most important to breeders of pets that eat other pets that eat nutrition products.
The mushroom is gone, thanks for asking. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which organisms in the tank disappeared it since it's been 2 days now and I hadn't checked in between. Oops.
Thanks for the questions, CG, and the egg shell is a wonderful idea since it also contributes calcium into the vivarium while the shape keeps the food off the substrate. 👍
Bugs In Cyberspace - 😂 yep. The little dark red face is at 18:56. Thanks for the lengthy reply. I feel so honored! Glad I could remind you about the Repashy Morning Wood. My enclosures are primarily dedicated to single species, just for breeding and enjoyment, so don’t know why they don’t like fish pellets. I give very few. Some do like dehydrated mushrooms (buy when on clearance.) I do add springtails and battle fungus gnats. I guess that’s bioactive 😂. Have you had trouble with ants swarming your roach enclosures? Sugar ants did that recently with 3 red runner breeding bins. They were hauling off empty egg cases, while and pieces. Any tips?
@@crittergirl3647 I've had countless people mention ant problems through email over the years. I've never personally had any issues with ants in my enclosures, besides the one I mentioned in this video which seems to be harmless.
As for tips, I'm guessing it is mostly a seasonal thing that you will only have to deal with for a month or so once or twice per year. No great tips, really. Some people will drop their tanks in a bed of water or diatomaceous earth when nothing else works. I personally keep most of my containers on shiny/smooth wire racks and I think that has probably gone a very long way to limit the introduction of things into tanks because they are not easy to climb. I also keep paper towel pinched between lids and container bases in a lot of cases because many lids are not tight fitting, otherwise. I vacuum weekly. 😂
Also there are a lot of Steatoda spiders making a sweet living under my various bug shelves!
Bugs In Cyberspace yes...many spiders consider my critter room to be their favorite resort, mostly to my benefit! Thanks again for the reply.
Oh your feather millipedes are gorgeous! Where do you get them? I've been looking to make a vivarium with brachycybe but I can't seem to find them for sale anywhere and my area is rather dry so I'm not finding many millipedes outside this year in general. Love the video! Hadn't considered adding fish food pellets to the substrate.
I mainly get them from one source that I've been working with for like a decade or so. I offer them through the site from time to time. Thanks for watching, T! The feathers are definitely a very unique species in terms of what is usually available in the hobby and I really enjoy watching them.
I've heard about isopods eating the legs off of millipedes, I don't think it is common but I keep my millipedes and isopods separate because of that 😅 I might feel more comfortable having something like dwarf whites with my orthoporus ornatus (gold) but I definitely wont be putting any with my feather millipedes since they're smaller than most isopods, and have a more delicate breeding process. I'm pretty excited about the desert springtails! I hope they'd be suitable for something like a leopard gecko bioactive tank, not that leos are really a desert species but their tanks of course don't have enough humidity for normal springtails or isopods that I know of. I'm trying to find some low humidity tolerant isopods for one of my dry tanks. Let me know if you know of any!
This was a really informative video! In terms of bio active tanks, do you think that a desert millipede like orthoporus ornatus would do well in a death feigning beetle tank if there was some soil underneath the beetle substrate? Thanks!
Yep, no problem although you might simply put soil on 1/3 of the tank and then a layer of soil that is sort of graded down beneath the sand as demonstrated in my recent Desert Beetle Tank videos. The only issue you might be unhappy with is the way the sand and soil would mix up back and forth on the surface as the animals move back and forth on it, and not look so "pretty." I've seen some pretty creative ways around this over the years where people create a sort of step or drop-off in the tank so that the soil on one end of the tank is maybe higher than the sand portion on the other side. The millipedes can scale the step via large rocks or would-be bridges of one kind or another if they want to go back and forth. Thanks for the question, S!
Bugs In Cyberspace thanks for the tips! I’ll look into that type of setup, and as long as my beetles don’t seem unhappy with the soil, I’ll probably order some millipedes soon. :)
@@spicybeans5872 Yeah, one thing to watch out for is moist soil (mud) caking up on the tips of the feet of the beetles. I learned that a long time ago when initially keeping Cryptoglossa variolosa in a slightly more moist habitat before figuring out that they didn't appreciate it. If your blue death feigning beetles are consistently and completely black instead of blue, it is an indicator that the tank they are in is too humid and so that's another indicator to watch out for as you get them settled into the tank.
Have you ever done a bio active desert Vivarium
I really missed a chance recently when doing the two part "Desert Beetle Tank Set Up" videos in mentioning my desert springtails which means I'll have to remake it someday. I can safely commit to doing a desert hairy and blue death feigning beetle communal vid WITH springtails, in the future! Thanks B! 👍
At 19:10, I'm sorry to say those mites are actually predatory mites... So kind of unwelcome in springtail cultures LOL... 😂 I have them in my collection and while they seldom completely drive springtail species to extinction, they can come pretty close to doing so before their populations crash due to lack of prey, (however I've found that they can really decimate springtail populations that are are on their own and not housed with larger fauna like roaches). I find them very useful in keeping grain mite populations down though, and so have learned to encourage their presence in my collection, in combination with about three or four different springtail species and a type of Oribatid mite, because ALL of these are better than grain mites. 😂
Oh, don't be sorry and you do make a good point in that predatory mites may pick off members in a small, start-up colony of super special springtails like these desert ones that the hobby has been waiting for, although I don't think these predators are very effective against these particular faster moving, jumping springtails. Of course, there they are in the tank and they are eating something!
For the sake of other readers, springtails have a tendency to jump tanks just like the fast-moving, pointy-headed predatory mites do (and as Invertebrate Dude saw in my desert springtail video clip within this overall video).
I've never lost a springtail culture. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They are so prolific the mites can't keep up, and I can't keep the springtails from jumping tanks even on wire racks!
I actually keep this container of desert springtails on the upper level of my home so that the other kinds of springtails I keep don't mix in with them. It will be tricky in the long run to keep them isolated.
A running theme in my videos, because mites are a running theme in most seasoned tanks, will always be "a few mites do no harm," but I do always welcome them with open arms, and I'm glad you do too, since they are beneficial to the bioactive vivarium in the sense of warding off things we don't want in the tank, even at the possible expense of picking off some members of the things we do want in the tank. I've never once seen a population explosion of them in any of my tanks, though they are rather common among my various tanks. They are a small insurance policy against the other unwanted guests like the grain mites you mentioned.
You probably have no idea how many springtail cultures I sell every week. Sales is the greatest danger to my springtail colonies. ;)
Thanks T!
@@bugsincyberspace The problem doesn't really lie in the consumption of adult springtails, (which predatory mites are typically too small to consume), but the eggs and younger springtails are picked off pretty easily, even if they're fast. It really does depend on the breeding speed of the springtail species in question though, small silvers, the temperate whites and tropical pink springtails all typically breed too fast for predatory mites to decimate their numbers much.
Back when I tried culturing several different species of springtails I had caught myself, (think I had over 6 species, several of which were really cool and I've not seen since), the predatory mites sadly destroyed all those, because the starting numbers of the cultures were low, and none of them were quite as prolific as the mites were. So it really does depend on the springtail species in question, most of the commonly cultured ones are not going to be bothered by predatory mites in the long run, but with newer, small cultures of springtails like this, those kind of mites can be quite harmful, especially if the springtails in question are slow breeders, (which, being new to the hobby, we don't know yet). Just figured I'd give you a head's up, if it seems like these new desert Springs aren't breeding much, I'd guess the mites were to blame.
I do have a very dry hardy springtail species in my collection that I collected myself, I forget the Latin name but the common name is "Cotton springtail", they're rather prolific and do best in dryer or at least semi-humid conditions, (though one or two corners with moisture should be available for optimal breeding), and they've been able to keep up with predatory mite booms and other springtail species no problem. I'm using them in my Tenebrionid tanks and some of the dryer roach bins with good success. :)
@@InvertebrateDude I've never managed to culture any of my local springtail species even without mites as a factor though I've only tried with Tomocerus and globular springtails. Oh, wait, I guess I did captive produce Neanura! But the others did okay for a few months but eventually just fizzled out. I'm really guessing there were other more significant variables at play than predatory mites in your difficulties with your local ones. You'll need to set up control tanks with no mites next time, so that blame can be placed appropriately when they fail! 😂🤣
@@bugsincyberspace Well all the cultures were doing great, breeding, and then these mites entered my collection, I noticed them entering the springtail cultures too but didn't give it much thought, and then the cultures all started going kaput... Every single container had a HUGE boom in the numbers of predatory mites, the things were just everywhere... So I do believe the mites were the only thing to blame there... 😅 There was also a white golbular springtail species that had been breeding somewhat prolifically in several of my containers for a couple years, but as soon as I started getting predatory mites in my collection, and they eventually spread to those containers, they were wiped out, and again the predatory mite population booms in those enclosures at the time was quite noticeable.
@@InvertebrateDude Sounds like you have super predatory mites. Did you check their chests for the big red S? It's always hard to flip them over and get them to stay still, since they are so small. I have it on good authority that all you need to do is drop a very small piece of kryptonite in the tank. It works well as a deterrent for super predatory mites. 🟩
Kryptonite is available on my website in the caging section. In honor of our conversation here, I'm currently doing a BOGO sale on pieces of kryptonite. Dawn your cape, blue tights and red boots, fair Invertebrate Dude, and fly over, up and away to shop.BugsInCyberspace.com
Your springtails will think you're out of this world!
Can you make more videos on mantises please ! There isn’t enough informational videos on this platform about them !
Thanks for your interest, Joe! What kind of mantis video are you interested in? Of course, the answer is yes. I do have one in mind that I will be working on soon. 👍
Bugs In Cyberspace I’ve just required both ghost mantis and spiney flower mantis ! If you have any tips in breeding and raising that would be hugely beneficial
@@joesmith5618 I do have a spiny flower mantis video. I'll be making a ghost mantis video in a couple months when my Shadow Mantises (the other Phyllocrania...P. illudens finally mature)! Thanks for mentioning these two species!
Have you considered soil amphipods as a part of bio active tanks?
I have kept them as such, both the terrestrial versions and aquatics. I have a video about aquatic amphipods and though the tank was set up with them as the central focus, they are just one of the living organisms in the tank. I used to have a terrestrial/soil lawn shrimp colony in my warty glowspot roach tank but it eventually fizzled out. They had a translucent bluish-gray quality and I wish I had started them in various tanks at that time.
@@bugsincyberspace I think amphipods are underrated as bioactive cleanup grew. In the soil by one of trees by my house, they are just as common as isopods! Yet get much less attention
Hi, can i put a pachnoda larva in the substrate of the millipede for eating the fecal pellet?
I'm not sure the fecal pellets would sustain the Pachnoda in an optimal way but options are good! They might be happier sharing some of the millipede's food. ;)
Are dwarf white isopods and spring tails my only option for tropical centipede enclosures that wont get eaten? I've never really tried any larger isopods because I'm afraid ill be wasting my money and that they will just get eaten. Thanks in advance!
Can I use soil from my garden for substrate for my millipede
It should be fine but you'll want to supplement with leaves and then depending on the species, other foods too, perhaps.
How often would you clean out a millipede terrarium if its bioactive?
It's a very difficult question to answer w/o seeing the various variables at play in the tank like: tank size, substrate depth, number and type of living arthropods in the tank, amount of organic material being added to the tank, and among other factors through the course of time. Mainly, you want to keep an eye on the edible substrate to processed substrate (waste) ratio.
hey dude, would larger isopods and or millipedes live harmony with something like a ball python in a bioactive vivarium?
Hi,have you ever considered keeping slugs
I've kept them a few times over the years but here in Portland, Oregon slugs are so common that I can go out and see them in a prettier space than I could ever replicate for them in a tank. Also, I tend to focus on groups that aren't designated as potential agricultural pests, as well. But if you look at my growing Pacific Northwest video playlist you will see them in many of the videos. If you keep them, I'd be curious to know what kinds and why you enjoy them as much as you do. Thanks!
@@bugsincyberspace now I have actually bred them ONCE and I actually keep them with the millipedes and rolypolys/isopods around my house slugs are pretty fun and I have a extremely simple cage which is a Tupperware container but it's not to small
@@goofball02847 It would be very neat to watch them moving on the substrate and other tank decor. It's also interesting to see their undersides as the move across glass.
@@bugsincyberspace When I said simple I mean simple j set it up with stuff in my backyard only
@@goofball02847 Yeah, a lot of my tanks are built on the concept of what's convenient is what's best too! Thanks Coen!
Hi, I am in europe and looking to set up a communal show tank, just as a pet owner I do not want to breed large numbers. I was hoping to find 2 species of millipedes and 1 or 2 beetles that go well together. I want to start with the millipedes, do you have advice on which ones will do well together because of similar needs? (Preferably ones you can get in Europe) Night temps here are 18°C day temp 21°-28°C, I won’t mind buying a light or heat mat to put on the side of tank if needed.
Hey! I have a question I’ve been able to find a little bit of information on, I want to do a bio active tank with a food web. Any links? Info of any kind appreciated?
I'd like to provide a better answer but the question is so vague I'm not sure where to begin. Now, you can type into the search engine on CZcams "bioactive tank" along with other keywords, like, for example, any organisms you'd like to see in the tank. If you're wanting a frog as a top tier predator in the web, you'd type in "bioactive frog tank," for example.
Bugs In Cyberspace haha sorry for the vagueness I didn’t want to type out a paragraph thank you for the response! When I conform my question a bit better I’ll be back love the content!
Hello!
I’m very concerned about my Giant Gold Millipede ( Orthroporus ornatus). I got it and 3 other millipedes a few weeks ago. It had been one of my most active...walking around the terrarium. Now it’s limp, laying in the corner not moving!! I have coconut fiber, moss, dried wood and oak leaves. I picked up a piece of bark I found on a walk and added that but I didn’t cook it first in the oven...Could that have made it sick? Any ideas? What should I do? Do you know if anything is poisonous to this species? Could it be molting, just not under? I’m very concerned. Please help millipede community!!! My prek students will be so sad if Ms.Stone killed their millipede and so will I.😭😭😭
The 4 millipedes live with isopods and 2 hissing cockroaches. I give them fruits and veggies and Josh’s frogs cockroach food. What did I do wrong? Please help. Thank you so much in advance!
What is your millipede substrate recipe?
It's listed on my website on the care sheet page but basically it's topsoil w/o chemicals and fertilizers, organic compost, sand, sphagnum moss and calcium carbonate. Dried leaves get dropped onto the surface too, although with supplemental foods. The ratios do not matter so much but sand and sphagnum moss are minor ingredients.
@@bugsincyberspace sounds good but so no wood then? Can I sprinkle oak chips on top?
@@BlaisZeroni A chunk of wood is very helpful for the Brachycybe in this video since they feed on the fungus that grows on the wood in nature. Different brands of compost have different ingredients but the type I use usually has wood in it. If yours does not, supplementing with decaying wood from hardwood types of trees is very important, yes.
Springtails will eat store bought mushrooms.
I often put little bits of this or that in their tanks as a medium for mold growth. I'll try mushrooms. Thanks P!
i think ive finally decided on getting some ivory millipedes in a few weeks when i move out
had originally wanted beetles but i’m a little impatient and don’t want to worry about caring for/waiting on the larva
re: millipedes: how long would the substrate they come in last? and also is there any way on the website to specify that i would like a single pair of male and female?
The only species I offer sexed millipedes for are ivory millipedes, sorry. We are too busy to spend ten minutes coaxing uncooperative millipedes on our shipping days to uncoil, and the burden of making a mistake factors in. My prices are cheap. Get three or four. ;)
I do not ship millipedes in substrate.
I appreciate your interest, Austin, and congratulations on your forward movement!
Bugs In Cyberspace
ivories are what i was looking at anyway, i just might get a few
@@snitchbug Thanks for your interest, Austin! They really are a solid choice.
Bugs In Cyberspace
it would end up being 2 or 3 weeks probably but since those are the ones you offer sexed, how could i indicate that?