This channel will be a collection of educational and entertaining videos related to keeping tropical frogs and tropical plants in glass (and wooden) boxes.
They're made using a clay media as a substrate. I sell the clay shown in the video on my website: frogandfrond.com/product/calcium-bearing-clay-springtail-media/ You can see a bit more detail on making the cultures in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6BGAf7oxCQk.html Thanks!
Thank you very much for this, I was worrying about how to do this. I need to add my cultured springtails to isopod vivariums and I did not want to add a bunch of water and throw my moisture balance off. I was also afraid I'd crush them with rough handling but they seem to be pretty tough and/or dodgy! Going to try this now, wish me luck. :)
I've been looking for calcium clay for awhile now. I always shop around for the best price. Finally, I found frog and frond. Not only was their price better than anyone else's, I was pleasantly shocked and SUPERRRRR Impressed!!!!!. The instructions in my package were soooo descriptive, and not in a overkill way, they made sure that anyone can measure it out. What I mean is, if you don't have a scale(like this vlog), the went above and beyond and put another way to measure it. I've never seen another company,seller, etc., Cover all ends to make sure the customer won't fail. Excellent 👍👍 work!!!!!! FYI, HOLY SHIT, no joke...I've NEVER seen my springtails multiply SOOOOOO fast... unbelievable!!!!!
One of the biggest advantages of using the clay for springtail cultures is how easy it makes feeding out or removing the springtails from the culture. You can just tip up the cup and tap them out. Also, some place the cultures into their frog enclosures to act as a calcium clay bath.
@@frogandfrond8612 thanks for the answer but not sure if im misunderstanding the actual purpose of the clay? Couldnt an empty cup plastic cup work too? Just dont get why clay is used? Why was charcoal used? Also how can I get my springtales to reproduce quicker as I was recently sold a a lot of dead spring tails and and my entire bioactive spring tail future population depends a few 10-15 spring tails when i bought 500-600 yoo . fml but f that seller. But are there any tricks to keep making some babies? Ive been playing the weeknd's music but they arent feeling it the tune so much.
Clay or charcoal are both just possible substrates for growing springtails. I greatly prefer the clay for the ease of getting the springtails out. To get you springtails going, you'll just need to make sure they have enough moisture, some type of substrate (clay, charcoal, peat, etc) and food. I feed mine baker's yeast. With that and time you'll eventually get many more springtails. Although starting with 10-15 it will likely take a while. The cultures I sell have too many to count.
I had a couple of pieces of glass cut to fit into the top plastic rim of the aquarium. Then I epoxied a hinge in-between them to make a lid that opened upward on the front half of the tank.
Hey! Thanks for the comment. I actually make and sell the clay, as well as already producing cultures. Feel free to message me on my FB page: facebook.com/frogandfrond
I love how easy it looks to harvest with this clay method. I do the charcoal method to raise springtails and harvesting is a bit of a hassle for sure. I generally just take some charcoal out of the culture and place it in my froglet terrariums and replace it every day or so with fresh charcoal from the culture. This looks much easier - just like harvesting fruit flies. I plan on researching this method more. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, This one was hilarious, I nearly choked on my coffee as I am sure you did when you almost swallowed all those Springtails lol. Never heard of using a turkey baster? :-) - and that was not the end of the entertainment when you poured the water (and charcoal) plus another few hundred springtails down the drain :-) It almost brought tears to my eyes -(thumbs up). If you check the U bend under your sink, you may be able to save a few :-) Sorry about having a good laugh at your expense - great video.
Haha. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth (straw). No problems. The idea is to get the springtails out of the culture DRY which is the reason to going to this trouble. A turkey baster wouldn't accomplish that. If they are still just floating on water, it's not ideal for some scenarios. If you would like to dust the springtails with supplements for feeding to froglets, then they will need to be dry. Also if you're using them to add to clay cultures, then you don't want to be dumping in much extra water. Another great benefit to getting them out dry is that it tends to leave behind any mites that may be in the culture. The springtails float right on top of the water (and are easily blown off the surface) while the mites do not float. Finally, there are no (or insignificantly few) springtails lost when pouring the extra water back off of the culture if done correctly. Glad you enjoyed it!
One small vital detail required please. As water is not welcome on maturity, How do you get the critters out in order to feed or seed? As you know, water is normally added to charcoal in order to pour out the inmates for this purpose.
This is actually the easiest and best part about clay cultures. You just invert the culture and dump/tap the springtails out. I keep thinking I'll make a video but it would only be about 10 second long, lol.
Nice build! I'm in the planning stage of making my first "from scratch" vivarium. The part I find most daunting is the door(s). What did you use for a track? It looks like you had a premade item.
I used a plastic E-channnel or E-track made for 1/8 sliding glass doors. Here's a link to exactly what I used. You can order it by the foot: www.outwater.com/products/180-bk/
There is probably a better product somewhere out there if you are only using a single sliding door, as with this small tank. The e-channel is for double sliding doors and I had a lot of extra lying around. If you're just using one door, you just use the front channel.
I've heard they do great in equal or Male heavy groups. I bought 4 from a private breeder, ended up 4.0 What I original confused with courting quickly turned to combat. Now I have 2.0 :-( thinking of buying a proven or probable female or 2 this year.
Wow, bad luck. I definitely lucked out with a 2.2 group. I have seen some intermittent male/male aggression but the females seem to get along. I'm hoping once they are in their larger permanent vivarium they will have plenty of room to establish their own territories.
New sub here! Great video, very interesting alternative to charcoal, very useful. Could you give me a commercial alternative to your dry clay? I don't think I can buy you from my country ..
Thanks for subscribing! There may not be a ready made alternative. This clay is a mixture of red art, bentonites, oolitic sand, peat, and calcium carbonate.
Yes, you will still want to supplement. This is not meant to be a substitute for good supplementation with calcium and other vitamins/minerals. It's just an additional source of calcium. It can be particularly helpful with younger frogs that may not be as readily able to take dusted flies, but that can take springtails. This is why using the clay as a substrate can be a great idea in grow out tanks or obligate vivaria. Thanks!
I use a combination of clays along with some organics to make this clay. Feel free to contact me over on my facebook page. facebook.com/frogandfrond Thanks.
