Step by step set-ups
Add springtails to a terrarium or isopod tub
Seed springtails before the animals go in, spread the culture through the substrate and match the species to how wet the enclosure is.
Seed the enclosure
NEHERP introduces springtails to a live vivarium 3 to 5 weeks before adding inhabitants. The wait lets a population establish and helps prevent booms of less effective detritivores such as fungus gnats and detritivorous mites.
- Add the culture before the plants, leaf litter or moss, then cover it gently with litter, moss or other decor.
- Spread the contents of the culture through the substrate layer. Do not pack the substrate down or compress it.
- NEHERP says one of its cultures can seed 3 to 4 small enclosures up to 12 by 12 inches, 2 to 3 medium enclosures up to 18 by 18 inches, or a single larger one.
Once springtails are in a properly built enclosure, NEHERP expects they will not need to be added again and will sustain themselves for the life of the vivarium.
Match species to the enclosure
Closed terrariums and other high moisture enclosures need springtails suited to that moisture and humidity. Springtails US keeps a separate moisture tolerant range and a species specific cleanup crew guide.
Typical isopod enclosures have a wet end and a dry end. Springtails US suggests one species that fills every niche, or several that fill different ones. It puts a Lepidocyrtus on the dry end, and species such as Globular Cave, Common White, Little Soil, Sombré, Blue Velvet or Runner on the wet end.
For potted plants Springtails US advises sticking to species that cannot harm the plants. It has proven Lepidocyrtus sp. Micro Gold, which roams onto dry soil between waterings. Its other proven species suit consistently damp soil, among them Common White, Blue Podura, Globular Cave, Blue Velvet and Little Soil.
Find springtails that suit your enclosure and animals Open Keep reading
Species in this guide
- Folsomia candida Common White Springtail A pale, eyeless springtail with a long jumping organ. It is the standard laboratory species for soil toxicity tests and the most common starter culture for bioactive tanks.
- Coecobrya tenebricosa Tropical Pink Springtail The Tropical Pink and Tropical White springtail of the hobby, a pale, fast-breeding species long sold under the wrong name Sinella curviseta.
If something goes wrong
Sources for this guide
- 1
Springtail Care & Breeding Information
New England Herpetoculture
Link works · Retailer
Cited at Introducing Springtails Into A Vivarium.
- 2
- 3
Springtails US
Link works · Retailer
Cited at Introduction and species picks.
- 4
Reviewed Oct 22, 2026