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How To: Starting a White Springtail Feeder Culture on Clay

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MI Beneficials

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Checked on Oct 22, 2026 by a web request. The registry returned: How To: Starting a White Springtail Feeder Culture on Clay - MI Beneficials.

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A planted enclosure with soil and a cleanup crew, so that waste breaks down inside it instead of being removed by hand.

A colony of springtails kept on purpose in a container, usually in damp substrate with regular food. On this site a culture also means a line of animals that keepers pass around under one name.

Seed with a well populated culture from a reputable source. Take only half to two thirds of the springtails from the source culture so it keeps breeding while the new cup gets going. (at Inoculating a new container)
Mixing ratios differ between sellers. MI Beneficials starts at one part clay powder to two parts water and then uses less water to get a moist but not wet clay. Judge the mix by feel. (at Mixing clay)
Keep clay damp but not wet. A little clay should stick to a finger when you touch it, and there must be no standing water. (at Moisture)

When inoculating a new container, take only a half to two thirds of the springtails and leave the rest to keep breeding. Do not tap them all out, or the source culture stalls while the new one gets going. (at Inoculating a new container)
Start new cultures from a well populated culture from a reputable source. (at Starter cultures)
Wash new or reused culture containers with soap and water. New tubs carry more grime than you would expect. (at Containers)

A culture kept to feed other animals, such as small frogs, instead of to live in an enclosure.

Keeper and retailer advice for this species spans 15–22 °C59–72 °F at one UK seller, 18–27 °C64–81 °F at one US seller and 21–27 °C70–81 °F at another. They agree that sustained heat above about 27 °C81 °F slows breeding. (at environment)
Hobby advice and laboratory data disagree about warmth. Some sellers call 21–27 °C70–81 °F ideal for breeding. The laboratory life-history study found the highest egg output at 15 °C59 °F and a steep fall at 26 °C79 °F. The strain studied may differ from your culture. (at environment)
Keepers culture it on calcium clay, charcoal, plaster, coco coir or soil. Several sellers report clay as the easiest to harvest from. (at setup)
Some sellers feed a mix of yeast and ground grain instead of pure yeast. (at food)
A tight lid with a few mesh-covered holes, or lifting the lid at feeding time, gives enough air exchange. Heavy ventilation dries cultures faster than they can be watered. (at air exchange)
It is rated the easiest species to start with. It breeds quickly on damp substrate with yeast, and sellers describe a starter portion becoming a working culture within weeks. (at introduction)

Give the lid a couple of sharp taps before you open the culture. That knocks the springtails to the bottom, away from the lid and rim, so fewer jump out. (at Maintenance)

Folsomia candida, sold as the temperate or common white springtail, is the species most of these sellers use for their standard cultures. (at Introduction)
MI Beneficials found that a culture container can be too big. It recommends anything from a 6 oz cup up to no bigger than a 2.2 quart tub. (at Containers)
MI Beneficials keeps its cultures airtight and opens the lid every 2 to 3 days for an air exchange. It says springtails slow down from too little oxygen and too much carbon dioxide when the lid stays shut. (at Air exchange)
Sellers give different feeding intervals. Springtails US says every 3 to 7 days, Frog and Frond says about once a week, and MI Beneficials says a small dusting every 2 to 3 days. (at Maintenance)
Every seller gives the same rule about amount. Give only what the springtails can eat before the food rots or molds. (at Food)

Brewer's yeast is a common springtail food. Springtails US finds it the most preferred type of yeast in its experiments. (at Food)
Rice is highly nutritious for most species and rice flour is a staple of commercial springtail foods. Milled rice is eaten faster and has less chance to mold. (at Food)
MI Beneficials recommends storing springtail food in an airtight bag in the freezer, and says its own mix cuts the risk of bringing harmful pathogens into delicate cultures. (at Food)