Nice, I've been meaning to give clay cultures a try. The main thing that's been preventing me from trying it is sourcing the ingredients for the clay mix. Just bought a bag of the FrogYeah premixed powder, will be setting up some cultures next weekend.
I've now had my first clay(frog yeah) culture going for just under 2 months. It's doing very well, comparable to what is shown in this video. This will be my new standard.
A homemade medium I find works better then charcoal (and is less maintenance) is wood chip and coco fiber! To set up you lair coco fiber on the bottom and top with a thick lair of wood chip or coco chip, mist daily and deeply till mold appears and then add your springtails!
Interesting. Someone said springtails need standing water at the bottom to reproduce, but the moist clay with no standing water seems to be working great for you :)
Does it matter if it’s sodium or calcium clay? I was curious because if I added calcium to sodium clay I would imagine that would have the same properties but I have no idea
Other than greater ease of harvesting, what other advantages does clay provide? I would think that a pile of charcoal is better because it provides far more surface area.
@@Aquarimax Do you know or have a hypothesis on why clay is more productive than charcoal? It may be helpful to understand the causal mechanism of this increased productivity!
@@Aquarimax Would it hurt to add charcoal to a clay culture? If not, the charcoal adds a lot more surface area without interfering with the clay along the perimeter. Heck, maybe we can cut egg crate light diffuser to fit inside and coat the the diffuser in clay. Then we can test whether charcoal or egg crate light diffuser with clay are better ways to maximize surface area.
@Aquarimax thanks for the reply man. I really appreciate it. Very very little information on care of other springtail species. Would be so helpful to have more info on them and their care.
That seems really cool. Definitely easier. I'm new to spring tails and messed up with my first attempt. Does he have a website? I don't use facebook or instagram.
I use something similar from Houston Frogs called springtail chocolate. It's insane how quickly they multiply on clay.
Nice, I've been meaning to give clay cultures a try. The main thing that's been preventing me from trying it is sourcing the ingredients for the clay mix. Just bought a bag of the FrogYeah premixed powder, will be setting up some cultures next weekend.
I've now had my first clay(frog yeah) culture going for just under 2 months. It's doing very well, comparable to what is shown in this video. This will be my new standard.
“So, I got this mask!”
I don’t know why but I just burst out laughing there
LOL good!
Nice pods!
Very cool idea, going to have to try one of these my self.
Hello great video information
That's awesome
I Culture On Clay it’s Very Easy and Works Better in my opinion
A homemade medium I find works better then charcoal (and is less maintenance) is wood chip and coco fiber! To set up you lair coco fiber on the bottom and top with a thick lair of wood chip or coco chip, mist daily and deeply till mold appears and then add your springtails!
Which type of wood chips do you use?
@@Aquarimax repti bark
Huh. Very cool.
Interesting. Someone said springtails need standing water at the bottom to reproduce, but the moist clay with no standing water seems to be working great for you :)
It does indeed! The springtail density is now considerably higher than it was since I filmed this video. 😊👍
This is a common misconception. Standing water just happens to be a common occurrence, especially with charcoal cultures. They just need to be moist.
Do you need to mist the clay once in a while?
@Crestedgeckojourney yes, you will need to do that often enough to keep it from drying out.
Great video Rus. Great details!. I have one completely recorded, ready to edit....... so I will wait for a while with mine.
LOL! Great minds think alike! 🤣👍
that stem you got is a banana flower stem, its where bananas or plantains attach to the banana plant
Thanks!
@@Aquarimax np, love your channel
I might have to try this instead of charcoal...
Cool:)) I like the charcoal tho? I’ll be interested in updates on the clay culturing.
Does it matter if it’s sodium or calcium clay? I was curious because if I added calcium to sodium clay I would imagine that would have the same properties but I have no idea
someone mind telling me what happens if bottled water is used instead of what is typically recommended?
It is probably fine? As long as the bottled water does not contain chlorine
alright, thanks for letting me know!
Other than greater ease of harvesting, what other advantages does clay provide? I would think that a pile of charcoal is better because it provides far more surface area.
Good question. The cultures are easier to transport, and the density of springtails seems to be considerably higher.
@@Aquarimax That's intriguing! That's counterintuitive for me but I'll give it a try!
@@timjung640 I see what you mean, but the clay really works!
@@Aquarimax Do you know or have a hypothesis on why clay is more productive than charcoal? It may be helpful to understand the causal mechanism of this increased productivity!
@@Aquarimax Would it hurt to add charcoal to a clay culture? If not, the charcoal adds a lot more surface area without interfering with the clay along the perimeter.
Heck, maybe we can cut egg crate light diffuser to fit inside and coat the the diffuser in clay. Then we can test whether charcoal or egg crate light diffuser with clay are better ways to maximize surface area.
How do you get the springtails out for tank distribution?
Does the springtail clay also works for other springtail species? Like the thai reds or the florida yellows etc etc?
I have only tried it with Folsomia candida and Sinella curviseta. I have heard It doesn’t work well for every species.
@Aquarimax thanks for the reply man. I really appreciate it. Very very little information on care of other springtail species. Would be so helpful to have more info on them and their care.
Do you have to mist the container to keep it hydrated? Is that how they get their hydration?
Exactly!
That seems really cool. Definitely easier. I'm new to spring tails and messed up with my first attempt. Does he have a website? I don't use facebook or instagram.
I believe he is only on Facebook at this point. If you want to email me from Aquarimax.com I can forward your request to him.
@@Aquarimax Ah ok thank you so much for the info.
I'm intrigued, does the clay stay maluble or dry out?
It slowly dries out, so I moisten it periodically
You have mentioned pea powder. But the link is for pea powder protein. So it has to be the protein powder?
That pea protein powder is Wheaton use, but springtails are pretty adaptable
I wonder if pottery clay would work too
I think the mi real balance would be different, but I haven’t looked into it.
How long does the clay last? Does it need to be replenished?
I am not sure yet, but I think it will last a very long time!
what do u tink about culturing springtails in substrate?
It can work well, and does, in my isopod cultures. It is difficult to harvest ‘pure’ springtails from such a culture though.
Walter white
It’s the beard...