I tried both springtails and isopods for my closed terrarium and the results were clear

I built two identical 5-gallon jars with the same plants and soil mix last spring. One got a starter culture of springtails, the other got a few powder blue isopods. After 4 months, the isopod jar had visible plant damage and the soil stayed too wet. The springtail jar had zero mold and the plants thrived. I think people push isopods because they're more interesting to look at, but for a balanced closed system, springtails just do the cleanup job better without becoming a problem. Has anyone else found isopods to be more trouble than they're worth in a sealed setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisar1420d ago

Totally agree! My springtail-only jar is thriving, but the one with isopods got overrun and ate my moss.

walker.rowan20d ago

My first bioactive setup had both together. Thought they'd balance. Nope, isopods demolished all the live moss in like two weeks. Now I keep them totally separate. Springtails handle mold way better alone anyway.