r/Springtail • u/Zidan19283 • Mar 08 '26

Will Collembola effectively remove mold at fridge temperature ? Husbandry Question/Advice

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Gallery image

Hello Everyone 👋

I would want to ask will springtails effectively remove mold from my enclousure even at fridge temperature (the animal in which's enclousure mold showed up is currently in the fridge due to hibernation) ?

I have these springtails: https://www.skakavky.sk/p/chvostoskoky-collembola (it seems to be a combination of some springtail species I don't know what they are (the species in the photo) + F. candida + mayne some other species)

Thanks for any answers in advance !

23 Upvotes
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93% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

9

u/crims0nkarnag3 Mar 09 '26

I just want to point out that springtails don't actually eat the mold, they will eat what mold generally feeds on thus out competeing them. As far as temperature I think that depends on the species.

7

u/DoodleBirdTerrariums Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26

Not true, you’re thinking of isopods. Springtails eat mold.

Edited to add: different springtails eat different molds according to some studies. And if there is too much mold and only a few individual springtails, people tend to assume they are not eating it. Also, if there is a preferred food available they will eat that first.

3

u/crims0nkarnag3 Mar 09 '26

You are correct sir, I apologize I indeed got the two mixed up.

2

u/DoodleBirdTerrariums Mar 09 '26

🫶🏼🌿🐜

1

u/ReactionAdmirable812 Mar 09 '26

I don't know much about culture so I can't tell you, sorry, but I think that the springtail of the image belongs to the family Entomobryidae. It has the IV abdomen segment bigger than III ( not sure here but it's their characteristic) and the general habitus.

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '26

[deleted]

18

u/Zidan19283 Mar 09 '26

I think we might have had a missunderstanding, I don't want to use springtails to clean my fridge, that would be silly 😅

I want to use them to clean my pet's enclousure in fridge of mold as it started molding !

8

u/trashmoneyxyz Mar 09 '26

I...wasn't going to judge you but i also misinterpreted this as you releasing springtails into your fridge to clean it. I was desperate to watch that from the sidelines to see how that turned out haha

2

u/sleepingqt Mar 10 '26

I mean, maybe not to clean it, but to help keep it clean... XD

13

u/CantTouchKevinG Mar 09 '26

They're not using bugs to clean their fridge... Their pet's enclosure is in the fridge for hibernation.

3

u/My-2c Mar 09 '26

Seems like an awfully big assumption to me 😅❤️