Our bugs, our tubs, our mistakes. Most of keeping them alive is leaf litter, a damp end, a dry end, and watching where they sit.
Species guides
Montenegro isopod
Armadillidium klugii
Get it if you want a hardy Armadillidium that rolls into a ball. Skip it if you need to see your animals. They hide, so check with a bait test, not a shovel.
Read the guide
Powder orange isopod
Porcellionides pruinosus
Get it if you want a fast, forgiving colony. Skip it if you want an animal you will watch all day. They run for cover, so keep the litter thick.
Read the guide
Giant canyon isopod
Porcellio dilatatus
Get it if you want a big, tough isopod that digs and forgives a dry week. Skip it if you want to watch them all day. They work the night shift.
Read the guide
Dairy cow isopod
Porcellio laevis
Get it if you want a fast, hungry colony that looks like tiny Holsteins. Skip it if you want a hands-off tub. They need protein twice a week and more room sooner than you think.
Read the guide
Dwarf white isopod
Trichorhina tomentosa
Get it if you want a tiny, fast cleanup crew for a damp tank. Skip it if you want to see your isopods. Most of them live in the dirt.
Read the guide
How-to guides
Setup
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How to Make a Bioactive Terrarium: What We Built and What We'd Change
Drainage, a real soil mix, leaf litter, plants, and the springtails and isopods that do the cleaning.
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Springtail Culture Care: Rice, Charcoal, and a Lid
Coir, charcoal, a few grains of rice, and a lid. Fuzzy mold is a good sign here.
Substrate
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Isopod Substrate Recipe: What We Mix, and Why Coir Alone Fails
Topsoil, a little coir, rotted hardwood, leaf litter, sphagnum. Pure coir feeds them nothing.
Feeding
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What Do Isopods Eat? Our Feeding Schedule
Leaf litter every day, protein twice a week, cuttlebone always. Plus the overfeeding mistake behind mite blooms.
Pests
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Fungus Gnats in a Bioactive Terrarium: How We Beat Them
One sticky trap, a closed lid, and the springtails. Gone in about a week, no pesticides.