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Well, I got this 20L a while ago.
It was what originally housed my group of Vittatus. The whole tank has been sitting, untouched, since then with nothing in it besides the substrate, a few plants, and what seems like thousands of microfauna. From what I can see, it seems like there's dwarf white isos and white springs. They are litterally teeming everywhere. I was thinking about leaving it up and using it for a froglet tank, but I really don't want to use a whole 20L for a few froglets. I'd rather get the bugs out, and use them to seed a few 5-10g tanks for different species and groups of froglets, and use the whole tank for a group of other frogs.
So, the substrate in the tank is soil. It stays super humid in there because the false bottom is at least 2/3 full of water, the top is 100% sealed, and it stays about 74-76F in the room they were in. So, they seem to be doing just fine.
Anywho, I don't want to culture them in soil, obviously. So how do I get them out of the soil and into their appropriate culturing substrates without crushing them, drowning them, or having them asphyxiated and lost in the soil? I know they float, but it's not quite as simple as it is in charcoal. The soil all disintegrates and causes the water to be black and kind of thick. How would I get them out of the water if I used that method? And how would you do it? The whole tank at one time, or a little bit of soil at a time to make sure you are as thorough as possible?
Thanks so much in advance.
Mark

It was what originally housed my group of Vittatus. The whole tank has been sitting, untouched, since then with nothing in it besides the substrate, a few plants, and what seems like thousands of microfauna. From what I can see, it seems like there's dwarf white isos and white springs. They are litterally teeming everywhere. I was thinking about leaving it up and using it for a froglet tank, but I really don't want to use a whole 20L for a few froglets. I'd rather get the bugs out, and use them to seed a few 5-10g tanks for different species and groups of froglets, and use the whole tank for a group of other frogs.
So, the substrate in the tank is soil. It stays super humid in there because the false bottom is at least 2/3 full of water, the top is 100% sealed, and it stays about 74-76F in the room they were in. So, they seem to be doing just fine.
Anywho, I don't want to culture them in soil, obviously. So how do I get them out of the soil and into their appropriate culturing substrates without crushing them, drowning them, or having them asphyxiated and lost in the soil? I know they float, but it's not quite as simple as it is in charcoal. The soil all disintegrates and causes the water to be black and kind of thick. How would I get them out of the water if I used that method? And how would you do it? The whole tank at one time, or a little bit of soil at a time to make sure you are as thorough as possible?
Thanks so much in advance.
Mark