In need of a springtail-muncher

[Sgooosh]

Hello everyone! In the water section of my paludarium, the springtails are multiplying extremely quickly... even though they are very cute, so many of them swarming around doesn't look that good. I'm wondering if there's any small fish or other critter that can eat springtails?
Conditions:
around 5 gallons of water
blackwater
colder water than most fish tanks
vampire crabs live in this tank, so preferably something that will be able to escape from them

 

[gwand]

Hello everyone! In the water section of my paludarium, the springtails are multiplying extremely quickly... even though they are very cute, so many of them swarming around doesn't look that good. I'm wondering if there's any small fish or other critter that can eat springtails?
Conditions:
around 5 gallons of water
blackwater
colder water than most fish tanks
vampire crabs live in this tank, so preferably something that will be able to escape from them

Killifish, dwarf puffers, endlers eat small invertebrates.

 

[Seisage]

Killifish, dwarf puffers, endlers eat small invertebrates.

My vote would be for killifish! Particularly clown killifish. They're really tiny, so they'd suit the small water volume better than other speices, and they're also fast enough to escape the crabs if need be. Looking them up on SF, it says they can handle down to 20C/68F, which sounds compatible with this setup. Plus, their colors would match the vampire crabs nicely, in my opinion What's your water hardness @Sgooosh ?

 

[gwand]

Hello everyone! In the water section of my paludarium, the springtails are multiplying extremely quickly... even though they are very cute, so many of them swarming around doesn't look that good. I'm wondering if there's any small fish or other critter that can eat springtails?
Conditions:
around 5 gallons of water
blackwater
colder water than most fish tanks
vampire crabs live in this tank, so preferably something that will be able to escape from them

Another option are white cloud mountain minnows. They prefer water in the 60sF.

 

[Sgooosh]

My vote would be for killifish! Particularly clown killifish. They're really tiny, so they'd suit the small water volume better than other speices, and they're also fast enough to escape the crabs if need be. Looking them up on SF, it says they can handle down to 20C/68F, which sounds compatible with this setup. Plus, their colors would match the vampire crabs nicely, in my opinion What's your water hardness @Sgooosh ?

I love clown killies, and I think they'd fit the tank nicely as well.
the water I use for this tank is softened water! our normal water is pretty hard but the softened water should be decently soft, plus the tannins from the wood.

Killifish, dwarf puffers, endlers eat small invertebrates.

i will definitely check out different killifish, but I'm afraid that the pufferfish will eat the crabs while molting...

what would you guys say about small gouramis such as honey gourami, croaking or sparkling?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Interesting problem to have. Springtails usually feed on decomposing organic matter and the fungus that grows on it. I don't know anything about your setup (I'd love to see some pics, as I'm really into paludariums at the moment, even though mine keeps hurting me), but simply keeping a cleaner tank might reduce springtail numbers to a more manageable level.

 

[Sgooosh]

Interesting problem to have. Springtails usually feed on decomposing organic matter and the fungus that grows on it. I don't know anything about your setup (I'd love to see some pics, as I'm really into paludariums at the moment, even though mine keeps hurting me), but simply keeping a cleaner tank might reduce springtail numbers to a more manageable level.

There's been some fungus blooms in the terrarium section of the tank which is why I think they are multiplying so much... I'm using dead mosss as a base for most of the plants and some mold grows on that. there's barely any rotten stuff in the water section. i think they just like to gather in the water area which is kind of an eyesore... I don't mind them swarming the land area