---
title: Springtails vs isopods | Glass Jar Garden
description: Springtails eat mould and breed fast; isopods eat leaf litter and rotting wood and cope better with drier soil. The cleanup crew compared, and which to add.
url: https://glassjar.garden/guide/springtails-vs-isopods/
---

Guide

# Springtails vs isopods

Each crew is a colony that grows to what the jar can feed. Springtails are the mould eaters: tiny, fast-breeding, and happiest in wet soil. Isopods are the litter eaters: bigger, slower, and better in drier jars, though hungry ones nibble soft plants.

CritterEatsHumidityDoubles inJar[Common pill bug](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/armadillidium-vulgare/)decaying plant, leaf litter, fungi, animal waste, dead animals, seeds, seedlings60 to 90 % RH90 daysFine in a closed jar, Grazes plants[Common rough woodlouse](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/porcellio-scaber/)decaying plant, leaf litter, rotting wood, fungi, bacteria biofilm, frass50 to 85 % RH67.5 daysFine in a closed jar, Grazes plants[Dairy cow isopod](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/porcellio-laevis/)decaying plant, leaf litter, rotting wood, moss, lichen, animal waste, fungi55 to 85 % RH45 daysOpen jar only, Grazes plants[Dwarf white isopod](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/trichorhina-tomentosa/)decaying plant, leaf litter, frass, mould, fungi, animal waste80 to 100 % RH45 daysClosed jar only[Little sea isopod](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/cubaris-murina/)decaying plant, leaf litter, rotting wood, fungi, frass, animal waste70 to 95 % RH90 daysClosed jar only, Grazes plants[Miniature awlsnail](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/subulina-octona/)decaying plant, biofilm, algae, fungi, calcium sources80 to 100 % RH67.5 daysClosed jar only, Grazes plants[Powder orange / powder blue isopod](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/porcellionides-pruinosus/)decaying plant, leaf litter, rotting wood, frass, fungi, animal waste, fish food protein60 to 90 % RH45 daysFine in a closed jar, Grazes plants[Silver springtail](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/sinella-curviseta/)mould, fungi, biofilm, decaying plant, frass80 to 100 % RH15.5 daysClosed jar only[Temperate white springtail](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/folsomia-candida/)mould, fungi, fungal hyphae, biofilm, decaying plant, yeast90 to 100 % RH10.5 daysClosed jar only[White worm / potworm](https://glassjar.garden/guide/critters/enchytraeus-albidus/)decaying plant, microbes, fungi, frass, leftover food90 to 100 % RH30 daysClosed jar only

## How the simulator runs the crew

- Each eats what its diet lists: leaves, rotting soil matter, fungi, rotting wood, moss or algae.
- Colonies grow toward the jar's food, then hold there.
- Short of food, a colony thins out over weeks.
- Springtails crash in dry soil; isopods cope better.
- Hungry isopods nibble soft plants.

## Which to add

- Any sealed jar: springtails, for the mould.
- A jar with leaf litter or wood: add a few small isopods too.
- A jar of soft seedlings: springtails only, or few isopods.

[Add a cleanup crew](https://glassjar.garden/)

## More terrarium guides

- [Closed vs open terrarium: Which to build, and which plants suit each.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/closed-vs-open-terrarium/)
- [Best plants for a closed terrarium: Plants that live sealed, easiest first.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/best-plants-for-closed-terrarium/)
- [Best moss for a terrarium: Mosses for closed and open jars, and what they grow on.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/best-moss-for-terrarium/)
- [Terrarium layers explained: Drainage, barrier, soil and top dressing, and what each does.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/terrarium-layers/)
- [Terrarium drainage: LECA vs gravel vs lava rock: Every drainage material side by side.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/drainage-leca-vs-gravel/)
- [Mould in a terrarium: Why new jars fuzz, which mould matters, and how to stop it.](https://glassjar.garden/guide/terrarium-mould/)