Isopods are known as clean-up crews because they are helpful creatures that feed on decomposing plants and animal matter; they recycle these materials back into the environment. This also helps to prevent certain types of fungus from growing. Isopods are the perfect addition to enclosures like terrariums because they eat any decaying matter, their waste provides fertilizer for your plants, and their burrowing nature helps aerate the soil. This helps create an ecosystem within your terrarium, making it a bioactive terrarium.

Live plants are usually ignored by isopods, but I have found that they occasionally love to snack on them. So don’t add any rare or expensive plants to your bioactive terrarium, as there is a chance they will become a tasty treat for your crew. I have learned this the hard way.

Isopods are incredibly useful, but they are not magical. If you notice large volumes of decaying matter in your enclosure, you should remove it because if the clean-up crew population is too low, they will not work efficiently to keep your enclosure clean. On the other hand, if there are too many isopods, the excess will die out. The number will vary greatly based on how much food is available.

It doesn’t hurt to occasionally add a small amount of food to your terrarium. Excessive amounts of decomposing food and mold consume oxygen, and in extreme cases, it can suffocate anything living in your terrarium. It’s also very important not to add food too often, as your clean-up crew won’t do their job of clearing the decaying matter in your terrarium.

Your clean-up crew would not be complete without springtails. An enclosure that contains springtails can look rather infested, as isopods stay mostly hidden, and even in large numbers, they can go unseen. Isopods will usually hide during the day, whereas springtails will jump and climb all over your terrarium.

Springtails are small arthropod insects that are often found in leaf litter, soil, and other organic matter. They feed on fungi, algae, decaying matter, and uneaten food, helping to keep your terrarium clean and healthy. Springtails can also help control outbreaks of other pests in your terrarium, such as fungus gnats and mites. If your clean-up crew is doing their job, it will reduce their food source and, over time, reduce the population of these unwanted pests.

Unfortunately, your clean-up crew won’t stop the spread of mealybugs, aphids, scale, or even spider mites. These nasty pests can hitch a ride into your terrarium via plants and substrate. Getting rid of these pests can be tricky. If you catch the outbreak quickly, you might just get lucky and be able to quarantine and/or replace the plants inside your terrarium, but usually, you will need to start over. The main reason for this is that you won’t be able to use any pesticides in your terrarium to treat the invasion, as you will also kill your isopods and springtails. If unwanted pests are left untreated, the outbreak will quickly spread, and eventually, your plants will die, which will lead to the end of your little ecosystem.