Cleanup crew

A cleanup crew is the group of small invertebrates, usually springtails and isopods, added to a bioactive enclosure to eat waste, leftover food, mold, and decaying plant matter so the substrate keeps functioning like living soil instead of accumulating waste the way inert substrate does. Without a cleanup crew, a bioactive-style substrate would need the same regular spot cleaning as any other substrate.

Springtails and isopods are usually established as separate cultures before being introduced to the display enclosure, giving the population time to build up in a controlled setting so it can survive the transition and establish itself. Different isopod species tolerate different humidity and temperature ranges, so the species chosen should match the enclosure's conditions rather than being picked at random.

A common mistake is introducing a cleanup crew to a brand new bioactive setup before the soil and plants have established, which can leave the crew with too little to eat and cause the population to collapse within weeks. Overfeeding the display animal, so that leftover food accumulates faster than the crew can process it, is another frequent cause of a cleanup crew falling behind and mold or odor building up despite having one in place.