Bioactive for beginners means living substrate plus microfauna that process waste and mould films, reducing manual cleaning.
Springtails are not isopods: films and spores versus larger litter — best as a pair matched to climate. They occupy different depths and do not compete.
Bioactive is not a complete food web for vertebrates — frogs or geckos still need feeding if kept (mostly out of scope for plant jars). Never release non-native cleanup crew outdoors. Population sizing guides for vivaria with animal bioload should be scaled down for decorative plant jars — numbers are approximate.
