Millipedes and isopods

[darkfyre]

Hi there! Is it a good idea to house millipedes with sow bugs? I hear they keep down fungus and clean up after their larger cousins, but is it a good idea overall to house them together?
Thanks!

 

[wastedwoodsman]

I personally don't keep them together because some reports have been made that they can hurt molting millipedes or sometimes eat/attack babies and the eggs. But i don't know this to be true. I personally use springtails! I have a large culture i keep to place in all of my tanks! They are an awesome cleanup crew.

 

[CrawlinChaos]

Yeah, it seems to be a sort of 'maybe, but who wants to take the risk' situation with the isopods. I personally would imagine that it probably depends on the isopod species. I have heard of some people keeping them with millipedes and lots of people keeping them with roaches.

 

[shebeen]

I keep Trichorhina tomentosa (dwarf white isopod) with my AGBs. My starter colony hitched a ride in the moss that was used to pack my AGBs during shipping.

 

[CrawlinChaos]

Have you had your AGBs long enough for them to reproduce/have they reproduced yet? I've heard that some of the dwarf isopod species can't really burrow very well, so millipede eggs buried in the substrate could be out of their reach.

 

[darkfyre]

I just have one female AGB. I have a male thai rainbow but I severely doubt mating is possible.

 

[CrawlinChaos]

Hahaha. Yeah, somehow I don't think that you're going to be able to cross breed those two. It would be pretty sweet if you could though, lol.

 

[shebeen]

Have you had your AGBs long enough for them to reproduce/have they reproduced yet? I've heard that some of the dwarf isopod species can't really burrow very well, so millipede eggs buried in the substrate could be out of their reach.

I've had my AGBs for 3 years and they've reproduced every year. The yield is not high, around a dozen offspring per season, but from what I've read that's not too bad. The dwarf white isopods as so small, I doubt they bother the eggs.