Overcrowding beetles?

[Lain]

Hello all! I was looking for some advice on how many beetles I can keep in this enclosure, is there a general rule for housing? It is 9x9x16. It's hard to see, but there is a cork hollow and "cave" at the base to add extra surface area. And of course everyone is hiding when I want to take photos...

I always feel like I get too excited with community tanks and dont want to over crowd them. Currently I have 2 wooly beetles and 3 blue death feigning beetles. I'm looking to add in at least 2 ironclads and maybe some black death feigning or smooth ones...
Thanks!!!

 

[chanda]

Hello all! I was looking for some advice on how many beetles I can keep in this enclosure, is there a general rule for housing? It is 9x9x16. It's hard to see, but there is a cork hollow and "cave" at the base to add extra surface area. And of course everyone is hiding when I want to take photos...

I always feel like I get too excited with community tanks and dont want to over crowd them. Currently I have 2 wooly beetles and 3 blue death feigning beetles. I'm looking to add in at least 2 ironclads and maybe some black death feigning or smooth ones...
Thanks!!!

9x9 isn't terribly large, but then again, neither are the beetles - and, more importantly, none of them are predatory or terribly aggressive. You've got plenty of hiding places and climbing surfaces, so you should be able to toss in a couple of ironclads and maybe a couple of death feigning beetles without a problem. I have kept assorted darkling and ironclad beetles in communal tanks before and they didn't seem to mind being a bit on the crowded side, as long as there was plenty of food. I kept mine in one of those plastic "breeder boxes" - pretty much a super-sized kritter keeper (about 12"x18" by 7" tall) - and had probably two dozen or more assorted beetles in it. (I didn't bother keeping track of exact numbers - I just caught the beetles while out hiking and tossed 'em in.) They did not reproduce for me - but then, I never made any efforts to give them suitable conditions for breeding. I did catch one of the darkling beetles eating what looked like a darkling beetle larva once, though, so they were at least trying.

 

[Lain]

Thanks for the advice! I'll probably just add two more then and stop, until I upgrade Good to hear yours all did well together in a large group. I'd love to live in an area where they are! That would be so fun to see them in the wild. I'm taking a trip to AZ soon and hope to do a little rock flipping while I'm there

I've caught the blues mating and found tons of larve, however I think it's more likely they were from the few Mealworms (that escaped from my geckos and pupated) that i tossed in with them. I have since started a breeding colony of Mealworm and moved the adults with their own kind...along with the larve. I'll see if any turn out blue, rather doubtful though.

 

[davehuth]

When I first set up my communal Tenebrionid enclosure, I learned from some beetle folks that a general rule of thumb is: "5 BDFBs per gallon." So a 10 gallon tank could house 50 beetles if there's structure to climb and hides for retreat. I've used this rule for all desert beetles and haven't detected any trouble. As @chanda said, plenty of food helps. Good luck!

 

[davehuth]

I'll see if any turn out blue, rather doubtful though.

Oh... and if you get BDFB larvae to pupate and eclose in captivity, make sure you let us know on Arachnoboards. And get ready for the wave of celebrity – It's been a long-standing puzzle in the hobby that no one has reliably cracked!

 

[Lain]

Thanks for the guideline of 5/gallon, that is certainly helpful! Oh and if, big if, they breed, you guys will be the first to know...(mostly because most my friends/family don't really get the whole "things with more than 4 legs and no fur" hobby) LOL