# Giant water bug care



## jreidsma (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi everyone 

The wetland class teacher at my high school is going to give me some giant water bugs and possibly some other inverts they found  

Ok, so my current plan is a clear plastic critter keeper or glass tank filled with water, gravel or sand as the substrate. And then something for them to climb on that goes into the water and come out of it.  


My questions are:
Will they eat crickets? What about nightcrawlers or earthworms put in the water? Or do I need to buy small minnows or something? 
Do they need filtration or a fish tank bubbler?
Can they be housed together?


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## web eviction (Nov 2, 2012)

Dot you have any idea what they are? You can usually buy small feeder gold fish...


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## jreidsma (Nov 2, 2012)

I don't know what you mean by that, are you trying to ask what species they are? I haven't seen them for very long yet so I don't know the species yet.

Like I said, if they won't eat crickets or other inverts I can always buy minnows or small goldfish. I was just asking on here if anyone had any experience pretty much with these and if they will cannibalize each other.


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## zonbonzovi (Nov 2, 2012)

Crickets...become waterlogged very quickly...remember they hunt under water.  Not sure about earthworms.  Give it a shot.  They will actively hunt small fish(minnows, etc.).  They are typically found in standing water so any filtration will need to mimic this.  They can predate on one another so if you attempt house multiple, do give them a lot of space(and a lid...they can fly, after all).  Eggs are laid above water.  Not sure which variety you have but make a search for Lethocerus...

Reactions: Like 1


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## jreidsma (Nov 2, 2012)

After I see how many I get I will house them separated then. 

Any way to tell males from females? Once I get them and figure out what exactly they are I will try and find some stuff myself.


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## zonbonzovi (Nov 2, 2012)

I don't think it is possible with the naked eye.  Oh yeah...watch your fingers...these guys do have a surprisingly painful bite/sting that lingers for the better part of a day.

Reactions: Like 1


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## jreidsma (Nov 2, 2012)

Hmm, its going to be fun to breed them then... 

I will make sure not to get bit  it sounds pretty painful!


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## Deroplatys (Nov 3, 2012)

I feed my Abedus sp. mismoulted insects of mine and crickets. They grab them from below the surface of the water and drag them down. Once they are eaten i take them out. I just keep them in shallow water with a couple of plants.


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## Tenodera (Nov 3, 2012)

I've been keeping my Abedus a lot like Deroplatys does. I don't often _see_ them eat, but I know that they're still alive and are mysteriously fatter after I feed them. When they do hunt when I'm looking, it's petty darn cool.
I'm equally in the dark as far as sexing goes. Mine are about the same size, so I'm just hoping one day there'll be eggs.


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## missmagpie (Nov 4, 2012)

I have been feeding my Abedus sp. leftover crickets or small dubias. Every once in a while I'll pick up a feeder fish that's about half their size. I've never seen them actually catch the fish, but have seen them take it into their claws!
As far as being housed together, I wouldn't risk it unless you have a big enough tank! I have one in 2.5 gallons, and you may be able to do two in 10 gallons, so long as you have lots of hiding places and different things for them to climb on and such. 
I don't think you need them to be in filtered water. You can always do what I do with any other fishtanks, and do a 20% water change every two or three weeks, just to keep the water clear. But mine seems to be thriving without a filter, so yours might do well too!


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## GiantVinegaroon (Nov 4, 2012)

Giant water bugs are easy to keep.  You can keep multiples together of the same size as long as they are fed regularly(ie 3 times a week, and one prey item per bug) and there is space.  I've never had a water bug refuse crickets and am positive they would take other invertebrates and fish(however, I am not a fan of feeding vertebrates to invertebrates regularly because we don't know for sure if it's healthy or not for them)  Babies, however, can never stay with adults, as the parents will ALWAYS eat every last one of them.

I have no idea how to sex them either.  I've worked with Abedus herberti and the males, in my experience, seemed to always be a darker brown than the females, though I cannot say for sure if that's a surefire way to sex them.  I only knew they were males because the females kept pinning them down to lay eggs on their backs.

Oh yeah, filtration can only help your bugs.  Just make sure it doesn't have a strong outflow though.


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## Galapoheros (Nov 4, 2012)

Tadpoles are part of the giant water-bug's main diet in the Spring but they will catch minnows and inverts also.  Since the bugs come up for air, the water doesn't have to be that clean but it looks better and it's better for the feeder minnows if that's what you use.  Minnows are pretty savvy so it takes longer for the bugs to catch the minnows but that's natural, eventually I've seen the minnows disappear over several days when I've kept water bugs.


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