# Dolomedes triton



## WithCerberus (Oct 26, 2005)

A few pic for you guys and gals to enjoy.   





Dolomedes triton sling






My new Dolomedes triton that I was lucky enough to find with an eggsac   


















Dolomedes tenebrossus sling

Take care,
Bobby


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## Stefan2209 (Oct 26, 2005)

Hi,

once again great pics of a Dolomedes species! Thanks for sharing!

Seems the different species are quite common right now in some parts of the US, you ain´t got some D. albineus pics,too, you might wanna share with us??

I just love that white-banded-fishers of yours...

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Oct 26, 2005)

Thanks for the compliments Stefan. Nope, no D. albineus pics right now. I haven't found that species yet. I love my little fisher too.   I was leading a stream study and one of my students found her for me. I thought it was a little odd for her to have an eggsac this late in the year. I plan to raise some of the spiderlings when they hatch and I'll start a thread for that.   

Peace,
Bobby


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## Stefan2209 (Oct 27, 2005)

*Great!*

Hi Bobby,

great idea, i´d be major-interested to see the development of that kind of fishers!  :drool: 

From some other thread i really came to the idea that this genus has right now it´s mating time over there. Unfortunately in germany we´ve got only one Dolomedes species (D. fimbriatus) native here. I´ve never been able to find one around as they´re quite rare and therefore also protected by federal law.

As i´m keeping the "exotic"-relative genus Ancylometes for pet-spiders, it´s a just fascinating thought for me, living somewhere where this kind of spiders run free and seem to be quite common.

Even more interesting to me is the afforementioned D. albineus, once for their strange looks with these white hair-tufts and since they´re rather untypicall for being arboreal.

Keep the thread alive!  :clap: 

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Oct 27, 2005)

I wish that we had fishing spiders as big as Ancylometes over here.  :} I hope that someday they will be available in the US. Thankfully where I am living now two of the Dolomedes species (triton and tenebrossus) are pretty common. I have the benifit of working in a national forest and leading trips in it. Soon though I will be moving back to Chicago and the daily spider hunting will end.   

peace,
Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Nov 1, 2005)

*I woke up this morning a very happy guy 8)*

This morning my D.triton eggsac hatched! I was begining to get a little impatient. Ok, quick, now the vials that I ordered a week ago need to get here!   


















This spider is on the tip of a matchstick for size reference.







Here she is, the proud mother. I love the parental care in the Dolomedes genus.


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## Steven (Nov 1, 2005)

WOOOOOOOOOOOW  :drool:  :drool:  :drool: 

d*mn beautifull !!
i really like that picture with mom and all of her babies  :clap:


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## WithCerberus (Nov 1, 2005)

Thank you for the compliment Steven. She is one of my favorite spiders that I have right now. I am really excited about raising her babies. 

Bobby


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## P. Novak (Nov 2, 2005)

yes very nice spiders!! loving the pics too!! great shots!!


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## spinnekop (Nov 2, 2005)

WithCerberus, what do you feed these tiny little babies?
They seem so small that even fruitflies will be too big....
I wonder if they can be kept alive and what will be the mortality...


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## Steven (Nov 2, 2005)

@spinnekop:

Hey Geert  

nice to see you've also find your way to these boards    


_meer Belgische leden is altijd plezant_


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## WithCerberus (Nov 2, 2005)

lol, well this will be a learning experience raising these. They should be able to take Drosophila melanogaster. I was just going to raise them in 2 or three communal tanks with moistened paper towels and a twig each until they get a few molts under their belts. After that I was going to seperate them into vials. Anyone here have tips for raising these little guys?

here is a few pics of one of my older guys.


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## spinnekop (Nov 4, 2005)

Thanks WithCerberus. I was thinking that maybe Collembola (springtails) in high dosage might be the only possible food for these babies since Collembola lives in a wet environment too but if they manage to cath Drosophila the better ofcourse.
I just wonder, can you let us know if it works feeding them? I am very interested since I do not have good experience with feeding newborn slings of labidognate spiders.   

To Steven: Ik heb intussen ook al begrepen dat het efficiënter is mijn kennis wereldwijd te gaan zoeken. Je zult mij dus op andere forums ook nog wel tegenkomen. :razz:


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## Steven (Nov 4, 2005)

spinnekop said:
			
		

> To Steven: Ik heb intussen ook al begrepen dat het efficiënter is mijn kennis wereldwijd te gaan zoeken. Je zult mij dus op andere forums ook nog wel tegenkomen. :razz:


registreer je dan ook maar al op:
www.labidognathe.de 


@WithCerberus
- very nice and clean enclosure you got !!!!  :clap:
- intresting fotoshoot under water !


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## Stefan2209 (Nov 6, 2005)

*Let the growth beginn*

Hey Bobby,

thanks for posting that growth-story!

Great pics of your bunch of slings and their mother. I know how hard it is to get good shots of such small spiders, you did a real great job of it. :clap: 

Very nice enclosures you have and i have to admit quite inspiring for me too....   

Once again, please keep this alive, great to have another development-cycle of a fishing-spider species displayed here.

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Nov 6, 2005)

spinnekop, I guess i just didn't think of springtails. That is a pretty good idea. I just ordered myself a culture.   They are a little small for fruit flies right now. Again thank you for the compliments everyone, I will keep you posted.

Peace,

Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Nov 14, 2005)

*spiderling update*

The little guys are doing pretty good. I managed to get a few new pics of them. They are really liking the springtails.

I decided that since the springtails were so prolific and such a pain to seperate that I would just raise the spiderlings in the culture, much easier. Hopefully I won't have to supplement the springtail population too much.





Here are a few pics of them chowing down on springtails.
















Here is something that I found that struck me as odd. This spiderling picked up a piece of the springtail(fish) food and started to eat it. I noticed several of the others doing this also.






and here is one last pic that I liked.






good call on the springtails spinnekop.

peace,
Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Dec 3, 2005)

*tragic update 8(*

Well, these little fishers proved very hard to keep. Out of the 100+ spiderlings only 2 are currently still living. I am not sure what the problem was. They were eating the springtails like crazy and the humidity was high. The two that I have left have started to take fruit flies. I hope to get at least one of these to survive but I have my doubts. This has been a very frustrating and expensive project   . I feel terrible about all of their deaths.

on the upside, my larger juveniles (D. triton and D. tenebrossus) have molted several times and and doing quite well. 

Bobby


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## Stefan2209 (Dec 4, 2005)

*Sorry*

Hi Bobby,

i´m very sorry for your losses, very sad story!  

Don´t feel too bad about this, i know by own experience how hard this can be to take, but some species are quite hard to raise. Furthermore, with many spiders, there´s not much info around on how to maintain them correct. So dealing with slings is always a trial-and error process. You did all you could do, better luck next time!

Greetings,

Stefan


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## NRF (Dec 4, 2005)

I´m sorry for your losses too. 11-02-2005 you sent a photo of a _Dolomedes _staying under water. I see it has air around its body. How long can it stay under water? Do you know if it can breath under water too? This has to be the way _Argyroneta aquatica_ has evolved.


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## spinnekop (Dec 5, 2005)

Bobby, I feel so sorry for your losses although it looked good since they were eating well.
I have bad experience raising slings of Pisauridae as well (see the story on this topic...
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=52860&page=2
Maybe pray variation is an issue for this specie too....
Can you give your remaining slings baby crickets? The latter have a high food value. If they survive this might prove that Pisauridae definitely need different prey to have the necessary elements for a good growth.

Please keep us informed. I am fascinated by this story since I want to find a way to make sure 100% of offsprings survive.


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## WithCerberus (Dec 5, 2005)

Thanks for all of your replies. My last two slings from that eggsac are still alive and still very very tiny. I am crossing my fingers. I have been catching gnats and other wild insects to feed them. This is getting to be almost inpossible now since we have had several freezes. I will try the baby crickets also. the drive to get those is horrible though.

@NRF  I have seen them stay under water for over 20 minutes. I am not sure how long they can stay down though. Like Argyroneta aquatica they can breathe under water due to the bubble that surronds them.

anyways, my older D.triton just molted yesterday. It has been growing like crazy. I have been giving it lots of spiders lately. It seems much more eager to eat the spiders than anything else that I have offered it. It is great to watch these spiders feed. It reminds me of watching Agelenids race across their webs to catch prey.  The golden sheen of the abdomen of these spiders is amazing.  
anyways, enjoy the pics. 













peace,
Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Dec 8, 2005)

*Some new pics*

enjoy.



















peace,

Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Dec 13, 2005)

*new pic*


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## Steven (Dec 14, 2005)

very nice pix,... awsome spiders ! :drool:


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## WithCerberus (Dec 22, 2005)

*A few more pics*

here is a better underwater pic






and a pic of a spider that I found a few days ago.






peace,

Bobby


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## Steven (Dec 22, 2005)

WithCerberus said:
			
		

> and a pic of a spider that I found a few days ago.


d*mn you,... why can i find such spiders here  

how many Dolomedes you got by now ? :?


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## Stefan2209 (Dec 22, 2005)

Hi Bobby,

once more, very well-done pics! 

I have to admit, i really like your enclosures, very good work on those. I wish i´d be able to get a pile of those plastic-boxes over here...

@ Steven:

Be patient. There´s gonna be a time where Ancylemetes spec. will be available to our fellow hobby enthusiasts in the US and vice-versa there will be Dolomedes specs. available in Europe. Shouldn´t take too long.  

Greetings,

Stefan


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## Steven (Dec 22, 2005)

Stefan2209 said:
			
		

> @ Steven:
> Be patient. There´s gonna be a time where Ancylemetes spec. will be available to our fellow hobby enthusiasts in the US and vice-versa there will be Dolomedes specs. available in Europe. Shouldn´t take too long.


hehehe that's sound to me like you're working on some kind of trade   :clap:


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## Stefan2209 (Dec 22, 2005)

Steven said:
			
		

> hehehe that's sound to me like you're working on some kind of trade   :clap:



Still doing my homework, Steven  

Now we´re 3, a buddy of mine from switzerland is also interested in some goodies from good ol US.

Mail will go out next week, i´m still in need of some infos, gonna keep you updated.

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Dec 22, 2005)

Thanks for the compliments. Right before I moved from Kentucky I did a little collecting and now I have 5 D.tenebrossus and 4 d.triton. I really like working on the enclosures. The boxes are really cheap. They are about $1 a piece. I bet you could find some over there Stefan. They are just hobby display boxes. Try mrplexi.com. That is interesting info about Ancylometes maybe coming over here. I am not too familiar about the procedure of shipping species internationally. Is it a big pain in the rear? 

peace,

Bobby


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## Stefan2209 (Dec 22, 2005)

WithCerberus said:
			
		

> Thanks for the compliments. Right before I moved from Kentucky I did a little collecting and now I have 5 D.tenebrossus and 4 d.triton. I really like working on the enclosures. The boxes are really cheap. They are about $1 a piece. I bet you could find some over there Stefan. They are just hobby display boxes. Try mrplexi.com. That is interesting info about Ancylometes maybe coming over here. I am not too familiar about the procedure of shipping species internationally. Is it a big pain in the rear?
> 
> peace,
> 
> Bobby


Hi Bobby,

yeah, i´m already screening several companies here in germany that sell plastic boxes. Perhaps i´m lucky and find something suitable...

The procedure with shipping live-specimen to the US in the "official" way is quite a piece of work. I´m not willing to go through the whole process of aquring the proper papers. Instead i´m more looking for some pro who has already the papers and experience and put some bucks out for the services.
Now it´s a question to solve, if all species will abe available...

Greetings,

Stefan


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## Steven (Dec 22, 2005)

Stefan2209 said:
			
		

> yeah, i´m already screening several companies here in germany that sell plastic boxes. Perhaps i´m lucky and find something suitable...


please inform me aswell :worship:


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## WithCerberus (Dec 22, 2005)

I thought that it would be hard to do. Still though, I hope you find a way to get some Ancylometes over here.:} 

peace,
Bobby


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## Scolopendra55 (Dec 22, 2005)

Cute little s'lings you got there


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## Stefan2209 (Dec 22, 2005)

WithCerberus said:
			
		

> I thought that it would be hard to do. Still though, I hope you find a way to get some Ancylometes over here.:}
> 
> peace,
> Bobby


Mostly hard in the bank-account, the process will be pricey...  

The task for getting the Ancylometes into the US is one of your bigger dealers in my opinion. The spiders are here, somebody just needs to go through the efforts to get them. Maybe if more US-hobbists will ask the major dealers for those species there will finally be some light at the end of the tunnel....  

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Dec 22, 2005)

I will do my part to start buggering them. How common are they on the market over there?


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## Brian S (Dec 23, 2005)

Here ya go


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## WithCerberus (Dec 25, 2005)

*Christmas eve molt pics*

She molted Christmas eve morning and is looking very nice  She wanted to look her best for the holidays. Anyways enjoy the pics and merry Christmas. 


























Peace,

Bobby

p.s. the plant is one of my favorite orchids, _Ludisia discolor_, for whoever cares 8). It is a great plant for terrariums.


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## WithCerberus (Dec 29, 2005)

*A new container...*

She ended up getting a new container yesterday too. 






and now for a few new pics of my female and one of the juvies...













and this little squirt is growing very fast.







peace,

Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Dec 30, 2005)

*possible cause of spiderling deaths*

Found this article today, *Growth, development, and survival of a generalist predator
fed single- and mixed-species diets of different quality*. I thought it was strange that the D.triton spiderlings were eating the springtails but not growing or molting at all. I think that this may explain it. 

"Worst were the collembolans Folsomia candida and Isotoma trispinata, and the aphid Aphis nerii: spiderlings fed solely one of these species did
not grow and died without molting."

however 

"Spiderlings fed the collembolan, Tomocerus bidentatus, sustained the highest
overall rates of survival, growth, and development."

I am not sure what species of springtail that I have a culture of but I will certainly not be feeding them to any more spiderlings. This article was an eye opener. Sooooo... who wants to buy a culture of possibly toxic springtails? Bidding starts at $10.   

peace,

Bobby


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## WithCerberus (Dec 31, 2005)

*gone fishing...*

Well, I thought that I would give this a try yesterday. The fish are small rosey red feeders. It was very fascinating to watch her catch the fish. She walked out on top of it and then submerged all 8 legs to trap and catch it. Fun stuff. enjoy the pics and have a safe new years eve.













peace,

Bobby


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## Crysta (Dec 31, 2005)

Wow, amazing spiders.  
I have 3 Dolomedes tenebrossus... I've even had the chance of witnessing them mating, was pretty amazing: Female diden't eat the male..the male just died after copulation.. After a three to four week period the female layed her egg sack. Unfortunatly.. I diden't have a camera at that time that would let me take photos of that, now I do. I have kept 2 small females and let the rest go; they survived on spring tails.. i guess I diden't have the toxic ones..lol. Shortly after they moved up to small baby roaches and crickets.. 

Was pretty cool keeping them, I will prolly breed them next season too..

Crysta


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## Stefan2209 (Dec 31, 2005)

*Whoa!*

Hi Bobby,

great pics, thanks for sharing!

Guess i inspired you some, with the planned experiment of my buddy from switzerland, did i?  

Have a nice 2006!

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Dec 31, 2005)

Stefan, Yeah you planted the bug.  I can't wait to see some pictures of Ancylometes catching fish too. Maybe Koi would be the right size?  .

Crysta, thank you for sharing about the D. tenebrossus. I have got 3 of those myself, one adult male and two juvies. I am hoping to try breeding those too. I guess I have to line up a better springtail colony first :wall: You should post some pics of the ones you still have.

peace,

Bobby


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## Crysta (Jan 3, 2006)

Well my new camera isent up on the computer yet.., but, I still have pics from the old camera wich I will post insted of having you all wait...lol. 

The mother..isent she adorable?











Mom and the eggs















These lilte girls where born in augest, and have been growing alote! These where taken recently.

One of the lil. girls I still have from her.







Same girl; 







When the babies are hatched (couple hours after mom opens the sack) there usualy a nice green..its pretty..I wish I had a camera during that time.*sighs

Heres the other girl with her critter keeper.. 







I also just recently decided to move them into a larger area, but wanted to see how they would do befor I decide in putting more money into it.. and heres what came out; 






Enjoy!


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## Stefan2209 (Jan 3, 2006)

Hi Crysta,

yummy pics, too! Thanks for sharing!

Those mother on your hand looks some bigger, as Bobby´s male does, is this just a normal size difference between the sexes or is one specimen unusual large or small?

I really wonder how calm those seem, when i think about those pics where the spiders sits at your hands or the pics taken with the lid of the spider-enclosure all open.... 

While the bigger Ancylometes is in no way aggressive to my experience, i wouldn´t dare to try to take some pics with the spider on my hands, though. They´re just too skittish for this kind of "setup". I´m really glad they lack the ability to run as fast on smooth surfaces as Phoneutria can, otherwise i´d already have a hard time taking the pics...:8o 

By the way, the spider portraied last seems darker to me than the older specimen. Do they get the lighter colour when they get older or is it just some kind of colour-morph?

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Jan 3, 2006)

These guys are a little tricky to photograph sometimes. In nature they are aren't very skittish at all as they seem to rely more on their cyptic coloring. In captivity they will be calm and even climb on to your hand and then all of the sudden they take off like grease lightning. When they get going they are very fast and jumpy. The large D.tenebrossus female from the other thread decided to sprint up my arm and jump on to my face afterwards.  Since that display of speed and agility I am much more careful with these guys (for their safety, not mine of course).

Crysta, very nice pictures! The mother looks like a very large one! I wish that some of the spiderlings from my D.triton would have made it. Hopefully in the next few months I'll be able to try my luck again. It is good to see someone else from the US on the boards with interest in keeping and breeding Dolomedes spiders!

peace,

Bobby


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## Crysta (Jan 3, 2006)

I'm in Canada by the way.
Pictures one to five are of the same spider. Just the mother growing. 
Pictures six and seven is the first baby i kept from the mom.
The 8 picture and the 9 picture is of the second baby I kept from mom.

And yes there colors can change as they grow older and go through there molts. I've kept diffrent spiders of this species over 4 years, and it varies much. 

Bobby's male is about the size of what my male was, though mine was a little smaller.
My female had four egg sack, this took place every eight weeks; 4 weeks to grow the eggs inside her; then 4 weeks too incubate the eggs.. She did this four times; she's still living, though I don't think for long.. she's about two years and 2 months now, and I hope she keeps living!
I also hope to aquire diffrent species someday, i'm especialy instrested in Dolomedes Tritus, and Pisaurina mira..Though I can't find them in my province; New-Brunswick, or them for sale anywhere..

By the way bobby, what kind of moss do you use for your setup?..I'd like to get some..What kind of soil mix do you use as well?..sorry to bother you..

take care;
Crysta


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## WithCerberus (Jan 3, 2006)

crysta, hey no bother at all   . The moss that I have in my tanks was found out in the woods where the spiders were captured. I am not sure on the species . I have found though that almost every type of moss that I have put into a terrarium has thrived. In most of my containers I use potting soil. I have started using organic coco fiber for my spiderlings (it came with my springtail culture). I have also used soil from the woods but it scratched and clouded the plastic containers. Good luck on finding the other species you are interested in . I bet you can find Pisaurina mira there. It is found just south of you in maine. (Maine spider site). I have had really good luck finding these at night with a head lamp on mild nights in late winter. I don't know much about this website but check it out, they say that seasonally they have Pisaurina mira available.

peace,

Bobby


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## Crysta (Jan 5, 2006)

Oh sorry for taking so long..was setting up a reptile tank and sorta forgot about this thread...thanks for the links!.. i don't know if our eco system varies like Maine.. But i've found similar spiders to Dolomedes tenebrossus down by the river here.. there just really light tan, with darker taned marks. don't think there tenebrossus though there too small.. anyways i must go..

Crysta


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## WithCerberus (Jan 6, 2006)

*new molt pics*

Two molts in one night  












a pic of my big lady chowing down on a wax worm. 






peace,

Bobby


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## Crysta (Jan 6, 2006)

Ah! very nice pictures, beautiful spiders. Someday I'l be keeping them aswell..lol, keep up the great pics!

-Crys


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## WithCerberus (Jan 25, 2006)

*All grown up 8)*






Well, she is all grown up now. She has lost all the spots on her abdomen which I think looks great. Her band also seems to have gotten much yellower. There must be several color morphs of these because if you look at the mother at the begining of the thread she is almost black with a white band that is much thicker. Several of my other ones have the darker bodies with the white bands too.





peace,
Bobby


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## Steven (Jan 26, 2006)

It's a Beauty !!!! :drool:


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## Stefan2209 (Jan 26, 2006)

Hi Bobby,

nice velvety-looking colours on that spider, nice!

I once again have to admit, i´m a little bit surprised about the size, they looked some bigger on the other pics.

On a rather funny side-note, your full-grown Dolomedes seems now nearly the same size, than my half-way grown Ancylometes, quite ridiculous....
On another side-note your pics inspired me in a rather strange way, as my fishers are now big enough i thought about trying to handle one, when i saw your last pics. Only their lightning speed convinced me to stay off that idea, nevertheless, temptating...:drool: 

Greetings,

Stefan


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## WithCerberus (Jan 26, 2006)

Now, now, Stefan size isn't everything 8)


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## WithCerberus (Feb 7, 2006)

*penultimate male....yay!*






This guy decided to go ahead and molt this weekend. So now I have 2 females and one male. Lucky guy.
peace,
Bobby


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## Stefan2209 (Feb 7, 2006)

Hi Bobby,

once again, nice pics! :drool: 

Guess that male already knows, what´s expected from him, quite massive palps in relation to the body....   

Greetings,

Stefan


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## loxoscelesfear (Feb 13, 2006)

*Awesome*

Those are textbook pics of fishing spiders


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