10 gallon Abedus herberti tank

[dtknow]

Need more rocks and branches(manzanita, I love this stuff) for it of course. I've since added a filter to add a moderate current. A problem right now is that the bugs will surface for air and then swim around and often end up in the corner with no spot to cling too and just float/swim around. A rock in each corner would solve this plus more rocks/branches so all the bugs have a place to call home. More plant growth would help too. In the critter keeper the plants were dense enough that the bugs couldn't really swim at all, so they never moved much. Also, is it normal for them to haul out of the water like the one in the photo? I observed one doing this in the old container and guess it is the same one.

One of the inhabitants. I've already seen a new behavior in which the waterbugs will actually dig around in the pebbles(river rocks) looking for tidbits. They seem to pick up the pebbles, check to see if they are alive, and then pick up another. I also discovered they have a fancy for malaysian trumpet snails that inhabited the tank, which I guess they dig out of the gravel.

 

[funnylori]

That looks very nice! Do I see a fish in there?

Mike never got too invested in his, and recently froze off the lot.

 

[dtknow]

You mean the guy who was studying them?

I'm pretty sure he could have sold them off easily. They are very entertaining. I could use a few more breeders but haven't quite got the nymph thing down yet. I hope they breed in this setup and then I will put the offspring in a little pond thing with lots of water plants in hopes of raising a few.

There was a goldfish in there to add some waste material, but no longer. Too fast/big for the bugs to tackle, but they tried numerous times. Not built for speed I guess...LOL I need to catch some dragonfly larvae as I bet they will tackle those no problem.

I hope to add some kind of small livebearer or other fish that can sustain population in a 10 gallon. Too bad so little space to work with but I doubt the water bugs will eat very many of them. Guppies or Gambusia may work.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I wasn't the one studying them; it was the grad student I got them from. He also said that I couldn't sell the adults he gave me, but nymphs would be safe to sell. The only problem was they were a royal pain to keep alive and I didn't have the same facilities as he did to rear them. Even he had nymph mortality of roughly 90% until they were adults.

Oh, and don't be worried by the one hanging out on dry land. I had a few who would do that periodically.

The adults that I froze were just going to be doused in alcohol back in December if no one wanted them, anyway. They had a good five months of tasy mealworms with me this way.

 

[dtknow]

An update. It looks like this will work, as so far none of the fish(fancy guppies) have been eaten. They are really good at avoiding the Abedus despite the Abedus being pretty hard to spot in the tank. Their have been a few close calls including one where a fish apparently lost part of its tail. They are all females, so babies will arrive soon.

 

[nepenthes]

You will need at least 1 male!

 

[cacoseraph]

An update. It looks like this will work, as so far none of the fish(fancy guppies) have been eaten. They are really good at avoiding the Abedus despite the Abedus being pretty hard to spot in the tank. Their have been a few close calls including one where a fish apparently lost part of its tail. They are all females, so babies will arrive soon.

You will need at least 1 male!

are these one of the bugs where the female deposits the eggs on the male's back?

 

[funnylori]

are these one of the bugs where the female deposits the eggs on the male's back?

Yes.

 

[dtknow]

You will need at least 1 male!

The females can store sperm and produce several batches of fry.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

I wasn't aware of that. Ye Olde Grade Studente observed multiple matings between pairs, followed by egg deposits shortly after each mating. If you're not paying so close attention you'll just notice the number of eggs increasing on the male's back day to day.

 

[dtknow]

IHeartmantids: Me and Nepenthes were talking about the guppies.

no idea on the bugs...however, they are not laying eggs despite a lot of food.What is going on? My only thought is that the critter keeper with less room to swim or dense plant growth stimulated conditions they like for breeding so perhaps I should put them back in there for some eggs.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Oops. :8o

As for the bugs, are you sure you have both sexes?

If you do, all I know are the conditions Arlo (the legendary grad student) and I had them in to get eggs. Arlo had several adults in a large plastic tub with no real decoration, and three bricks arranged in a bridge to give the bugs perches. I had mine in a large tub with rocks sticking out of the water, but nothing really bridge-like.

I guess the key is perches big enough for multiple bugs -- maybe a large piece of driftwood or a rock?

 

[dtknow]

I've gotten eggs and babies before, so yes.

Yeah, their is always a bug or two looking around for a perch. Looks like I need to add more branches.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Try something broad enough that multiple bugs can perch without a problem. That may improve breeding odds, too.

Good luck! This species is a pain to rear in captivity.

 

[Stylopidae]

I can't tell if those plants are alive or dead, but you need live plants to remove nitrate levels from the water.

Invertebrates tend to be a bit sensitive to chemicals in the water. IIRC, Iheartmantids had much more success after he changed the water after feeding. This is because the nymphs are very sensitive to ammonia. You need some sort of bio-filtration system to remove nitrite, as well or else this will build up and kill your bugs.

There are testing kits avalible at any decent aquarium store...I've seen them at petco. I'd reccomend picking one up and testing the water daily and keeping records of how those tests turn out.

 

[Mr. Mordax]

Cheshire pretty much summed up the nymph's requirements. The adults are pretty hardy when it comes to gross water, but if your nymphs are dying in record numbers, they need a water change.

 

[dtknow]

The plants are live...it is a mix of java moss and Najas. I do have a testkit for my fish which I might use. In the old critterkeeper all I did was dump out all the old water and add tapwater directly in(guaranteed to kill just about any the fish after a while for sure!)