Favorite Roaches

[pannaking22]

Anyone on here have a favorite roach family/genus/species? Can be for any reason. Enjoyable pet, perfect feeder, good challenge to keep (or super easy), etc.

 

[Hisserdude]

Already answered this on the Roach forum, but I'll post here too for people here to see:

This is a hard question, very hard. I love all of them!

My favorite family overall is the Corydiidae, (Formerly known as the Polyphagidae). I love the desert roaches!

My absolute favorite species however, would be either Archiblatta hoeveni or Catara rugosicollis. I really need to keep one of those species some day, that's my life goal.

 

[mmfh]

I only have Dubia roaches. Got them for food and I'm finding them very fascinating. Now I'm thinking of getting another species just for pets. Just not sure what to get yet.

 

[Tenevanica]

I'll go ahead and copy paste my roachforum response on here:

Why do you do this to us, Panna? You know it's like picking a favorite child!

Genus's that I like:
Elliptorhina - Like hissers, but prettier and cuter.
Gyna - Fast reproduction, and beautiful color forms make this genus.
Parcoblatta - A cool USA native genus with fast reproduction and interesting patterns. Good if you're going for the "classic roach" look.
Blaberus - Blaberus has it all! Beautiful colors, large size, and fast reproduction. They make excellent pets, AND feeders.
Gromphadorhina - You have to love your classic hissers! Large size, ease of care, and that trademark hiss.

Honorable mention:
Nauphoeta cinerea - My absolute favorite feeder! Soft exoskeletons, quick growth and reproduction, ease of care, and variability in size makes this a perfect feeder for anything! The only downside is their climbing ability, but this can be stopped with some petroleum jelly.

I'd like to see YOU list your favorite species

 

[pannaking22]

In the spirit of copy/paste so people not on Roach Forum (though you all should join if you like roaches!), here's mine:

That Archiblatta is crazy! Looks almost like a stocky katydid or cricket.

And I know choosing is hard for everyone (including myself) lol

But if I must. Hmmm....

Corydidarum pygmaea is towards the top of my list because it's such a unique species and because I've been trying really hard to get nymphs from that project, even though I ran out of males before my female matured (thanks Kyle for the male!)

Pseudomops septentrionalis is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, native species because I can always look into the enclosure and see at least a couple individuals roaming about. I'm hoping one day to have a large colony going in a big tank so they'll be really easy to watch then.

On a more interesting note, I recently got some Rhabdoblatta formosana and was just keeping them in a 16 oz deli cup until I got their more permanent enclosure set up. I was out of town for a couple days and there was quite a bit of rain while I was gone. When I got back, I found that the ceiling in my invert room had been leaking. Not just leaking, but leaking into a big tub that contained various species in a myriad of enclosures. The Rhabdoblatta were on top and I feared the worst because the container was over halfway filled with water. I opened it up expecting to see a bunch of dead roaches, but lo and behold, all of them were still alive! One even molted to adulthood while essentially underwater clinging to the egg crate! Because of this, I think these guys have moved up to the top of my favorite list if I really have to pick a species

Some other winners in my book are Gyna lurida for variation in color, ease of care, and the voracious nymphs, Opisthoplatia orientalis is rapidly moving up the list based on color and how laid back they are and Therea because who can say no to domino and question mark roaches?

I only have Dubia roaches. Got them for food and I'm finding them very fascinating. Now I'm thinking of getting another species just for pets. Just not sure what to get yet.

You definitely should! There are lots of options in the US hobby right now and you're pretty much guaranteed to find something you'll like.

 

[mmfh]

I've been doing some research... I know I want something that doesn't fly or climb, is out in the open and gets large lol. I'm looking at blaberus colosseus Peru. love the coloration on some of the small roaches, like Gyna centurio, but for some reason fast and small is kind of freaking me out.

 

[Tenevanica]

I've been doing some research... I know I want something that doesn't fly or climb, is out in the open and gets large lol. I'm looking at blaberus colosseus Peru. love the coloration on some of the small roaches, like Gyna centurio, but for some reason fast and small is kind of freaking me out.

You need to get over your fear if you want to continue down that path lol. I recommend getting a small fast species, and letting them crawl over your hands. You know as well as I do that they can't hurt you. It's just about proving that they're safe to that subconscious survival instinct part of your brain. As for B. colosseus, that's what I would have recommended if you didn't already mention it. Blaberus is a nice genus. Blaberus or any hissers are good introductions to the hobby.

 

[pannaking22]

I've been doing some research... I know I want something that doesn't fly or climb, is out in the open and gets large lol. I'm looking at blaberus colosseus Peru. love the coloration on some of the small roaches, like Gyna centurio, but for some reason fast and small is kind of freaking me out.

I'll be honest, while I do great with just about every species you can think of, I still have some issues with P. americana. Could be because it's a "pest" species, but there's still just something about them that makes me uneasy. But they're quite a bit bigger than any Gyna. If you want to get over that fear, do what Tenevanica said. If you aren't comfortable with them crawling on your hands, just have a couple in a nice enclosure and watch them. Gyna lurida (either regular or yellow morph) are great because the nymphs are super cute, grow quickly and are fairly active when food is involved while the adults are frequently out wandering around. They're cheap and readily available too. And only the adults climb, so you don't have to worry about little nymphs escaping. The adults can fly as well, but only the males really seem to like doing it.

 

[Jerry]

I don't have a favorite yet just getting started but I really want death head Roach's they look awesome

 

[Illusion]

Giant Peppered Roach Archimandrita tesselata all day long! They're big, beautiful, calm and friendly.
Not the best as feeders as they aren't the most prolific of breeders, but the spare adult males make fantastic food for monitors, big spiders etc.

 

[pannaking22]

I don't have a favorite yet just getting started but I really want death head Roach's they look awesome

B. craniifer are fun and easy to keep. Can make for a decent feeder and display roach too.

Giant Peppered Roach Archimandrita tesselata all day long! They're big, beautiful, calm and friendly.
Not the best as feeders as they aren't the most prolific of breeders, but the spare adult males make fantastic food for monitors, big spiders etc.

I used to have some A. tesselata but traded them off for whatever reason (I don't think they were breeding and I wasn't able to give them the enclosure I wanted were likely reasons). Kind of missing them actually lol. Certainly wouldn't mind getting some again!

 

[dragonfire1577]

I personally like all hissers even the super common hybrids found in like every pet store and Archimandrita Tesselata are really fun to keep.

 

[dragonfire1577]

Oh I also find Eublaberus Sp. and Lucihormetica Subcincta are a lot of fun too.

 

[Sarkhan42]

I personally like B. lateralis, because they make such good feeders, they're super easy to keep, and they've got great personality, albeit a little fast. Oh and the fact that they can't climb smooth surfaces is a nice plus.

 

[Illusion]

I forgot headlight roaches to, they're sweet little things, so pretty.

 

[PinkyDinky]

I forgot headlight roaches to, they're sweet little things, so pretty.

Oh wow, I read your post and searched google...

they're beautiful!

 

[MWAInverts]

Archimandrita tesselata
Blaberus craniifer
Blaberus fusca
All Therea
Macropanesthia rhinoceros
Gyna lurida “Yellow"
Ergaula pilosa
Gromphadorhina grandidieri
Princisia vanwaerebek
B. dubia
S. lateralis

 

[Fishcrunch]

I like the Blaberus sp. since they attain good size, breed easily, and often have some interesting patterns/iridescence to them. I'm currently raising B. fusca at my university.

 

[Illusion]

Oh wow, I read your post and searched google...

they're beautiful!

They're fab little roaches to keep as well, for food or for pets, they don't climb glass, they're easy to hold, and they're nice and meaty.

 

[Luccasbiohub]

Already answered this on the Roach forum, but I'll post here too for people here to see:

This is a hard question, very hard. I love all of them!

My favorite family overall is the Corydiidae, (Formerly known as the Polyphagidae). I love the desert roaches!

My absolute favorite species however, would be either Archiblatta hoeveni or Catara rugosicollis. I really need to keep one of those species some day, that's my life goal.

Hey I know this is an old thread but contact me I might be able to help you out