Feeding dying B. lateralis

[MariaLewisia]

Sorry, I know you were replying to mack, but I wanted to ask: is it possible any veggies you are feeding could be contaminated with pesticides? I personally use organic and rinse everything well before feeding to the roaches.

I thought about this too but forgot to mention it in my original comment. I've had my own small colony running for a couple of years now and have seen roaches in various states of dying, but they never twitch. They just lose strength or go limp. So the fact that OP's roaches start twitching as they're dying is strange and might indicate some sort of toxin. Then again if they're feeding other invertebrates with the same veggies and they are fine... that could debunk that theory.

 

[RiverGoblin]

I’m saying I would be uncomfortable feeding from a rapidly die off within the colony.
Two dead adults everyday per 100 is pretty extreme,IMO.

Is it rapid enough to be some disease or chemical exposure? Don't get me wrong I'm not feeding them to my T until the problem stops, I'm just trying to figure out how to make said problem stop.

Also what can I do to fix whatever this is? Do I just wait and see if it stops? Would rehousing them help?

 

[sparticus]

I feel like rehousing can't hurt. I'd also separate out any that look obviously unhealthy and remove them from the healthy ones before/while moving them into the new bin.

 

[Wolfram1]

yea, i have never had any nympths go out like that, nor at all, if its not the food perhaps its the setup or the water

 

[RiverGoblin]

yea, i have never had any nympths go out like that, nor at all, if its not the food perhaps its the setup or the water

What could I change? What is your setup like?

 

[Brewser]

I sometimes feed off dubia that are starting to slow down, but I know it's old age with mine. Honestly more likely to go to my big fish than the spiders, too. The oscar is a garbage disposal. I would not use sick roaches as feeders when you aren't sure why they're not doing well.

Oscars are Awesome... Used to dangle Night Crawlers over the Tank. lol

 

[mack1855]

What could I change? What is your setup like?

My thoughts FWIW....R.Runners can be aggressive when feeding.That amount your suppling is possibly not enough for 100 runners.

Feed a little more food,and lose the standing water.I generally clean,and change the substrate every two weeks.

As far as not breeding,healthy runner colonys will produce egg case,s regardless

 

[Wolfram1]

having the nympths die is concerning, personally i have simply kept the few small ones that i planned on feeding off completey in the container i bought them in, no water just a little piece of carrot and oats every week, and i had zero deaths, they are acctually growing faster than i'd like

and i am really not caring for these especially well
very few left as i continue to feed them off

the larger setup is a naturalistic one so about 3cm layer of forest soil in a euronorm-bin (60x40x30) and a huge pile of leaves on top, the roaches flitter in and out of that and if i stir it up loads more become visible, its still in the begging stages so i am not harvesting at all to build numbers first. I did have a rather significant dyback of adults at first, but by now that seems to have passed and i hope they are breeding well
i will add some wooden boards in place of the eggcrates soon, for harvesting mostly, but also to increase surface area as the pile of leaves is slowly broken down and compacting, should things get too moist or start smelling (which i hope to avoid by avoiding leftovers/reducing wet food) the plan is to add a few handfuls of dry leaf litter on top
for now the boards i plan to use are still weathering in my garden a little so they don't mold when i put them in

if you don't want to go the naturalistic route, which i can understand is not something everyone is comfortable with, i'd copy someones proven setup like for example "Dave's Little Beasties", in general i think your setup doesn't need the water bowl and it wouldn't hurt to be a little larger, but i am really just in the beginning stages of my project and going my own path so ...

 

[mack1855]

A few pics of my colony,set up a year ago maybe?.A boat load of males,which i like feeding to my pokies.You can see egg cases everywhere.But,i have a bunch of slings im feeding,so need the nymphs.
I do put about 20/30 small roaches every few months to renew the colony.

 

[RiverGoblin]

My thoughts FWIW....R.Runners can be aggressive when feeding.That amount your suppling is possibly not enough for 100 runners.

Feed a little more food,and lose the standing water.I generally clean,and change the substrate every two weeks.

As far as not breeding,healthy runner colonys will produce egg case,s regardless

They usually leave some scraps behind after 24 hours that I usually take out. Should I still feed more frequently? Also the dead roaches were completely intact.

 

[mack1855]

They usually leave some scraps behind after 24 hours that I usually take out. Should I still feed more frequently? Also the dead roaches were completely intact.

Yes....pull that old food/scraps.Especially any veggies or soft moist food.My chick starter ,seen in the deli cup lids can be left for longer,but be aware that any mold is fatal to R.runners.Any blueish/greenish color is a no go.

Even though we are keeping them as feeders,they still are life.I will often find a little left over,but even roaches will avoid moldy food.

I would feed more often.For roughly 100 ,i would feed 3 times a week,with 2 week cleanings.Also,stay away from lots of wet fruit(apples/oranges/or any kind of citrus,It gives them the "s...t,s.So to speak.

 

[Glorfindel]

Oscars are Awesome... Used to dangle Night Crawlers over the Tank. lol

Amazing New World Cichlid with a lot of Personality, Smart, Cool Markings, and a Huge Appetite.

 

[sparticus]

Amazing New World Cichlid with a lot of Personality, Smart, Cool Markings, and a Huge Appetite.

It's the best fish I've ever owned, and I've kept a LOT of species over the years. I had no idea what I was missing out on. Recognizes us and reacts differently to strangers. He was kinda a disaster when I got him as a baby, it took a few months and several rounds of meds before he stabilized and started eating and growing well. Still has a messed up lip and only one nostril. I picked a winner. Only about 7-8" so far and he'll gladly take adult dubia.

 

[RiverGoblin]

Cleaned out everything, changed the substrate and egg cartons, lost the water dish, and took out the sickly ones. I also noticed that they were dragging food between the egg cartons, so I'm guessing I should be feeding larger pieces of vegetables they can't move. I also put in some oats for dry food (it's what I had on hand at the moment), I'm assuming it's ok for them.

 

[mack1855]

Cleaned out everything, changed the substrate and egg cartons, lost the water dish, and took out the sickly ones. I also noticed that they were dragging food between the egg cartons, so I'm guessing I should be feeding larger pieces of vegetables they can't move. I also put in some oats for dry food (it's what I had on hand at the moment), I'm assuming it's ok for them. View attachment 468750

My only suggestion is the deli cup for the celery sticks may pose a problem,due to the fact that runners are unable to climb smooth surfaces.JMO,simply putting the food directly on the sub might be better.
Generally my runners are on it almost immediately.Then just pull out any left over food in 12ish hour time frame.

 

[RiverGoblin]

Little update: the dieoff has not stopped. I tried to fiddle with their diet a bit. Different fruits and vegetables. Tried calcium too because I really have no clue what it can be anymore. It's still 2 nymphs a day like clockwork. Do I just replace everything in the bin again? What else could be wrong?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Little update: the dieoff has not stopped. I tried to fiddle with their diet a bit. Different fruits and vegetables. Tried calcium too because I really have no clue what it can be anymore. It's still 2 nymphs a day like clockwork. Do I just replace everything in the bin again? What else could be wrong?

Could you get a picture of the floor of the container with egg crates sideways? I’ve heard of people using buckets but I only used plastic sterlite containers or other brands that got discontinued. I tried substrate or my orange heads but they kept dying from shipping shock so I removed it . Dehydration is usually what kills them .

 

[RiverGoblin]

Could you get a picture of the floor of the container with egg crates sideways? I’ve heard of people using buckets but I only used plastic sterlite containers or other brands that got discontinued. I tried substrate or my orange heads but they kept dying from shipping shock so I removed it . Dehydration is usually what kills them .

I don't know how well you'll be able to see what you're looking for or if you need more pictures

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

View attachment 469507 View attachment 469508

I don't know how well you'll be able to see what you're looking for or if you need more pictures

Are they eating?? I had exactly same problem here when my old colony was dying off .

Picky Dubias won’t eat?

I’ve tried apple cores and various different vegetables. I found this list I’ve tried various items from it, no luck . They had water I misted /plus small water drops in the container plenty .

arachnoboards.com

 

[RiverGoblin]

Are they eating?? I had exactly same problem here when my old colony was dying off .

Picky Dubias won’t eat?

I’ve tried apple cores and various different vegetables. I found this list I’ve tried various items from it, no luck . They had water I misted /plus small water drops in the container plenty .

arachnoboards.com

Not nearly what you would expect I think. In two days they ate about 1/20th of a tangerine slice