fishing spiders

[Iowa T Keeper]

anyone kept these before?

do they need water?

I have seen pretty big ones around docks and stuff before. They would be cool, but would they be a lot of trouble?

 

[oxbaker]

I kept one once. I naturally assumed it would need water so I gave it a bigger (and deeper) than average water dish and fed it goldfish along with crickets and mealworms. It seemed to do okay for almost a year until it died suddenly one day. It posed no problem at all but it did hang out around the water dish with its legs trailing in the water alot so I would suggest you give it the opportunity should you decide to keep one.

 

[Wade]

Some members of the genus (Dolomedes) are more aquatic than others. D. triton is almost always around the water. I'm currently keeping one in a plastic pet-pal half full of water with various aquarium plants sticking out. It spends most of the time above water with it's legs touching the surface waiting for something to disturb the surface tension so it can dash out and grab it. If frightened, it will dive under water.

They're fun to keep, I highly recomend them!

Wade

 

[Ultimate Instar]

Wade,

Do you know where I could get a Dolomedes sp.? My son's been bugging me for a long time to get one. I'd be willing to pay a good bit of money for one plus the shipping costs, of course.

Karen N.

 

[oxbaker]

They're pretty elusive in my area of Ontario but I'm gonna try and get some when it gets warmer out. I also wanna get some of those giant water bugs but I've only ever seen a couple in my lifetime.

 

[Wade]

Dolomedes is pretty common over most of the US, and I assume Canada as well, but maybe not in the abudance I see around here.

I usually see lots of D. triton along the banks of streams, ponds, lakes, etc. They can usually be spotted on emergent plants, lilypads, an duckweed. They're the greyish brown spiders with the white stripes and spots on the abdomen. There's also a trident-like marking on the carapice.

I can collect and send them out in the spring when it gets warmer, but you should really have no trouble finding them yourself.

Wade

 

[Ultimate Instar]

Wade,

I will look for Dolomedes ssp. in the spring but I don't know if they're around where I live (Pacific northwest). The climate is cool all year round and the water temps are never warm. I may contact you in a few months. Thank you for your answer.

Karen N.

 

[Wade]

Ah, I incorrectly asumed "redneck central" was in the south, LOL.

Anyway, if you can't find any up there, let me now in a couple of months. They usually start turning up around here in a couple of months.

Wade

 

[ChokeOnSmoke]

I've kept a couple Dolomedes tritons before and found they did well in an all water setup with some plants and and floating debris. Very cool I would highly recommend them to anyone. Oxbaker what part of Ontario are you from? I'm from Thunder Bay and we have tons up here.

 

[spiderdavid]

Dolomedes triton has been recorded from the Pacific northwest, so you should be able to find some in your area.

spiderdavid

 

[oxbaker]

I've kept a couple Dolomedes tritons before and found they did well in an all water setup with some plants and and floating debris. Very cool I would highly recommend them to anyone. Oxbaker what part of Ontario are you from? I'm from Thunder Bay and we have tons up here.

I'm down near London in a town called St.Thomas. We have tons of lakes and ponds around here but you rarely see fishing spiders. I'm also trying to get some of those giant water bugs but they're even more elusive it seems.