Hissing cockroach colony failure.

[CockroachSniffer69]

Hello, this is my first post of many as an arthropod breeder and I have a bit of an issue. I’ve been experimenting on my two portentosa mix colonies and the dry hisser enclosure gets this condensation on the sides and reeks of ammonia (enough to burn the nose and eyes when I opened it). My other colony has the exact same layout and ventilation (a yellow and black 40 gallon home depot bin with a 5inch x 4 inch ventilation hole on one side with egg flats and lined with 3 inches of Vaseline), but has natural wood, zebra isopods and springtails with a false bottom that is kept partially filled with distilled water. The moist colony is exploding in population and only smells slightly like mold (Likely due to the Vaseline harboring a little mold which I can see). A huge population crash occured a few weeks after the smell appeared while I was on vacation; in the dry bin and all of the nymphs (around 300 or so) died along with half of the adults ;(. The moist bin has the same ventilation and Vaseline content as the dry bin but has springtails, isopods, natural wood and dermestid beetles; while the dry bin has no false bottom, egg flats, dermestid beetles and frass as the substrate (i figured frass would be healthy for the nymphs and the dermestids), and after the crash the dermestid population spiked drastically. My questions for you arthropod experts are as follows.

1. Why did all of my nymphs die?
2. How can I prevent ammonia buildup in a dry kept colony?
3. Do most people have success with bioactive hissing cockroach colonies with springtails, isopods and dermestid beetles vs dry kept colonies?
4. How can I clean off the moldy vaseline and sides of the container (which are oily all down the sides due to moisture) without isopropyl.
5. Is a moldy smell normal with a hissing cockroach colony? (There is very little visible mold and the springtails seem to like it.
6. How can I properly clean my colonies without risking chemical contamination?
7. Will occasional tap water on fruits and vegetables (from washing) hurt any of the life I keep in the bins?

If you guys can only answer one or two questions it would very much help. I’ve only been breeding roaches for 2 years now and want to learn every method I can. Fill me with your wisdom Arachnoboards!

 

[DomGom TheFather]

I've had zero issues breeding large hisser colonies in dry bins with nothing but eggcrate/cardboard harborage. I cut the majority of the lids out and hot glue screen in place. No ammonia

 

[CockroachSniffer69]

Interesting. I’ll try cutting the lids out, though I don’t have proper tools to do so since they’re the thick yellow lids. Would you know of an easy way of cutting the lids open? Thank you for the advice

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Interesting. I’ll try cutting the lids out, though I don’t have proper tools to do so since they’re the thick yellow lids. Would you know of an easy way of cutting the lids open? Thank you for the advice

Ahh could simply be bad ventilation killing everything, my Dubias were mostly wiped out because they became heat dependent faster than I could realize . They were breeding room temperature fine for years then stopped . Now I’m struggling to keep the dubia colony going lost 6 adults this week!!!.
I drill tons of ventilation holes for my roaches but they can’t climb.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Interesting. I’ll try cutting the lids out, though I don’t have proper tools to do so since they’re the thick yellow lids. Would you know of an easy way of cutting the lids open? Thank you for the advice

Use what you've got. If it's thick and brittle, you could drill holes at the corners and use a hacksaw blade to work from hole to hole. I've cut some with a knife, but I've also managed to crack some too. Lol