housing dubia and hissers together?

[deadly_elegance]

have any of you guys tried housing dubia and hissers together? Ive bee keeping them together for about 5 months now and almost everyday i always see dead dubia usually 1 roach dies every 2 days and the dead roaches are always half eaten. . . Is this normal or the hissers killing the dubias?. . .

 

[Matt K]

Anytime you mix two or more species of roach together, ultimately one of them will win out over the other(s) and that will be the colony you have. This is particularly true if they come from different continents on the planet.... they compete for food, fight each other, cannibalize one another (usually right after a molt), etc. Its just not a good idea.

However, this has been done with rare exceptions. I am sure someone will post something contrary to this post sooner or later....

 

[ThyTempest]

I have heard of several colonies of mixed blaberus, and couple with dubias mixed in. I have a friend with a tiny mixed colony of a dozen dubias and a dozen hissers that has not shown any growth in a year. Why he started with so few, I don't know, but either way I think all of the babies are being eaten.

 

[mitchrobot]

i have b.lateralis, hissers, dubia and blaberus hybrids in my colony....the hissers only eat the blaburus roaches, my dubia and lats dont get bothered. ive also noticed the hissers eating each other though, so i think that might just be what they do from time to time?

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Are you providing a protien source? Dubias are shorter lived than hissers so it isn't odd that you'd see them dying more often. Eating carcasses is also fairly common behavior. But if you are concerned about active 'cannibalism' taking place, which is definitely possible, re-examine the diet.

As others have said, in a competative situation between species, you will almost always see one species thrive and the other suffer. You may still see breeding in both but probably not on the scale you would if you raised them seperately. You will likely have much more success raising your colonies in species-specific tanks, but it's completely keeper discretion.

 

[deadly_elegance]

well I'm giving them hi protein chicken crumbles, and fruits and vegetables from the market, the dubias are breeding well. . . but will the dead one's can be a cause for concern? are hisses tend to kill and eat dubias??

 

[BrianWI]

Hi protein chicken crumbles are generally 18% protein only, is that high enough? Dog food can be as high as 23%, cat food (kitten) into the 40% range. Maybe try that?

 

[Matt K]

I provide very little protein and have outstanding roaches. Most roaches will eat other species in the same container when they molt and are still soft.

 

[Pacmaster]

the feed labeled "gamebird" has a much higher protein content, or even turkey feed has more than chicken . . . if your goin to the feedstore anyways!

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I provide very little protein and have outstanding roaches. Most roaches will eat other species in the same container when they molt and are still soft.

Same here.
I will occasionally offer some cooked egg, but the diet is primarily vegetables.

-Brad

 

[tacoma0680]

Housing together

I have keep some dubia and lobsters together and they are really good together. I dont have very many of them together but there are about 25 of lobsters in about 1000 dubia.