How many Asian Forest Scorpions in a 55 gallon tank.

[LastStarfighter]

I am new to the hobby. I have an extra 55 gallon long fish tank that started leaking and was replaced for my fish. How many of the Asian scorpions would you recommend for such a size? I am aware of the possibility for cannibalism, am and willing to risk it. I have read enough to know it works as often as it doesn't, and I'd love for a couple to breed. I'll have plenty of shelters and hides.
Also should I go with a screen lid, or plexiglass to keep the humidity up? Figuring on a coconut fiber substrate, and some white springtails.
Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[Brewser]

Have you considered Reptilian / Amphibian Creatures instead ?

 

[CRX]

ZERO. Too big for them to find food. What is your goal in the big tank full of scorpions? Because with more than a couple, maybe 3, they won't be happy. Is your goal here a display tank? If so, you need to look into a different hobby. Scorpions aren't usually seen and they are not display animals.

 

[Crom]

They'll mate then you'll need to seperate and isolated the females

 

[LastStarfighter]

Awesome. So everyone's advice is don't do scorpions.

I don't want to do lizards or frogs. I have had them before, and wanted to try something new. Plus the habitats can have a odor, and I don't want my office smelling dank.

My goal with the 55 gallon tank is to have a low maintenance, low odor pet in my office that looks cool. I have a corn snake in a 35 gallon, and a 20 gallon fish tank. I am not looking for a display, I understand that they are nocturnal, and they burrow. My snake isn't active either, but i enjoy seeing him when he comes out.
The difficulty in food finding is not something I had considered. I figured on putting a few crickets or roaches in every week and letting the scorpions have at it. I was thinking 3 or 4 scorpions in the tank, with hides for each, if they choose.

 

[BadApple]

Hi LastStarfighter, not everyone is against communal scorpions,
I have been keeping scorpions in colonies since the early 2000,s mostly Heterometrus, and currently have 6 colonies, of 5 each
H. Spinifer
H. Laoticus
H. Silenus
H. Cimrmani
H. Longimanus
J. Cyaneus
In the past i have had colonies of 6 P. Imperators, and 6 H. Swammerdami.
All of these have been kept together from the same litter, and I have not had a single case of cannibalism. In fact no matter how many hides i provide, they generaly all share 1 of them.
If observed overnight with a blacklight, you will clearly see their interactions, whenever i change out their tanks, the digging of new tunnels is often a group affair, fascinating to watch.
Tank sizes, for most of mine, once adults i keep 5 in a 30 x18 x18 inch tank, not exactly sure how many gallons that works out to tbh.
Coco coir mixed with some general purpose compost is a good substrate to retain moisture and allow burrowing, almost all Heterometrus love to dig, so i have my tanks about 8-9 inches deep at the back of the tank, and about 4 at the front.
I believe the keys to keeping colonies is (idealy) start with scorpions from the same litter, keep them well fed, provide multiple hides, even if they do all use just one, and make sure temps / humidity are correct for your chosen species.
Should you manage this, your scorpions will be perfectly happy, and when on the wander, are quite a sight to see
All this is only relevant to Forest species tho, Desert Species are a completely diff ball game, and not easy (Unless you are allowed to keep DWA anyway)
Good luck with your tank, would be interested to see a pic if you get it established

 

[Alveus]

ZERO. Too big for them to find food.

That is not entirely true. It really depens on aktiv the prey is and how activ the predator.

If you put a Heterometrus silenus and a Dubiaroach in this tank, they'll probably never met. (But H. silenus digs alot and stays in his tunnles, so you always know where it is...)

But if you put a Acanthoscurria geniculata and a criket in the same tank, the criket wouldn't survive more than an hour.

I have an extra 55 gallon long fish tank

Just be mindefull, that it's a fishtank and not a terrarium. Sou you could run in to some problems without a proper ventilation.

 

[Smotzer]

I am aware of the possibility for cannibalism, am and willing to risk it.

In regards to this, have you ever kept any Heterometrus at all?

If not I strongly recommend that you do not try and keep multiples together in such a large tank, or just keep multiples together regardless. In general it can be much easier and more beneficial for the the animals to keep them seperate which will allow for greater control over the enviornement, whether or not their eating, and overall husbandry. This will be the sentiment of a lot of members that its almost always better for the animals when kept separately, especially if you do not have specific experience with the species in question.

Also 55 gallon is quite large, to say the least, to keep any arachnids in. Not trying to disuade you from keeping such amazing creatures as arachnids are, but I think you may need some plan revision. I say this as someone who cares for a few very large planted tanks with soil I will say that such a large tank with that much substrate can actually be a bit difficult to manage moisture levels without overdoing it, or equally underdoing it; often it is very difficult to achieve that happy medium as far as proper moisture is concerned.

If youre wanting any sort of advice on current tank setup/issues/advice, you'd be better off listing the dimensions and posting photos of it.Your current tank may be unsuitable to keep any arachnids in, or it may not, currently memebers cant really give any advice on it without knowing the specifics

 

[LastStarfighter]

Hi LastStarfighter, not everyone is against communal scorpions,
I have been keeping scorpions in colonies since the early 2000,s mostly Heterometrus, and currently have 6 colonies, of 5 each

How do you go about feeding them? Do they have trouble fining the food?

 

[BadApple]

Hi, Sure there will be plenty who wont agree with this,, but has worked for me almost 25 years now, so heres how i do it.
I allways attempt to re-create my beasties native environment, as far as possible, and In the wild scorpions spend a lot of time hunting, and, if there is food in the tank, they will hunt and catch it, they are born hunters, and the males in particular can cover vast areas nightly looking for food (and females). Keeping scorpions in small tanks IMHO promotes inactive, unhealthy and unhappy beasties, preventing their natural hunting instincts, often leading to obesity. If they can find food in the great wide world, are we seriously sposed to believe they cant catch a cricket confined in a tank ????
With a colony of 5, which i find a manageable number, i aim to allways have 1 or 2 crickets running around in the tank at any given time, when i cant see any more in there, a few more go in. I do not have a strict time schedule, their appetites vary with time, moulting, age, activity etc. Just ensure that there is something for them to hunt, and they will eat when they like. If they start to look a bit chubby, leave a few days between adding more food, and before long you will find the right balance for your setup and species. The younger the scorpions, the greater number per scorpion is needed, reducing with age. Once you reach that balance, you will have healthy and active beasties, at least as far as feeding goes. And who doesnt want to see more of them
Again, this is all relevant to forest species, mainly Hetrometrus, and the method i use with all of mine.
Best of luck