isopods

Arachnophilist

Arachnoprince
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Sep 12, 2006
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well I looked at it. I would have to say the larger grey ones would be best.. they will be able to eat mites with more ease than the smaller ones and they will eat a far greater amount as well I would imagine. just my opinion, but that my take on the site.. and for anyone else looking I has to click live bugs> isopods then I got the list. you cant go catch those around your house?
 

Spider-Man v2.0

Arachnobaron
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May 28, 2006
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375
yea but i was thinking of geting the orange ones, so when i clean the tank out i can easly see them, and pick them out of the dirt.
allso i dont want to get one out side that might have goten some pestaside on it, or some perasite.
 

Nikos

Arachnoprince
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Sep 30, 2002
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1,224
I use these:

Pill & Sow Bugs (Isopods)
Dwarf White & Maroon Pygmies (1 Dozen)

with great success for many years now
 

P.jasonius

Arachnobaron
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Nov 19, 2006
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I remember reading from other posts about this topic that isopods only really control mite population by keeping your enclosure clean (by eating what the mites eat before they are a population). If you're having mite problems, you might want to look into this further.
 

xgrafcorex

Thread Killer
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Aug 16, 2005
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I remember reading from other posts about this topic that isopods only really control mite population by keeping your enclosure clean (by eating what the mites eat before they are a population). If you're having mite problems, you might want to look into this further.
yea i think you are right. the isopods just feed on the remains of the crickets/roaches etc. not sure if they eat spider poo?

if you already have mites..you can find predatory mites..i don't recall their name..but i'm sure someone will post with some better info. the predatory mites will feed on the parasitic mites but won't be interested in the spider.

edit..i had another question about the isopods though..would the larger ones be a problem with smaller tarantulas? basically i'm thinking of my T. blondi. its only about 2". i'm guessing it would consider the larger ones as food? or would they be likely to stress the spider?
 

P.jasonius

Arachnobaron
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Nov 19, 2006
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If they crawl on or around your T, and are not considered food, they will stress your spider. Their are some spiders which are specifically adapted to a diet of isopod, but I don't think your blondi is one of those. My knowledge on T's is fairly limited, and I could be wrong. The advantage of having the larger isopods, in your case, would be that they are easier to remove. Removal will, of course, be another source of stress.
 
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