Possible Roach colony

[Tleilaxu]

I am interested in starting up my own feeder roach colony but I am unsure what roach I should use. Can someone please give me the roach that BEST falls with in the criteria I give. Also any hard won advice is welcome. Thanks!

1. Cannot climb glass
2. Breeds moderately fast
3. Is not fussy about tempuratures
4. Is not attractive... I dont want roaches that I will get attached to.
5. No "personality" For the same reason above.
6. Can live comforably in a ten gallon aquarium.
7. Is fairly soft bodied (for a roach)

 

[scottyk]

Lobsters cover all except #1

Dubia don't breed as quickly and may possibly be considered cute. They also need some extra warmth.

Lobsters are closest, but I don't think any one species meets all of your requirements.

 

[BurrowDweller]

B. lateralis fills all of those. They lay eggs so they are a little slower than lobsters, but once they get going you can't stop them. I have 3 colonies going right now and plan to get up to six, they make great feeders and look enough like a regular old house roach you will have no bad feelings about feeding them off.

 

[Spc.Fred]

Blatica dubia mostly the prefer one easy to keep no mess pretty much your whole list is cover with this B. Dubia.

 

[Takumaku]

dubia will fail #4&5. There is nothing more cuter than watching a dubia roach 'play dead'.

Basically any roach specie can be used as feeder, but some just cost too much (rhinos come to mind). Orangeheads, discoids (or any blaberus specie), B. fumigata will all fit this bill.

How many animals and how many feeders will you be using to feed per week?

How long are you willing to wait before you start feeding your animals from your colony?

Ballpark figure, how much are you willing to spend to start a colony?

 

[Tleilaxu]

I am feeding wasps and hornets, and turtles. I am willing to wait three months for the colony to start small scale production. I am willing to spend 30 USA dollars maximum. I will be feeding at least three to five a day. (nymphs)

I am thinking B. lateralis since everyone so far thinks they are pests and not good looking, but if they can climb glass then no.

 

[Xaranx]

When people say lateralis is a pest, they mean it can actually infest your house fairly easily and breed in those conditions, which is why I won't keep them. Dubias cant really be a pest unless you live in the south. I have them and dont consider them cute. I'm a guy though, and my scorpions must eat. You will want to keep them a little warmer for the first few months just to get them jumpstarted on breeding, but once you get established you can drop it to 75ish and breeding will slow down a lot. Start running low just crank the heat up.

 

[Tleilaxu]

When people say lateralis is a pest, they mean it can actually infest your house fairly easily and breed in those conditions, which is why I won't keep them. Dubias cant really be a pest unless you live in the south. I have them and dont consider them cute. I'm a guy though, and my scorpions must eat. You will want to keep them a little warmer for the first few months just to get them jumpstarted on breeding, but once you get established you can drop it to 75ish and breeding will slow down a lot. Start running low just crank the heat up.

CAN they (lateralis) climb glass? If so then I need to move to another species.

 

[dtknow]

lateralis cannot climb glass...but people still report them escaping occasionally.

 

[Tleilaxu]

Sweet lats and lobs it is! I just looked at their pics and I could crush those without feeling remorse, though they would be put to more productive use.

 

[scottyk]

LOL- When I see one of my T's out and looking hungry I have no problem pinching some Dubia heads.

Let us know how it goes if you get the Lats. I'm loathe to try them for the aforementioned reasons. I have Dubia and am adding Lobsters next. They are supposed to be tops for providing lots of small, soft bodied, juicy nymphs for sling feeding...

 

[dtknow]

I wish I could say the same Theilaxu.

I dumped about 100+ baby lateralis on the floor and after trying to round them up for a few seconds it became clear that I'd have to kill most of them since their was no practical way I could think of to collect them all. Maybe it was the $$ I spent or that they were delicious food for my animals but I felt rather sad wasting them all in that manner.

 

[BurrowDweller]

I raise a ton of lats and they do get away from me from time to time. Have had zero problem with them establishing in the house. With central air and heat going they dry out very quickly. Ususally find them dried up and dead near the fish tank or in the bathroom.

 

[cacoseraph]

Sweet lats and lobs it is! I just looked at their pics and I could crush those without feeling remorse, though they would be put to more productive use.

lats and lobs. i have hard time getting lats to produce as they lay oothecae. lobs are internal "gestators" and stupid easy to get super fecund


intereseting thing about lats... MM lats are accepted by just about every MM tarantula i have ever kept. MF and immatures don't have the same appeal for some reason


lats can do wing boosted jumps so don't have ANY holes or whatever in their tanks. mynphs are tiny enough they can use claws to scale moisture adhered dust and dirt on the sides of the container after a while

 

[ZooRex]

When people say lateralis is a pest, they mean it can actually infest your house fairly easily and breed in those conditions, which is why I won't keep them

I completley agree, I've had bad experiences with both lats an lobs which is why I don't keep them. I don't care what anybody says, both have breed for me with out me knowing in places they weren't supposed to be. Both species can infest them home, so I'd watch out. At the moment I just started a colony of B.dubia and am loving it, I can't wait till I have an unlimited supply. For me I never worry about getting attatched to them, they are roaches, not pets. They breed fast to help sustain nature which is why they make such great feeders. ~ Rex

 

[andy83]

I would say go with a larger species because you'll get a better variety of sizes to feed. Blaberus somethin.... Eublaberus prosticus has been working out for me but they may be too pretty looking for you.

Rubbermaids and the like work out pretty well instead of glass sometimes for colonies. They're easier to heat and tend to stay more humid.

 

[bluefrogtat2]

agree

agree that both lat's and lobsters are pests,got rid of both,but prosticus are far too agressive for t's,afraid to leave them in containers,i only feed them to lizards,now my distanti colony is another story,a nice fat nymph will fatten anything