Psytalla horrida colony question

[BoyFromLA]

It’s that time of the season again, Psytalla horrida are preparing to breed again.

I always separated nymphs from the adults once they are hatched, but this time around, I am going to keep them together for the first time.

Here are my questions to those of who keep the Psytalla horrida colony (or any other assassin bugs colony) without separating:

• How do you feed? - I feed them live red runner roaches, and I just drop bunch of them in the enclosures, and I don’t think it would be good idea if I keep the nymphs together.

• Would the eggs be safe while some red runner roaches move around in the enclosure?

• Psytalla horrida would dare to take pre killed feeders? - I never tried this method with them since they are natural born hunters, but this would be nice attempt if I keep the nymphs together.

• Psytalla horrida would share meals with the nymphs? Or would I need to prepare separate meals for the nymphs?

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Yes, yes, no, yes, no.

 

[Hisserdude]

I think separating nymphs from adults and only keeping similar sized nymphs together is best for maximizing survival rates, just saying, those who keep their communally normally have rather minimal reproduction in comparison, and Pystalla seem to do best in rather dry setups, but their eggs need humidity, so keeping adults and nymphs in a humid setup all the time can lead to higher die offs. A lot of people don't realize these are species that come from pretty arid habitats, and with the exception of the eggs, don't require moisture of any kind besides what's provided in their food.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Pystalla seem to do best in rather dry setups, but their eggs need humidity

Indeed, I do not water them at all, unless they’re into breeding.

 

[RoachCoach]

New to keeping P. Horrida, but so far my experience has been to keep it dry. This is for sub adults btw. I throw almost the equal amount of runners to assassins that don't look swol. I've read a bit and like others say you should sift out the eggs that will be laid in a moist corner or literally scattered all about the substrate. They like like mini acorns. By far THE best active hunter there is in this entire hobby if not of anything. Watching a runner get yeehaw rodeo cwoboy'd by a nymph 1/2 its size is one of the best things ever.

 

[KaroKoenig]

I picked out those eggs that I found and let them hatch in a small critter keeper with some small cork bark pieces and slightly moist soil. I didn't do that to maximize survival rate, actually. It was more because I was worried the tiny nymphs might slip through the gap in the terrarium doors (Exo Terra 20 cm cube).
Fed them prekilled with no problems at all. Left them in there for one molt and then re-introduced them back into the big tank (which is an Exo Terra 30 cm cube now that I have a ton of babies). In there, I do a mix of live and prekilled prey. My problem is that I have no feeder colonies; I buy small/medium locusts or medium silent crickets for my tarantulas. So that's the prey size I have - too big for a horrida 1st instar. The live prey is for the adults, a dead locust or two is placed somewhere near where many of the nymphs are hiding. Here are some observations I made:

- They happily scavenge on crickets and locusts.
- Mine didn't touch whole mealworms, not even dead ones (crushed head). As soon as you cut them in half, they were all for it.
- The nymphs especially are very light sensitive. So place dead prey items in a shady area or just trust they will find it at night. They do.
- I observed nymphs eating together with an adult on the same item several times. No aggression.
- I also observed that nymphs will scavenge off the leftovers the adults drop. So I usually leave those in there for another day/night. I then remove them before they rot too much.
- In the nursery critter keeper, I observed one case of cannibalism (with around 30+ nymphs all in all). I can't tell if it was actively killed or if it just died and was scavenged on. Apart from that, they are totally not aggressive towards each other.

Setup (see attached photo):
- Topsoil from a nearby beech forest, not treated. It has all the good stuff in it already, so why kill that?
- a mix of cork bark flats and small tubes
- The succulent in the front left is a live plant. It grows very well in that soil and probably helps with keeping the climate somewhat more stable in there. The green stuff in the back are some fake plants/leaves I had lying around. A bit of decoration to please the eye. Not necessary.
- Seashells as water dishes. A big one, and two small ones nearer where most of the nymphs hide.
- a shotglass of water every week for the plant. Another one for the rest of the enclosure. So all in all mostly dry to slightly moist. Seems to work like a charm.

 

[BoyFromLA]

Thank you!

 

[Matts inverts]

If you keep them with the adults some people keep isopods so when they hatch, they hunt isopods as part of their diet. I would also drop in small feeders like roaches or crickets