Roach Colony Mold/Mite Solutions?

WeightedAbyss75

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Feb 22, 2014
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Hi! I was wanting to get into roaches in the future. Right now I just own a colony of Dubias. My only question is this: every time I add substrate, it always molds over or gets mites. Not sure if this is from them dying and decaying, or their food, but is there a solution to these? Are there a specific type of mite or "clean up crew" I can add to help prevent this? I would love to get into sp. like P. nivea, but they seem to need loads of humidity and heat. How would this be accomplished, because a nice display tank for the P. nivea is something I have always wanted to do :D

Thanks, Abyss
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
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Apr 18, 2015
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2,453
Hi! I was wanting to get into roaches in the future. Right now I just own a colony of Dubias. My only question is this: every time I add substrate, it always molds over or gets mites. Not sure if this is from them dying and decaying, or their food, but is there a solution to these? Are there a specific type of mite or "clean up crew" I can add to help prevent this? I would love to get into sp. like P. nivea, but they seem to need loads of humidity and heat. How would this be accomplished, because a nice display tank for the P. nivea is something I have always wanted to do :D

Thanks, Abyss
Springtails will help greatly with mold, and This Species has been very good at outcompeting mites for me. They work best in moist enclosures though, so they would be better suited for species like P.nivea for example.

For the dubias I'd just keep their substrate super dry and be sure to remove any leftover food and as many dead bodies as you can. A good clean up crew for the dubias would be these Lesser Mealworms, they do a good job of eating dead roaches and leftover food, and do good in dry conditions. You just need to cull their population every now and then, as they are pretty prolific.
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
Springtails will help greatly with mold, and This Species has been very good at outcompeting mites for me. They work best in moist enclosures though, so they would be better suited for species like P.nivea for example.

For the dubias I'd just keep their substrate super dry and be sure to remove any leftover food and as many dead bodies as you can. A good clean up crew for the dubias would be these Lesser Mealworms, they do a good job of eating dead roaches and leftover food, and do good in dry conditions. You just need to cull their population every now and then, as they are pretty prolific.
I have regular meal worms, would they work? Or could they cause problems with their size? Also, would mixing said sp. together help to reduce it even further? If I had multiple springtail sp., would it be overdoing it?
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Just to mention something. Here in Asia roaches are bred by the zillions for an assortment of reasons. The containment of choice is made entirely of screening mesh with whatever for a bottom. Usually a 1 meter cube. The roaches love to climb and live on the screens and the grubbiness, mold, odor and them frolicking in their own feces kept to a minimum.
 

WeightedAbyss75

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Feb 22, 2014
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I have regular meal worms, would they work? Or could they cause problems with their size?
Just to mention something. Here in Asia roaches are bred by the zillions for an assortment of reasons. The containment of choice is made entirely of screening mesh with whatever for a bottom. Usually a 1 meter cube. The roaches love to climb and live on the screens and the grubbiness, mold, odor and them frolicking in their own feces kept to a minimum.
That sounds really interesting! :D A picture would help me to imagine it. That almost seems impossible for me though, as Illinois is pretty dry right now, and my house isn't very warm. Sounds like a cool idea though, are there any decorations in the screen cages or is it just barren?
 

Hisserdude

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I have regular meal worms, would they work? Or could they cause problems with their size? Also, would mixing said sp. together help to reduce it even further? If I had multiple springtail sp., would it be overdoing it?
Nah, the Tenebrio molitor probably won't work, they don't take care of dead bodies as well as the Alphitobius do.
You can mix and match springtail species, however the Tropical pink springtails are so prolific that you really don't need any others lol!
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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A picture would help me to imagine it. That almost seems impossible for me though, as Illinois is pretty dry right now, and my house isn't very warm. Sounds like a cool idea though, are there any decorations in the screen cages or is it just barren?
I really need to take a camera with me when I go to those markets. Been meaning to get shots of the roach cages for ages. Open top, some sort of slick plastic around the upper rim. Normally that blue plastic mesh commonly used as sun screens for potting houses. They just put the entire box in the back of a truck and go to the markets.
It should be noted they produce so many roaches, sold in fractions of a kilo, that there is no concern of a few dozen dying off now and then.
 
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