starter colony of diff. roach species?

[rgfx]

I'm thinking of starting a colony of different feeder roaches, possibly: Blaptica dubia, Pycnoscelus surinamensis, Panchlora nivea.
I've read they can cohabit okay, but will they still be alright when breeding?

What size tank will be needed? I was thinking of using a planted terrarium about 18-24"L x12"W x18"H, with the plants in pots along one side, and a removable tray of substrate (John Innes compost), and some climbing & hiding features.
The colony has to live in my studio, on display, so it needs to be presentable.
The reason I wanna plant up the front side is so it makes the... errr... "tropical beetles" a bit less obvious

 

[Ecilious]

Real plants and cockroaches do not mix. That should be your first consideration. If you want somethig interesting to look at I'd say go with Giant hissers, compost/bed-a-beast/chipped bark in the bottom, several lengths of flat cork bark stacked vertically along the back with trailing artificial plants hanging over them and maybe a few small standing plants to the sides to leave the center foreground open for a natural-rock-effect food dish and a water dish with some liquid gel. Make sure you have a well ventilated, secure lid 'cause those nymphs can really squeze themselves.

That's assuming you want something to look good. If on the other hand you want something to produce food, I'd say go with surinam or lobsters in a secure "rubber maid" which you can tuck out of the way and out of sight, which will benifit them as well as you.

 

[Pofecks]

Here's a good link

Blaptica dubia colony setup

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=463

 

[xelda]

I'm not sure about mixing those species simply because they've got different set-up requirements that would just be an invitation for mites if you try to cram them all into one enclosure. I imagine it would also be a pain to do cage cleanings when you've got roaches burrowed in the substrate, roaches climbing on the sides, and roaches flying out all at the same time.

 

[rgfx]

cheers you lot, I've seen the b.dubia thread, but I really don't have room for a big tub hidden away, you've probably no idea how small flats in brighton are! (unless you have a few grand a month. for example average 1 bed flat:£650/$1170+ per month)

I don't want noisy hissers thanks.

Quote Xelda:
"I imagine it would also be a pain to do cage cleanings when you've got roaches burrowed in the substrate, roaches climbing on the sides, and roaches flying out all at the same time."

Yeah, I did think that might be a nightmare. But I'm a bit of a romantic, and kind of like the idea of feeding (as close to) native prey as poss. to my avics and versis,

Okay, I'm gonna start with one type of roach first, to see how i get on. B.dubia are best yeah?
how many roaches in the tank?

 

[Ecilious]

£650 a month isn't that bad, and in my experience at least hissers aren't noisy.

But yeah, B. dubai are a nice easy species to keep, they like to burry themselves a bit, or atleast mine did. I'd say start with twenty adults and you'll soon have hundreds if you keep them on heat.

EDIT: Post pictures!

 

[rgfx]

£650 a month isn't that bad, and in my experience at least hissers aren't noisy.

But yeah, B. dubai are a nice easy species to keep, they like to burry themselves a bit, or atleast mine did. I'd say start with twenty adults and you'll soon have hundreds if you keep them on heat.

EDIT: Post pictures!

Actually its gonna be more like £750 for somewhere half-decent now,(I'm flat-hunting at the moment, and thoughts of a T room are beginning to loom) which is a bloody fortune for a starving freelance designer.

Having hundreds of baby roaches sounds like another excuse for buying more Ts.... hmmm... maybe this isn't such a good idea....