Sunburst Diving Beetles

[shoegazer]

Anyone keeping these or any other diving beetles in general? From what I've read, these guys are basically in any pool of water throughout AZ, NM, and TX. I actually saw some in the vicinity of Tuscon, AZ in the dead of winter in '04.

I keep some native midwest Thermonectus and Cybister.

 

[spydrhunter1]

Never kept them..but after doing a web search I would be extremely interested. If your ever interested in shipping, let me know.

 

[beetleman]

oh yeah diving beetles are awesome captives:clap: ive kept the sunbursts, almost all of the n.a. dytisctids(spelling) cybisters too. they are like little piranhas when you feed them they do excellent in captivity and have pretty long life spans. ive even raised the larvas of the cybisters,the larvas are just as awesome as the adults.

 

[shoegazer]

Well, to those who are interested in acquiring diving beetles, just go swipe up some leaves and plant debris from a local pond. They're there. I agree, they're like pirahnas and can be kept in multiple species tanks if fed well. Really cool vivarium subjects.

Anyway, I'm hoping to find someone who knows where to find this particular species (Thermonectus marmoratus).

 

[froggyman]

do you keep them in a half water half land set up or half filled tank with some logs and rocks?

 

[shoegazer]

I actually don't give them any land to speak of, but they can crawl out somewhat onto the filter or on top of aquatic plants. They'll stay totally aquatic as long as you feed them well. Males will often start trying to crawl out and fly away if there are no females around.

 

[Brian S]

I used to keep several diferent species of Diving Beetles when I was a kid. They are great captives indeed and will attack small fish and tadpoles. The larvae (often called Water Tiger) is even more voracious LOL.

 

[spydrhunter1]

This is a Western species of diving beetle. Does anyone know of a source for purchasing?

 

[Brian S]

I think Golden Phoenix Exotica has or had them listed. You might check there

 

[beetleman]

hatari invertebrates always has them, they are in portal arizona

 

[shoegazer]

ouch...7.50$ each is a bit much.

 

[beetleman]

yeah, i know, they should be cheaper than that when i got some years ago from them,they sent me alot of extras which worked out pretty good. they are very small,but still very cool little guys.

 

[shoegazer]

Were you able to breed them? How long did they live?

I can't find any info on lifespan. When I found them on Mt. Lemmon in AZ a few years back, it was the middle of January and ice cold temps. So I imagine the adults must last at least a couple years.

 

[beetleman]

they did breed in the ten gallon tank they were in,i had about 10 of them,lot's of live plants in there, they lay very large eggs for their small size,the larva hatched out and were swimming about,they are very small also,there was a bunch of them,but by the time i wanted to seperate all of them they vanished,ofcourse the adults got to them, but then i found a loner larva in there so i got that one out quickly and raised it to an adult,very cool critters,my adults lived for about 3 and a half years(i purchased them as adults) maybe they live longer,i the 1 i raised from a larva didn't live that long,about a year which is wierd.

 

[shoegazer]

Thanks for the info, it helps immensely. Did they lay on/in the plant stems or in the substrate?

 

[beetleman]

the eggs were laid right on the stems against the glass,that's how i can see the eggs,it's like they "pushed" the eggs there,right below the waterline.you can see the eggs piled up there it was really cool. hope this helps ya

 

[shoegazer]

Yes indeed. :worship:

Now it might actually be worth it I think to pick up a few sexed beetles from Hatari.

 

[beetleman]

awesome! you will have alot of fun with these little guys:clap:

 

[CustomNature]

Hey beetleman, you spraked my interest in the sunbursts again. I had them about 2 or 3 years ago and I kept them in a tank with a divider so it was about 70% water and 30% land. I couldn't find any information on how to care for or rear them so thats why I went with that setup. For all I knew, they laid their eggs on the land/mud. Can you just give me a quick description of the tank setup needed for them???? Was the bottom of the tank mud/peat or sand??? Lots of live plants right?? How about any filtration?? I would love to try breeding these guys.

 

[dtknow]

I think the larvae need to have access to land to pupate correct? Some literature says they crawl up the shoreline a distance before digging a pupating chamber.