Super millipede tank!

[Gr8Reptile]

Hey I have a ten gallon and a dream. I was thinking of filling it with as many beautiful species of millies I could get to cohabitate and so far here is my list:

Thai rainbow millipede
Bumble bee millipede
Veitnamese rainbow millipede


Anything else you guys can add to the list would be great?!
And do I have anyones support
or should I give up my dream of owning multitudes of breeds of millies together? I already know to steer clear of AGB's and I am also wondering if the millipedes listed above can live together?

 

[redknee_freak]

i say go for it, i have done this before and worked out fine with desert species

BUT you will have people telling not to due to mix breeding purposes

 

[Andrew273]

Wait, why steer clear of AGBs?

 

[corwin3180]

Im wondering the same thing....

 

[Scolopendra]

in a 10 gal? go big, get a 40+ gal tank. and yeah...why not AGB's? and interbreeding shouldnt even be a concern. they're considered individual species for a reason...that they cant...

 

[Gr8Reptile]

Because they are too big. They will crush the smaller millies just walking over them. AGB's have unusually thick hides. They also tend to eat other millies if protein and calcium are not provided. Not to mention the mites they carry are harmful to smaller breeds.

 

[Andrew273]

Well that shut me up... I see your point now. It should have been obvious lol.

 

[buthus]

Because they are too big. They will crush the smaller millies just walking over them. AGB's have unusually thick hides. They also tend to eat other millies if protein and calcium are not provided. Not to mention the mites they carry are harmful to smaller breeds.

Have kept multiple species together ...including AGBs. Experienced non of the above.

Crushing ...no way. Milllipedes are tough, big or small. I always found them crawling all over each other. Smaller species will often be found riding the larger ones ...like worm riders of Dune.

Mites ..if you have bad mites on one specie they will probably spread. But, bad mites are bad mites and should be considered a problem multiple species or not. The mites that AGBs carry are NOT harmful in the least bit ...infact they are necessary for the health of the pedes. And... from what I have observed, the AGB mites do not transfer themselves to other species. I never observed a single AGB mite on another specie.

Note: There are valid arguments for not keeping multiple species together.
Obviously bad mites and disease should be factored into such a decision along with reproductive problems via egg/young consumption. (whos eating who ...thats the question to be answered)

 

[keqwow]

....different species are able to interbreed...though the offspring may not be fertile. Do a google search for "zonkey" or "Liger." My uncle out in California just produced a zonkey....they are quite popular in the pet trade. Ligers not so much....way too big.

 

[Gr8Reptile]

But your thinking of mammels. No we are talking about millipedes and the specific reason they cannot breed is because when ready to mate the female will release feremones in a trail that the male will follow straight to here and they will mate.But each species has its own specific smell and feremone chemical which the males follow. Thus when they see a female of a different species they will not "view" them as a potential mate.

 

[sarahpede]

my 20 gal tank has 3 ranbow milli 1 albinow 2 desert 5 abg's and live happily together

 

[gphx]

At the moment you're a newer millipede keeper looking for something visually exciting, which a mixed group can be. Later you'll be an experienced keeper and, hopefully, a breeder, as that's part of the journey too. You don't want to get there a couple years down the road with a 10 or 40 gallon tank full of hundreds of babies you will have no idea of the identity of until a year or two later when they are nearly mature. Telling apart the offspring of a few of the species you have listed could prove difficult, especially to someone new.

An advantage of having multiple smaller cultures is that, if you try something new, you can try it on one culture. Try something new, feed the wrong food, get mites, etc. in a giant monoculture and there goes everything in one shot. Additionally, should a species seem to have slightly different preferences than the others, individual needs can be easily addressed.

In the end many people may tell you not to for reasons they've learned from hard experience and it may be a lesson one has to repeat for themselves to understand. I say this as a person who always has to know 'why' first hand myself.