Water Striders In Captivity?

[ReignofInvertebrates]

Has anyone had luck with keeping these in captivity? I need a few care tips. Anyone had breeding success? I may go and catch some, because they are very cool critters.

 

[ferrester]

no... its almost impossible to keep them alive unless you have a giant tank or something... mine kept banging on the side of the container and it died few days later...

 

[Tenodera]

Really? I had some several years ago in a shallow aquarium with natural barriers around the walls. Fed them flies and stuff, and they bred readily.

 

[dtknow]

I agree with Tenodera. Keep them in a decent size tank(10 gallon will do). Some emergent plants can help keep them from banging into the walls. in large tanks they can even be kept if you have flowing water-put a ramp on the HOB filter so it doesn't dump straight down and they will face into the current or hang out in the eddies. They do great in standard fish tanks as long as the fish are too small to eat them.

And yes, they do breed readily. Mine glued eggs on the glass. You'll need fruit flies or similar to feed the young.

 

[ReignofInvertebrates]

Thanks for all of the help!

 

[Alejandro45]

Not impossible at all......

Plants on the edge of the tank do the trick or a round enclosure...

Even pelagic water striders live for a longtime but use seaweed...

 

[Smokehound714]

Very easy to raise, they do fly, however, and like all insects, get disoriented by electric lights.

They're easy to feed, all you really need to do is toss a small dead bug in, so it's floating, and they'll eat it.

I think you'd enjoy backswimmers alot more, they're absolutely vicious killing machines.

 

[dtknow]

I've thought of trying to keep Halobates. What did you feed yours alejandro?

 

[ZergFront]

I brought some adults home from a creek and put them into our pond. Lots of bugs would fall in there during the summer. Put those striped water boatman in, too but many of them eventually flew away. Only had a few adults left but I think those might have been ones that were introduced as nymphs. I got them to breed in a kritter keeper. Both very entertaining insects!

 

[Alejandro45]

Dtknow.. I fed them tiny little moths and soft bodied floating inverts.

 

[Deathcap]

I caught 3 from a local creek and put them in my guppy tank so far so good