Roach breeding.

[Truffs1178]

I have just setup a tank for breeding roaches in. It is my brothers Breaded Dragons old tank since he just got a new one. I don't know how big it is but I plan to breed Turkistan, Dubia, Madagascan Hissing and Lobster roaches in it because they will all breed in the warmth but have a few questions. There is a heat mat underneath 2/3 of the tank and a heat bulb which is keeping the air temp at about 31 to 34 degrees Celsius (89 to 93) out in the open but it think it is cooler under all the egg crates if they get to hot.

1. Non of these roaches will fight or eat other species will they?

2. Which of these species breeds the fastest?

3. Can I just feed them on dog food, oranges, apples, potatoes and other veggies or do they need more? This is what I have fed my Dubias on before.

4. Is the temp ok?

5. Which is the most nutritious or are they all pretty much the same?

I will be adding more egg crates and paper towel tubes for hiding spots. The background is only there because I didn't take it off when I got the tank.

[poison]

1)They all fight but hissers fight the worst and often kill each other.

2)Turkistan in my experience (never had lobsters)

3) Dog food is a poor diet for roaches. Keep in mind these roaches will be going to your animal as feeders.

4)temps seem fine.

5) blatta lateralis are the most nutritious out of the ones you have listed but they are not so big.

do you plan on mixing species?

[demon amphibians]

Your temps in that range should be fine, dont worry about different temps under the egg crates unless they seem to gather to the warmer areas.

1. It is always good to keep them seperated unless you are keeping them as display pets. They will be to hard to sort. Some people believe they will fight. I personnally think that they will co-exist perfectly fine (not sure about the Turkistan) as long as you keep the moisture right and feed them well.

2. They all breed roughly at the same pace. Hisser may be slightly slower.
3. You can things such as lettuce, squash, carrots, melon, Oranges and may other fruits and veggis, But do not feed Dog, food, cat food or items high in protein. It will slow breeding and your death rate will be much higher.
4. your temps will do fine.
5. They all have the same nutrional value.


Be sure to keep them in a dark place. If to much light is introduced the breeding will be poor.

[Truffs1178]

1)They all fight but hissers fight the worst and often kill each other.

2)Turkistan in my experience (never had lobsters)

3) Dog food is a poor diet for roaches. Keep in mind these roaches will be going to your animal as feeders.

4)temps seem fine.

5) blatta lateralis are the most nutritious out of the ones you have listed but they are not so big.

do you plan on mixing species?

I was going to mix species but if that's a bad idea then I won't. Surely if they are all well fed and have plenty of space these non aggressive, scavengers won't fight.

[Truffs1178]

Your temps in that range should be fine, dont worry about different temps under the egg crates unless they seem to gather to the warmer areas.

1. It is always good to keep them seperated unless you are keeping them as display pets. They will be to hard to sort. Some people believe they will fight. I personnally think that they will co-exist perfectly fine (not sure about the Turkistan) as long as you keep the moisture right and feed them well.

2. They all breed roughly at the same pace. Hisser may be slightly slower.
3. You can things such as lettuce, squash, carrots, melon, Oranges and may other fruits and veggis, But do not feed Dog, food, cat food or items high in protein. It will slow breeding and your death rate will be much higher.
4. your temps will do fine.
5. They all have the same nutrional value.


Be sure to keep them in a dark place. If to much light is introduced the breeding will be poor.

Are you sure? I have read in lots of places to give them dog or cat food as well as fruits and veggies.

[poison]

I was going to mix species but if that's a bad idea then I won't. Surely if they are all well fed and have plenty of space these non aggressive, scavengers won't fight.

Hissers will fight no matter how much space or food you give them. When males find each other they will headbutt each other.

[Truffs1178]

Hissers will fight no matter how much space or food you give them. When males find each other they will headbutt each other.

Will they fight all other roaches or can they tell if its a male hisser? I was going to mix the different species. If a hisser came across a dubia would it attack or just wander by?

[poison]

Males give off a musky odor so they only attack the males. Not sure if they would attack other species though.

[demon amphibians]

Are you sure? I have read in lots of places to give them dog or cat food as well as fruits and veggies.

Yes, i know it is on care sheets all over the place but i have more than enough evidence to prove that high protien is bad. even though they do seem to like these items. There is a long discusion about this topic named dubia+protien. Lots of good info in it. But keep that a secret because it gives me an edge on all other dubia selling competitors. he he.

[demon amphibians]

Males give off a musky odor so they only attack the males. Not sure if they would attack other species though.

Absolutly. Male dubias and hissers fight like cats and dogs. That is why you have the 1 male 3 females rule. It reduces the fighting suggnificantly. But you will always have the male compitition with both species. That is just part of there nature. But I didnt think that the two species would compete with each other because they do not cross breed. Nymphs however will not fight or compete. I have only kept nymphs of both spieces together.

[Truffs1178]

Absolutly. Male dubias and hissers fight like cats and dogs. That is why you have the 1 male 3 females rule. It reduces the fighting suggnificantly. But you will always have the male compitition with both species. That is just part of there nature.

Roaches fighting is natural so I presume I can mix these species with lots of females and not many males.

[demon amphibians]

Roaches fighting is natural so I presume I can mix these species with lots of females and not many males.

It would be your best bet. Just keep in mind dubia and hissers will not cannibalize if conditions are right if they do it will be some little you will not even notice. BUT other spieces will cannibalize. And other speices will be more aggressive. Poison may be able to give you better info on the various other speices. Now you can successfully keep these speices together. you may have fighting here and there but it will not be a full out war. The point Poison and I are trying to get to is they will do just fine together but breeding will not be optimal. Just like the protien diet your colony will flourish even if fed cat and dog food. But breeding will be 4 times higher if you do not feed protien. And you will have less random deaths. It is really hard to go wrong with roaches so long as you provide the proper temps, humidty and food. We just want you to get the full potential out of your bugs.
And finally to answer your question yes you want at least 1 male to every 3 females. The larger your colony the less the ratio. for example A 500 adult female colony will only require 100 males maybe even less then that. Right now i have my colony about 1 male to 8 females and they are breeding faster then i can get rid of them.

[Truffs1178]

Ok thanks guys. In case you were wondering the reason I want each of these species is because Dubias are the most common and nutritious, Turkistan are fast and draw lots of attention to them selves, lobsters breed really fast and hisses are big.

[poison]

Blatta lateralis will definitely cannibalize if not kept feed. These guy eat a LOT. They only species of roach that I have that actually runs away with their food lol. But if kept well feed then not much to worry about. I was gone for a couple days to come back to several half eaten nymphs.

[poison]

And yes I agree, keeping these species together will slow down breeding. Hell I even seperate the nymphs from my adult hissers and dubia and they breed much faster this way.

[demon amphibians]

And yes I agree, keeping these species together will slow down breeding. Hell I even seperate the nymphs from my adult hissers and dubia and they breed much faster this way.

I do the same and it makes a huge difference when you have a large colony. It is better for the nymphs and the adults to do this.

[Truffs1178]

Do roaches need to have a heat ma or can they breed if the air temp is 32 degrees. My roach room is really warm at 32 degrees celcius and it would be more expensive to use more heat mats. I am going to breed the different species in different containers like you guys suggested.

[poison]

having a high ambient temp works just fine

[Truffs1178]

What species of cockroach have you bred before?

[poison]

Dubia, hissers, blatta lateralis and just started on bananas and red heads