Matt K Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Culturing these... who can resist such a cute bug? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Driggers Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Those are pretty cool looking. hw easy are they to care for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 Super easy. They feed on wheat germ and flake fishfood. They eat very little. You never water them EVER and they like to be kept around 100'F. (I use a reptile cage heater). Nymphs hatch out aboutthe size of the period at the end of this sentence. They grow to around 3/4 of an inch long (pictured). Great food for small creatures incl. dart frog, slings, etc. **Caution. They need to be kept in a sealed container with a paper filter for a screen/air. If you have a hot place in the house (ie. over a water heater, radiator, stove, oven, refridgerator compressor, etc.) they can live there. Though they seem not inclined to escape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsc Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Crazy Matt- You have all sorts of critters you're working with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roachfreak101 Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Hey Matt, people, clue me in what kind of insect are they? I've heard of them, but know nothing about them. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bricktop Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Hey Matt, people, clue me in what kind of insect are they? I've heard of them, but know nothing about them. Ken They look like some kind of primitive silverfish/firebrat type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted August 19, 2007 Author Share Posted August 19, 2007 Ooops. That is a photo of a Fire Brat.... Rockbrats are more angular and alpine ..the culture I have is not tolerating Texas so well.... FIREBRATS, one of the most primitive of all insects living today. Neat-o to culture, good food for anything that eats small bugs. They reproduce pretty quickly in extreme heat. Water them and they die off pretty fast too. I like the novelty of something that requires no water to live... small, only up to 3/4 inch, but kinda colorful and active off and on. Super easy to rear. I just like keeping all sorts of bugs. Its the best fun I have had for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Driggers Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Ooops. That is a photo of a Fire Brat.... Rockbrats are more angular and alpine ..the culture I have is not tolerating Texas so well.... FIREBRATS, one of the most primitive of all insects living today. Neat-o to culture, good food for anything that eats small bugs. They reproduce pretty quickly in extreme heat. Water them and they die off pretty fast too. I like the novelty of something that requires no water to live... small, only up to 3/4 inch, but kinda colorful and active off and on. Super easy to rear. I just like keeping all sorts of bugs. Its the best fun I have had for the most part. Where can I get a culture of these critters? I think DoubleD's was selling cultures at one time, do you know of anyone else selling them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share Posted August 20, 2007 Where can I get a culture of these critters? I think DoubleD's was selling cultures at one time, do you know of anyone else selling them? Double D's may or may not have them, but they keep anything they have had in the past few years on thier site anyway. I think Blaberus.com may be having them in the near future. When I emailed James a while back he told me he was trying to establish reliable lines of various "feeder" bugs including firebrats. If he started some at or after I started mine, I would guess he should be due in two or three months for them... maybe a little less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Are they related to silverfish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 Found two silverfish over the course of the past year, accidentally crushed both. D: I've been wanting to culture Thysanura for ages. T.T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EffeCi Posted September 28, 2007 Share Posted September 28, 2007 I guess Rockbrats are Thysanura, Family Machilidae (Jumping Bristletails?)... I often meet them during the night in my bug-huntings... I'm happily breeding silverfishes... I built my starting colony catching them one by one, on the wall in front of my home, at night, walking my dog.... Here are some pictures... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demon Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 were do you find those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 Actually they are not uncommon in bakeries. They love heat and flour dust in dry tight spaces. Mine interest me because I rarely feed them (wheat germ is the food item) and they have had no water in almost 2 years. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosenKrieger Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I just caught one of these at school today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scythemantis Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I have always wanted to culture silverfish, especially big ones (none are particularly big, but a few get larger than those pictured so far, I think)...but I've only ever found maybe two in my entire life! I'd buy some if anybody finds a few. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 ...Ooops. I made a small goof and lost my entire colony of Thermobia domestica. If any one has some let me know and maybe we can trade roaches for Firebrats.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I'd help you out Matt, but the colony you sent me burned out too. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Effeci: Where do they lay their eggs and how do you keep the eggs for hatching? How do you provide moisture in that setup? It doesn't look like there's any water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiqos Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Question! Can these at any point be considered replacements for pinheads as feeders for other young arachnids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Question! Can these at any point be considered replacements for pinheads as feeders for other young arachnids? Yes. Thety can replace pinhead crickets as they can be caught / fed at half that size on up to the size of a one week old cricket or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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