Which Breed should I get?

[yasha2802]

I was looking (at roachcrossing) to get some more roaches pets and/or feeders and would like some options on a few. Differences, similarities, Housing, Size, Speed of growth, activity level, personality, difficulty/easy of keeping, stuff like that.

 

Blaberus fusca     Says it's a nice feeder and I think they look cool. Think all of these look cool.

Blaberus colosseus "Peru/Ecuador"     Says there easy to care for and shy but ok to handle

Blabrus atropos "Florida"     Again says good feeder but not much more info.

 

Then for more of a pet roach I was looking at this list. Could they still be used as feeders if they end up breeding to much? I'm guessing they would just be better to try rehousing if the over populate.

Gyna centurio

Lucihormetica verrucosa

Neostylopyga rhhombifolia

Archimandrite tesselata

 

I also was thinking about setting up a 55 gallon roach tank and wanted to know what maybe a few good types that may stay out in the open to watch. If theirs a few types I could mix to watch in it. Thinking it would look nice to have a few fake trees in it. Something more decorative.

[vfox]

Blaberus and Archimandrita have very similar care, grow at a moderately slow pace and aren't ootheca bearing so they can be housed together without much of an issue. The Gyna genus and N. rhombifolia have pretty specific care so I wouldn't combine them. L. verrucosa can probably be housed with smaller Blaberus species like discoidalis but they will be out-competed/bred by them as well. 

[Axolotl]

I can't speak to the Blaberus, but the Gyna reproduce extremely fast. Each birth can have up to 200 nymphs. I started with 6 tiny G. centurio nymphs 9 months ago and now have several thousand. They don't need a ton of space due to being so small, and I bet they would be great feeders for dart frogs or other small herps, but they spend a lot of time buried in the substrate so you might not see them out during the day.

If you're looking for a nice display species, I would recommend hissers (especially G. grandidieri) or Blaberus giganteus. Both are huge, active and stay out in the open most of the time. Plus, the B. giganteus wings fluoresce under blacklight. If you wanted to keep populations in check, you could go with males only. 

I'd love to see your 55g setup when it's done. I'm working on designing a large multi-species terrarium myself, so I'm always looking for new ideas.

[vfox]

2 hours ago, Axolotl said:

Plus, the B. giganteus wings fluoresce under blacklight. 

They do!? I need to test that out on some dead specimens I have. I only have 5 small nymphs at the moment. 

[Tleilaxu]

I'd get some Periplaneta species, or red runners, the "roachy roaches" are interesting captives as well, with Periplaneta americana having a very bold personality.

And to think a few short months ago I was nervous about keeping them.

[vfox]

3 hours ago, Tleilaxu said:

I'd get some Periplaneta species, or red runners, the "roachy roaches" are interesting captives as well, with Periplaneta americana having a very bold personality.

And to think a few short months ago I was nervous about keeping them.

Periplaneta is still my favorite genus, Blatta orientalis is also fantastic if you like personality. But for a large enclosure I wouldn't recommend them, too many chances to escape. Lats wouldn't be a bad choice though because they can't really do more than flutter fly and can't climb smooth surfaces.