Matttoadman Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 So I have had a colony of Eublaberus serranus since 2016. I have kept them in a 10 gallon fish tank with around 6 inches of coconut fiber , bark pieces and stick for the adults to rest on. I usually see around 30 adults with several dozen nymphs of various sizes. I keep the substrate mostly damp and mist weekly, feed oats a couple times a week, and add fruit and veggie scraps almost daily. I feed cat food sporadically. The temp is 75-80. The numbers are with me removing some for feeding my lizards. But that was usually 12-24 nymphs a week and maybe 2 males a week. But my numbers held. The past several months my numbers have dropped. I have maybe had 6-12 adults and a couple dozen almost ready to mature and a couple dozen fresh nymphs. I stopped pulling out any to feed. When I add food it used to disappear with in seconds. Now I see oats and fruit on the surface for days. I have had to remove it to keep out flies. No dead found. Do colonies start to fizzle over time? Do I need to add some fresh blood? The substrate looks the same as always(smells like fresh garden soil) but maybe I need to refresh the substrate or add to it? Any other tips for maintaining a colony long term? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 Try moving some or all to a new setup. My serranus is from maybe 2007 and they seem fine in the same cage. I have other roach colonies that have been in the same cage since 1995. My discoidalis I've had since 89 and the portentosa are an unmixed line from 72. Usually a change in care level, or differences in weather that affect indoor conditions are the problem. There is afungus that can wipe out a colony but I've only seen the fungus take out Corydia and Polyphaga and it still takes a few years to blow out a decent colony. Sadly it ends in 100% mortality eventually no matter what you do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matttoadman Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 I haven’t seen any evidence of premature death so hopefully it’s not that. I did a partial substrate change (1/3) cause I realized it has been a while since I added any. I also moisturized all the substrate and removed any debris. I found a lot of peach and cherry pits, pumpkin stems etc. my wife reminded me we were feeding three leopard geckos and a bearded dragon and added three more leopard geckos. So have a feeling I have been feeding from it more than I realize. I looked through it last night and I found several newly matured adults. I also got a start of Eublaberus “ivory” to get a second colony going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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