N. rhombifolia bites the dust

Huntsman

Huntsman

Fourth Instar
Last night I finally gave up on my colony of Harlequins...

I've had no growth in months, and mortalities have occurred despite my adding a substrate, and since info on this species is scarcer than ham at a barmitzva, I now give up! :angry:

Here's something interesting: In cleaning out the Rubbermaid and dumping the substrate, I got to wondering about the small colony of R. pallida, which has somehow found its way into the container. Perhaps these had contributed somehow to the demise of the Harlequins?? I have no evidence at all to support this theory, but it is possible that they are involved, either by dominating the food source or by eating the young. :huh:

Anyway, the R. pallida are present in several of my colonies, and I have just picked them all out of my R. maderae goldi colony, just in case... :P

 
Huntsman said:
Last night I finally gave up on my colony of Harlequins...I've had no growth in months, and mortalities have occurred despite my adding a substrate, and since info on this species is scarcer than ham at a barmitzva, I now give up! :angry:

Here's something interesting: In cleaning out the Rubbermaid and dumping the substrate, I got to wondering about the small colony of R. pallida, which has somehow found its way into the container. Perhaps these had contributed somehow to the demise of the Harlequins?? I have no evidence at all to support this theory, but it is possible that they are involved, either by dominating the food source or by eating the young. :huh:

Anyway, the R. pallida are present in several of my colonies, and I have just picked them all out of my R. maderae goldi colony, just in case... :P
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Do you give a constant supply of water? I've had a roach colony (E. Posticus) which was going downhill until I gave them a supply of water. Since then they do all right.

Those pallid roaches can be a pain in the @$$ sometimes. They're really neat looking but the little ones are really really small. I always prevent that they build up in numbers in my other colonies. Now I've got them in a plastic jar which is 100% escape proof.

 
Hi Maarten

Yep, regular source of moisture viz water crystals, and also the carrots added weekly, but I was obviously missing something...

Ha! Those Pallida are indeed a pain in the &^*%! lol. Babies are perfect for even the smallest tarantula, however, so they are definitely worth keeping, but I reckon I will have to clean the R. pallida species out of my other nine-or-so colonies at least bi-annually! Problem with a 100% secure environment is that there will be zero airflow and mould can become a problem, because as you have noted, the tiny ones get out of the smallest holes...! :lol:

 
I'm relieved to find out someone else has given up on these roaches too. I am down to a single female and nymph after starting with 30+ mixed size. Once these two die, I'm going to start a colony of P. nivea.

 
I keep colonies of about 17 species of roaches and harlequins are the only ones that I haven't been able to keep the colony going. I have bought a dozen of them, twice. I am always leary about escapees anyways, so I think I am done with this species too for now.

 
Yeah I got a colony of these guys and lost them literally by the next night. The only thing I could attribute it to was that it was winter and my bug room is kept at 68 dgs.

 
I can actually report somewhat decent culturing with these guys. I've seen females lay ooths and etc, and I find that keeping them in a damp, heated, enclosed environ does the trick.

 
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