So I have a 20 gal glass tank with roughly 200 1/2" sized and 10 adult females and 3 adult males. There are about 8 egg crates stacked vertically in the tank, a water dish and another dish with chicken feed as well as scraps from the fridge- lettuces, veggies, etc.
Daily, there are dead ones on the bottom of the tank not just one, more like 3-5. I don't get it. I have a UTH coming on Friday because it's cooled significantly in the last couple weeks so that's going to heat things up but what am I doing wrong? I have to breed feeders because bugs are just way too expensive. Crickets are cheaper but I won't handle them and he doesn't like them.
I'm missing something here, I want these guys to breed and I need to feed Spencer off of them as well. Will they do fine with me getting into the tank a couple times daily to remove some?
I need help here. I've watched countless YouTube vids and feel like this should just be taking off...I should mention I can't keep plants alive so there's that lol.
It could be temperature. Hopefully the under tank heater will help. Do you have adequate ventilation? You don't want a lot of humidity to build up because it can harbor mold which is bad news for the colony. Instead of using a water dish I'd use slices of orange and fresh veg for hydration. They'll be able to get the moisture they need from that and it's less of a mold risk. I would also change out the food scraps every couple of days to help protect against mold.
Okay so remove the water dish. No crystals either? Just moist fruits.
I'm feeling like I don't have enough either to really get them going...should I buy more? Should I have a separate feeder group while these get going? He eats roughly 1000 a month, how many should I have to produce that amount?
Hygrometer is a necessary thing I guess?
How often is a clean out needed, like to clear any die offs? Is this a frequent thing or best left undisturbed?
The crystals are probably fine to have in there. I just wouldn't use standing water. I would leave your breeding colony alone and have a separate bin for feeder bugs. It may take several months for the colony to start multiplying. I started with about 600 bugs in a 20g tank and it took maybe 3-4 months to notice a new generation appearing. It can happen more quickly if you have a larger colony or more adults (I started with no adults). I don't use a hygrometer but my tank is kept in a basement with dry air so I don't worry about it much (Fruit dries out completely rather than getting moldy). Pick up the die-offs and remove them from the tank as you see them. I don't clean the tank much though. I just let them build up a frass and they seem to do well when left alone for the most part. You could introduce a dermestid beetle cleaner crew if you want, but I don't use them.