# New to Breeding Isopods



## Nyawk_99 (Mar 14, 2020)

Hello all, Nick here and I was wondering about isopods. I recently procured a couple groups of isopods and was wondering how long it will take for my cultures to grow. I have about 16 P. Laevis, 5 A. Maculatum, and 6 P. Scaber "calico". they are all in different tubs naturally.

Thanks!


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

There's a lot of variables that can affect how long long it will take but starting with so few means you'll need to be patient. 
Here is some information regarding P. laevis that should give you a better idea of what to expect. https://academic.oup.com/jcb/article/21/2/375/2679806. Diet and temperature may help to accelerate these time frames. 


> *Female Porcellio laevis* (Latreille) raised in the laboratory *first reproduced when 7 months old and can breed up to 7 times during their life time irrespective of season*. In that, this species differs from most other isopod species studied so far. *After a single mating, a female can breed several times without the presence of a male presumably because she stores sperm.* Females known to be virgins never became gravid, thus *there is no evidence of parthenogenesis*. Males are therefore essential for reproduction in P. laevis. *Sex ratio in the laboratory population was found to be 1 male to 2.5 females*. *The average time intervals between consecutive broods is 7.7 weeks*. Most females reproduce 3 or 4 times in their lifetime (e.g., until the age of about 1 year). The average number of broods is 3.1. Number of mancas in the brood is positively correlated to weight of the mother. *The average number of mancas in a brood is 66.6. The average survival of mancas until they are 7 or 8 months old is 44.7%*


For Porcellio scaber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcellio_scaber#Life_cycle suggests


> *25 to 9 fertilized eggs and the larvae are carried by the mother* in a fluid-filled sac at the ventral side of the abdomen *for about 40-50 days. The young are fully grown after 3 months; the adult animals have a life expectancy of about two years*


For Armadillium I found this data for A. vulgare which you might be somehwat relevant to your A. maculatum too. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/Armadillidium_vulgare.htm & https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Armadillidium_vulgare/


> Eggs: The eggs are carried in a marsupium (brood pouch) on the ventral (underside) surface of the female and can reach a diameter of 0.7 mm. *Eggs hatch after three to four weeks. Females may produce one to three broods every year and each brood is composed of 100 to 200 eggs.*
> Young: After hatching, the young may stay in the pouch on their mother’s underside for an additional one to two weeks and grow to 2 mm in length before venturing off on their own. While in the marsupium, both the eggs and the young survive on nutrients received through marsupial fluid (Capinera 2001).





> Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female) 1 years


Hope this helps.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Nyawk_99 said:


> Hello all, Nick here and I was wondering about isopods. I recently procured a couple groups of isopods and was wondering how long it will take for my cultures to grow. I have about 16 P. Laevis, 5 A. Maculatum, and 6 P. Scaber "calico". they are all in different tubs naturally.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks!


I went from having about 15 P. Laevis last April to hundreds (thousand?) now, including selling about 100.
Similarly for A. Maculatum, started with about 20, have hundreds/thousands now.

P. Scaber have been much slower to breed for me, but I also haven't been keeping them as long.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

fishingguy12345 said:


> P. scaber have been much slower to breed for me, but I also haven't been keeping them as long.


Seems like this might confirm the data above which mentions smaller brood sizes for P. scaber. compared to P. laevis or A. maculatum.


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## Nyawk_99 (Mar 14, 2020)

I am keeping them at room temperature on my personal substrate mix {1 part coco core, 1 part zoo med forest floor, 1/2 part sphagnum moss, 1/2 part lump charcoal.} with leaf litter ground in, i am feeding repashy bug burger once weekly as well. also since my cultures are so small i have them in 2 quart containers. is that ok?


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

Sounds absolutely perfect and I always start cultures in small containers initially. If you're trying to achieve rapid reproduction you might benefit from slightly higher temperatures if there's maybe a warmer part of your house.
Striking the right balance in terms of amount of food you offer so that there's no competitition for food but not a surplus that will go mouldy is important too. You should be able to get a sense of how much they eat and how quickly just be checking on the culture regularly. I normally let them completely finish whatever food I've given before offering more to prevent undesirable, and try to spread it around a little to reduce competition.
There are several good threads discussing the best foods for them on here. Repashy bugburger is a great product but once you run out there are alternatives that are cheaper if you're looking to economise. I use a lot of cheap fish flakes.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I highly recommend switching to Repashy Morning Wood, or at least including it in your regimen. I was unable to get any real production out of my Androniscus dentiger until I started feeding this, now I regularly have enough to feed/sell.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I agree on the Morning Wood -- feeding it dry is very convenient.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

Any guesses which of the ingredients present in morning wood but not burger might be making the difference? Cellulose powder seems the most obvious.



> *MORNING WOOD INGREDIENTS*: Cellulose Powder, Dried Seaweed Meal, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Spirulina Algae, Rice Protein Concentrate, Pea Protein Isolate, Stabilized Rice Bran, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Dried Kelp, Stinging Nettle, Locust Bean Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Citrate, Malic Acid, Taurine, Garlic, Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Calendula Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Selenium Yeast. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex)
> 
> *BUG BURGER INGREDIENTS*: Stabilized Rice Bran, Corn Meal, Potato Granules, Brewer’s Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Dried Kelp, Cane Molasses, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Seaweed Meal, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Guar Gum, RoseHips, Cinnamon, Hibiscus Flower, Calendula Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Algae Meal, Turmeric, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Selenium Yeast. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Louis said:


> Cellulose powder seems the most obvious.


Yes, that's the assumption. It is certainly a more appropriate food source for them than rice, potato or corn.


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## DendroVirago (Jan 18, 2020)

Socratic Monologue said:


> I agree on the Morning Wood -- feeding it dry is very convenient.


Good to hear. When I feed Morning Wood as a prepared gel - it attracts mites. I will try dry.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

Found a couple of really interesting resources when looking into the cellulose angle.


https://europepmc.org/article/med/31556843


> We experimentally manipulated the content of cellulose (30%, 60%, or 90%) and the amount of biofilm (small or large) in the offered food source and quantified growth and cellulolytic activity in the gut of the isopod Porcellio scaber. The presence of a visible biofilm *significantly promoted isopod growth*, regardless of the cellulose content in the diet.


https://www.geneseo.edu/~beary/BearyPrimary/Isopod%20care.htm


> In either case, as you will read below, there must be soil bacterial present on the food items and a pH above 4.9 to permit the bacteria to break down leaf litter. *The isopods rely on the soil bacteria as well as cultures of bacteria in the posterior end of their reproductive tract to break down cellulose and some toxic compounds in the leaf litter that they eat.*
> The young are copophagic, which means they consume the fecal material left by adults. This is necessary for giving them the gut bacterial they need as well as nutrients released by the bacteria. They are much more sensitive to humidity levels and there is a large mortality in young.





> *Food requirements vary not only between species but between life stages of same species.* The later is advantageous in reducing competition between juveniles and adults for nutrients (Zimmer, M. and Topp, W. 2000).





> Microbiotic organinisms in the litter environment play a role in the successful feeding in at least two ways. One is that microorganisms break down cellulose and some of the toxins in the litter. Second, the microbes are a direct food source for some species of isopods which also make use of bacterial enzymes to break down toxic molecules and cellulose in the gut (Zimmer, M. and Topp, W.1998).
> 
> The chemical influences on isopod diet, make some plant species more beneficial to isopods. The carbon to nitrogen ratio factors into the success of a particular species survival in an area. Higher nitrogen seems to benefit some life stages of some species, as do the microbes. The significance of these various factors seem to vary between life stages of sympatric species (Zimmer, M. and Topp, W. 2000).


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## Nyawk_99 (Mar 14, 2020)

I certainly will try morning wood. how do you present it dry if I may ask?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Nyawk_99 said:


> I certainly will try morning wood. how do you present it dry if I may ask?


I just put it in a pop bottle lid and put the lid on the substrate


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

I just dump a little pile of it on top of the ABG. It gets moldy; the isos like that.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

Is it always the same type/types of mold? I'm wondering if the cellulose powder in the morning wood stimulates species of cellulolytic bacteria and fungi that the isopods are thriving on?


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Louis said:


> Is it always the same type/types of mold? I'm wondering if the cellulose powder in the morning wood stimulates species of cellulolytic bacteria and fungi that the isopods are thriving on?


I don't know my molds. I don't think the isopods do either; they're not very fussy, as far as I can tell.

"Cellulose powder" is just what you call sawdust that you're trying to sell for more than a buck an ounce, so I don't think there's anything terribly special going on here. Same as leaves rotting, but faster, and with 'Repashy Calcium Plus' mixed in.


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## Nyawk_99 (Mar 14, 2020)

Thanks for all of the good info y'all! I also heard of people putting bits of cuttlebone in the substrate, and was wondering if that would be a good idea with my small colonies?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Nyawk_99 said:


> Thanks for all of the good info y'all! I also heard of people putting bits of cuttlebone in the substrate, and was wondering if that would be a good idea with my small colonies?


Yes, and lump charcoal (my pods love charcoal)


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## Nyawk_99 (Mar 14, 2020)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Yes, and lump charcoal (my pods love charcoal)


Yeah lol I posted my take on an abg mix a little bit above.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Nyawk_99 said:


> Yeah lol I posted my take on an abg mix a little bit above.


I saw that. But here's what I mean...


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Huh. That looks like a good way to harvest them, too.


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Huh. That looks like a good way to harvest them, too.


Depends on the species but yes. 
Armadillidium and Porcelliio species seem to love hanging out on the coal, but not my dwarf whites (the ones that you'd harvest the most). I'm going to try putting more large chunks in with those and see if they gravitate to them also


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## Gadbery (Feb 14, 2020)

I have a culture of dwarf whites and powder blues. Only have about 10 of each. Its annoying not being able to see progress. Dwarf whites i basically cant even see unless i dig for them. Im feeding worning wood, mushrooms, freeze dried shrimplets(like you would feed a turtle). Im basically just ensuring theres food and a moist side and keeping dirt lol. Hopefully they start to take off. Have them in 1 foot by 6 inch sterilite bins on ABG. its annoying but hopefully they will take off. Only about 2 weeks in as of now so i dont expect to see results yet.


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