Beetles as Bioactive Cleanup Crew

[@PhotosyntheticVibes]

Last summer, I was taking care of a friend's pacman frog (among many other pets) in a bioactive enclosure. He had released a superworm in there and it was already a matured beetle when I received the tank. I eventually took him out and put him in my Madagascar hisser bin, he's lived there ever since and actually likes to rest in the "heart" of their nest where they all pile together. I kept his original name given by my friend, "Bob", and I'm sure he's fooled the hissers into thinking he's one of their kind by now I also own a colony of Eleodes sp. Darkling beetles that same friend brought back from Utah, they breed like crazy but the larvae seem to need moisture to survive long-term, only one has matured completely

[@TylerLarbes]

I love this video. I set up my first bioactive enclosure for my daughter's African Fat Tail Gecko about 2 - 2.5 months ago. I used the Forest soil mix that I created for our isopods I have found that keeping about 60% of the substrate moist(Daily wet down), and 40% of the substrate dry, keeps the humidity just right for "Sweet Pea's" 33gal setup. I added about.... 50 Dwarf White Isopods 2 Temperate Springtail Cultures 5 Earthworms 40-50 Mealworms 10 Darkling Beetles(T.M.) 5 Superworms Also, around 15-20 Isopods from my 10gal Ohio Forest Isopod Habitat. Which has tons of wild caught A. Vulgare, A. Nasatum, T. Rathkii, Porcellio Scaber, & Hyloniscus Riparius isopods in it. The Bioactive enclosure also has (hatchling-Adult) Banded Crickets living in it also. After a couple months, we decided to search around inside the enclosure to see how things are progressing. The Dwarf Whites are booming and live in the upper layer of the moist soil. The Wild Ohio Isos are thriving in their corner pile of sticks, bark, moss, and leaves. There are hundreds of baby isos running around. Too small to identify. The Springs are booming all over the place. The Darkling Beetle population has at least doubled. They have also been mating and laying eggs. There are baby mealworms wriggling around in the substrate. The Earthworms are rarely ever seen. But we did find some egg sacks in the substrate. There are only one or two superworms left. (Not yet pupating.) We think she caught a few for snacks lol. Then some of the crickets we added laid eggs and there are now lots of Banded Cricket Nymphs living in there as well. Overall, the habitat is doing Great! Populations are almost perfect for the amount of waste created. (Gecko poo, dying crickets, ect...) I'm surprised how well the beetles clean up!!!! I do add some of my companies "Munchie Mix" Bug Food every 2 or 3 days to give all of the cleaners and crickets a boost of nutrients and protein.

[@barbaraparry2206]

Loved this video! I've been using beetles and superworms/mealworms as CUC in my arid enclosures for a couple of years now. I find that they last longer than isopods/springtails (at least for me). I keep them very well fed with all the things you mentioned, so I never have any problems with them bothering my lizards (although I did catch one of my beardies chowing down on one of the superworm beetles once, much to my surprise!) They've even got their own breeding colonies going, so I have a constant supply of worms (more so the mealworms). Thanks for all the excellent CUC videos -- I've learned a lot from you and now have my own small isopod/springtail colonies going...what a fascinating little world they have!

[@puro9156]

I found some inside my reptile enclosure, do they escape ?

[@pixystixnfairycrack]

@@puro9156 I have a bunch in my snake tank. Haven't had any issues with them escaping at all.

[@clognog8049]

Super worms have started breeding in my roach tank

[@Potatobug1]

Glad to find this info ty!!

[@deathsquiggle]

I added mealworm beetles and dermestid beetles to my dubia roach bin to act as a cleanup crew. The roaches outcompeted the mealworms for food and drove them into extinction, but the little dermestids are still thriving keeping the bin free of dead roach bodies.

[@GalaxyofArt]

Your videos are so informative, I'm genuinely surprised at how underrated your channel is. Your videos are helping me with deciding which bugs and isopods to add to my leopard gecko's bioactive. +1 sub!

[@Aquarimax]

I really appreciate your positive feedback! One great isopod to add ito a leopard gecko bioactive Vivarium is Porcellionides pruinosus. 👍🏼

[@frankdughtank8327]

Excellent video rus!!! I love to use beetles as a CUC as well and they work very well

[@DeformedDevices]

Love the talk about different options. I have never heard of talk about white worms in a bio active setup and they are doing great things in my paludarium. Went to clean some poop from a frog and even though it was only a two day old poop it was almost completely disintegrated because of the white worms. Enchytraeus albidus

[@captfantastic]

I accidently discovered beetles as a clean up crew for my Assassin bugs... Assassin bugs are like spiders. They inject a venom and suck out the juices but they do not eat the feeder critter... and the dead pile up like a bad zombie movie (and gets pretty smelly)... during winter I had to buy food for my critters from the pet store and tried using superworms. It was some what successful but the smaller assassin bugs couldn't catch them. Those "escaped" beetles matured and cleaned up the "leftovers" without any harm... as the beetles mated, the Assassin bugs were able to feed on the young...

[@Aquarimax]

Sounds like a pretty cool system you have going there, Ken!

[@pumpkinchow]

I keep them in most of my enclosures along with a few dubia roaches and they definitely do a great job cleaning up after my monitors.

[@francocasentieri932]

alltough english i have to learn, i find your site Very inspirative, thx

[@Aquarimax]

I appreciate that, thank you!

[@pixystixnfairycrack]

I use isopods and super worm beetles in my bio snake tank. They do a really great job and I haven't run into any issues with them at all. My snake doesn't bother them and they don't bother him so it works.

[@gardengirl6636]

Great content, as usual! I would love to see an update on your Death Feigning Beetle project.

[@arcaninetyfour2239]

I recommend the celery-like parts of organic romaine lettuce as a quick hydration snack

[@SilveryFlame]

My first year of having my tenrec I hadn't quite nailed down an appropriate amount of food for him, and for a time some mealworms got left over and spread around the enclosure every time I fed him those. Some ended up turning into beetles and apparently even bred inside the enclosure. Not sure how much cleaning they got done overall, though, all they seemed to eat was the tenrec's vegetables and fruits.

[@Aquarimax]

A pet tenrec, that’s awesome! I worked with tenrecs at a zoo years ago …I don’t think I have ever talked to anyone who has kept them as pets before.

[@snakelizard2343]

Love using beetles as CUC! Most of my geckos, Tegu, Nile monitor, arid snakes and coconut crab have beetles as CUC and they’re super effective! My savannah monitor and Sonoran desert toad sadly eat them 😢

[@Aquarimax]

Awesome! My Asian Forest Scorpion munches them too, but my Desert Hairy Scorpion doesn’t. You have a Birgus latro!?! How cool is that? If you’re every interested, I’d be interested in interviewing you about it for the channel!

[@snakelizard2343]

@@Aquarimax OMG that would be so cool!!!! Of course I’m interested!

[@Aquarimax]

@@snakelizard2343 fantastic! Message me on Instagram #aquarimaxpets or FB Messenger

[@snakelizard2343]

@@Aquarimax will do!

[@thedarkabyss100]

I would like to mention that I highly suggest against using superworms as a CuC in not Bioactive setups, but in feeder insect bins. Throughout the years, I've been trying to make the superworms work as clean up crew with Blaptica dubia, Blatta lateralis, lobster roaches and a few others and what always happens is that the superworms hunt for the younger insects while the beetles and worms harass the insects, especially dubias to the point that they die from stress.

[@Aquarimax]

Interesting point! I have never used these in Roach bins, but I could see that possibly being an issue.

[@mraquaticnews5676]

Cool video and info! Thanks

[@chuckpace6389]

I sure do like the background you are using in you post 😎

[@nfd8-w7q]

Videos promoting using mealworms/super worms as cleanup crew really should have a disclaimer that the beetles can actually become aggressive towards anything they are kept with and depending on the animals size it can more than just annoying. I literally had 3 super worms pupate in my longtailed grassland lizard 55 gallon bioactive vivarium and when I noticed them they seemed fairly harmless but before long they started climbing the branches and ropes of the setup and chewed on one of my lizards face. That lizard later died. I gave them food to eat but for whatever reason the lizard seemed more appealing. I don't know if he was sick or what but it was... not something I'd try again. I'm happy keeping dubai roaches and isopods in there because I know that even though they are small the lizards can easily rip the head off of an adult dubai if they're hungry or annoyed.

[@Aquarimax]

There are definitely situations where they are not a good fit. It sounds like this was one. Good point.

[@blank3097]

Nice shirt dude

[@omeed9015]

Very helpful, thanks for the video :)

[@symbolitical4158]

Great video! Just a small question as I'm going to pursue the CUC route, what beetles would work with an ackie monitor?

[@symbolitical4158]

The morio darkling beetles worry me due to their smell. The feigning beetles seem all round positive but I worry about my ackie eating them. So I'm inclined to the smaller, mealworm darkling beetles. I'm just a bit scared of crazy overpopulation control. I'm thinking of adding a 4-6 wolf spiders (European so they are small) just for some casual predation?

[@Aquarimax]

It depends heavily on what your ackie would consider food. I would do a little testing with the three beetles as food sources and begin to decide from there

[@raven5144]

Sorry to ask so many questions. Can you keep any scorpions with the blue death feigning beetles and velvet ants

[@andrewchristy530]

I saw someone on Facebook use BFDB as a cleanup crew for their leopard gecko. Apparently the gecko learned it had trouble trying it eat them and eventually stopped trying. Seems risky to me though.

[@sirblue5586]

Can I keep a Texan Ox beetle in my isopod terrarium with springtails? It's a digging Rhinoceros beetle, it's not carnivorous. His name is Gumbo, he is very cute. My terrarium for isopods isn't set up yet, my 10 gallon tank shattered, so gumbo is now in a tub filled with Sandy potting soil and carrot pieces.

[@Aquarimax]

I am not sure how that species would do…a cool beetle though!

[@JustAWalkingFish]

Hello! I've heard that you keep isopods with you amblypygid, and I was wondering what species you use/if there have been problems. I'm leaning towards P. pruinosus or C. murina "Papaya" but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also, is it possible for a whip to be too small for isopods?

[@Aquarimax]

I have tried isopods with my whip, never have had a problem with the isopods bothering the ambly, but I haven’t had great success keeping the isopods alive in there. I think I’d try C. murina of those two though. I might hold off on keeping isopods with an ambly until it is bigger than the isopods…Orin McMonigle keeps Isopods with his whips without issues

[@JustAWalkingFish]

@@Aquarimax Sounds great. I think I'll try it when I rehouse then. I'd say my whip is a juvenile, but definitely bigger than isopods I'd want to pair it with. The main body is probably about the size of a quarter with ~3in walking leg span. Thanks so much for your advice!

[@soldierbrutis95]

I agree, mealworms do best in dry environments. I'm curious how many bugs have you experimented in bioactive? I've used basically all feeder insects except calciworms and any moth larvae(waxworms, tobacco worms etc.) I'm curious to know what has worked best for you. Love your vids!

[@Aquarimax]

Well, the two beetle species, many species of isopod, a couple of types of springtail (and this is cheating because it is a mollusk) a tiny snail species. Possibly more…

[@ithewho6603]

I have arid set-up for leopard gecko, but I can't use beetles because beetles creep me out of my mind. So I use isopods. I have large terrarium so I can keep medium humid spot for them.

[@Aquarimax]

Isopods can work very well for leopard geckos 👍🏼

[@shankly1985]

Have you had any issues with the worms and beetles eating your plants? I have had to reduce the population of my worms and beetles due to being a it to good. My plants roots are eaten by them

[@Aquarimax]

Not so far, but I haven’t done much with them in planted systems.

[@pumpkinchow]

Yea they definitely can kill and eat the plants in the enclosures. I have them in a few bioactive planted enclosures and they tend to eat the plants and some time kill the plants. I’ve since started to put pieces of sliced carrots or leafy greens 2 times a week and they stopped messing with the plants and still clean up droppings effectively

[@pixystixnfairycrack]

I actually grow plants in my snake tank just for the beetles. They will eat them pretty quick, but I found using a microgreen seed mix works great. It grows really fast and the beetles are quite happy with it and my snake isn't bothered by it at all. I keep the mix growing in just one corner of the tank by the water dish and it does amazing.

[@raven5144]

Can you keep the thistledown velvet pants with blue death feigning beetles?

[@Aquarimax]

Yes you can! I have done so successfully

[@raven5144]

@@Aquarimax sweet research here I come

[@bugloverspiderlover8490]

I have a few small ground beetles in my skink tank,the lizards won’t eat the, and they get rid of any feeders that have died,plus the stupid crickets won’t stop breeding in the soil!

[@userFreeWilly8]

Hi there, what would you advice as cuc to help keep out and or clean up unwanted tiny beasties such as bloodlice and dust lice? It bust be able to surive in a drie invironment: I have a Syrian hamster.

[@Aquarimax]

Great question! Having kept and bred Syrian hamsters, I imagine the hamster would eat many of the creatures I would otherwise suggest.

[@godzilla90fan]

I can never get my larva to pupate unless I isolate them, such as putting a large one in a pill bottle with food and ventilation. Is there a trick to getting them to do so in their tanks? I once kept two together to see if they'd ever pupate, they kust kept growing and after months at the proper sizethey still wouldn't pupate until isolated, and then one was deformed (probably from the long larval stage).

[@Aquarimax]

Interesting….I mine seem to pupate with very little prompting in my leopard gecko enclosure. There are about 3 inches of Biodude’s Terra Sahara in there. Which substrate do you use?

[@godzilla90fan]

@@Aquarimax they are in zilla coco coir. Maybe I need more depth to the substrate. They're in a 10 gallon tank and have 2-3 inches of soil. I feed them dog food and apples. I've been wondering if it's a genetic problem with the store bought ones, a friend suggested they might be bred to stay in larval longer for bigger worms. Currently a few generations in from the original group of maybe 8 worms I bought.

[@HammboneBob]

Howdy sir, I have dubias and milk backs in with my centipede, she leaves the isopods alone but sometimes she kills the roaches, would darkling beetles be attacked like they are?

[@Aquarimax]

Quite hard to say…

[@lawrencehamilton7021]

Eh, beetles have a strong exoskeleton layer, even more strong than iso exoskeletons so imo I don’t think a centipede would go for a darkling beetle

[@LAUGHOUTLOUDPUPPETS]

i just want to keep them alone as a pet on there own not as a clean up crew. but thanks for this info russ

[@Aquarimax]

They make great pets too!

[@puro9156]

Has anyone had any problems with mealworm beetles escaping the tank and finding them around your house?

[@Sentryunit582]

can you add them to a terrarium with a juvenile emperor scorpion?

[@Aquarimax]

Good question! I am guessing the scorpion would eat them.

[@Sentryunit582]

@@Aquarimax what if there was a lot of them?

[@gamebred26]

My daughter's bearded dragon eats all the damn beetles...isopods...wtvr moves lol. They have to hide lol.

[@Aquarimax]

Beardies can be like that! 😁 Have you tried a burrowing isopod like Giant Canyons?

[@gamebred26]

@@Aquarimax I have not. The Powder orange isopods - Porcellionides pruinosus...they are thriving. Not an issue. Lots of cork bark flats with sphagnum under that I keep moist. There are tons. Beetles hide there as well. Superworm and mealworms..but if I lift it up and they run all over..she gets a few.

[@Aquarimax]

@@gamebred26 Sounds like you have a good cleanup crew in there, with occasional snacking benefits

[@steven_kelly01]

Meal and superworms are terrible as a clean-up crew. They chew through foam backgrounds and eat plants, especially the roots. Trust me… I made this mistake.

[@Aquarimax]

Depending on your setup, that can be true. I have some superworms in the cleanup crew with a leopard gecko…no foam background, no live plants, so it actually works out well!

[@steven_kelly01]

@@Aquarimax That’s fair enough. I just thought it was worth flagging, especially as bioactive usually includes live plants. And most people who move to bioactive typically add a background. Also, they’re likely attack isopods and other clean-up crew given the chance.

[@Aquarimax]

@@steven_kelly01 definitely worth mentioning! There are plenty of setups where these beetles would not be a good fit.

[@steven_kelly01]

@@Aquarimax Thanks. Great video btw! 🙂