[Angieownsbatman]

Well, I just got my first darts (a trio of G&Bl Auratus ) and I've been feeding them my first group of cricket hatchlings (woohoo, I cultured something and it actually worked!!) while I wait on the fruit flys I'm going to order. The problem is, the crickets are climbing the walls of the tank and drowning in the condensation, lol. Anyway way to get them to not do this? Thanks. :roll:

 

[Guest]

I regularly feed my luecs crickets and i have had two problems. One drowning in the condensation ( same problem as u have). Second the crickets scamper away before the frogs get them, and hide some where the frogs can't get them. I have found the best solution, for both problems, is to drop jast two or three crix in at a time that way the frogs can get them before the crickets have a chance to escape/commit suicide.

 

[EDs Fly Meat]

How humid are your tanks?

You must have a high humidity in your tanks. Crickets breathe through holes in their sides called spiracles. When they get clogged with water, they drown and die. It happens to fruit flies to after a while in high humid tanks. Do you mist before feeding? That could be a problem. I off set my misting so that it doesn't interfere with my feedings. But I like furizzl's (sorry about using your logon but you didn't sign your post) idea too.
Dave

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem in the containers I hatch out the crickets in (drowing in the water on the sides). I've tried lining the entire plastic shoebox with a paper towel on the bottom and little cotton squares on the sides (the kind you find in the beauty section) and that seemed to help but I'm still not having the kind of results I want, especially when it comes to getting them back out of the box. How do you keep these little guys alive without drying them out or drowing them? It does seem to go one way or the other.

 

[Angieownsbatman]

I've only had one batch of crickets hatch out so far (first attempt ) but I used expanded cocofiber. I kept them in those plastic plant pots that plants come in, and just misted the containers once a day until lil crickets crawled out. Then I just moved that into a bigger plastic shoebox and I don't get any condensation on the sides. Maybe you haven't got sufficient ventilation. I cut out almost the whole top of the lid and covered that with coffee filters. No escapes, no drowning crickets in the walls, and they don't dry out cuz I give them carrots to munch on. However, I'm not about to coat the walls of my vivarium with papertowels to keep the crickets from drowning. :wink: