Tiny Ranatra
#1 Guest_raymond_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 04:00 PM
#2 Guest_EricaWieser_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 04:07 PM
I'm feel sorry for the poor thing. Ammonia burn is a painful way to die.
Edited by EricaWieser, 29 August 2011 - 04:09 PM.
#3 Guest_raymond_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 04:20 PM
#4 Guest_EricaWieser_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 04:47 PM
Also, you might want to contact Dr. Jonathan Wright. He wrote this page: http://www3.northern...RT1/Waters1.htm
It sounds like he has real life experience with keeping them alive in captivity.They are easy animals to maintain in an indoor aquarium. Use a gravel bed and freshly collected rainwater or pond water with plenty of submerged vegetation (Elodea, Callitriche, Myriophyllum, Ceratophyllum or Potamogeton are ideal). Plants can be secured beneath a few large stones. Make sure that some vegetation reaches to within 0.8 inches (20 mm) of the water surface allowing the water scorpions to breathe. Small nymphs and crustaceans provide ideal prey items. Use a well-lit location to promote plant growth but avoid direct sunlight. A few freshwater snails are useful to prevent the accumulation of algae on the glass.
Edited by EricaWieser, 29 August 2011 - 04:55 PM.
#5 Guest_MichiJim_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 05:07 PM
You did nothing wrong. Being air-breathing, I doubt your new friend will be too traumatized in its temporary home.
As you already know, they are predatory, so keep it away from any small critters that you care about, like your tetras and guppies. Also, from experience, they fly. Get some kind of porous cover on its container, especially if you share a home with people who are unimpressed with such a creature landing on the dinner table. Or in their hair.
A small fishbowl or mason jar could house your new pet for a good while. Give it something to cling to in and out of the water, do partial water changes every few days and it should be good to go.
Did I mention they can bite? Can be quite painful, cause swelling, so be careful. I have never been bit by a water scorpion, but I have by its close kin the belostomatid. Nasty.
And sit back and enjoy. I have never kept one long term, so I really don't know how well they hold up in captivity. A couple of weeks is about the longest I have kept one. It will probably want something more than mosquito larvae to eat. Mine was a little larger and partial to tadpoles, hence its short welcome in my home.
Have fun and keep exploring.
#6 Guest_MichiJim_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 06:31 PM
#7 Guest_Newt_*
Posted 29 August 2011 - 06:32 PM
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