I found a predatory diving beetle. What now?

J

jebbewocky

L1
I'm keeping it in RO water for the time being since I wasn't sure if a dechlorinator was needed and I don't have any of that right now. I fed it a mealworm last night, but there was no interest. If I can't get this beetle up and running within a week or so I'm going to release it back into the wild from whence it came.

 
Ok well congrats first of all!!!
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Because these are oxygen breathers, water quality is not at the utmost importance. RO was a great choice though, as chlorine and other things in our tap water are harmful...don't sweat filtration though. Try feeding it small fish and tadpoles as this is their primary food in the wild, but many will accept crickets and roaches. Careful of it flying out too...some of these have a nasty bite.

Best of luck to you, and please upload pics if possible.
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Hahaha gotcha.

However, I doubt you will be able to get him to eat anything that's not live. Feeder fish only cost about 10 cents and you wouldn't need many (just putting that out there
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It wouldn't go for a mealworm I offered, nor a roach. I'm going to try flakes again, then a roach and a mealworm again. If it doesn't eat after that I'm releasing. It's neat, but I'd rather it live it's life in the pond by my apartment than waste away in my care. The pond will be better than the parking lot at work too.

I really, really don't like crickets and I don't have anything else in my collection that needs crickets.

 
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The fact that it didn't take a roach might just mean it's not hungry...if you want to try again in a day or 2 you may have luck (roach is your best bet unless you get fish or tads).

Otherwise, yea, let it go.

 
I think crickets and fish generate more movement and stimulate more interest for the beetle. At the museum, most of the predacious aquatic insects get a cricket. They usually use tongs to hold the cricket up next to the beetle (or whatever it is) to see if it will grab it. Most of the time, they do.

 
We used to feed them with crickets at the insectarium - and the cricket does not have to be alive (can be crushed prior to feeding). Just toss it in the water, the beetle will find it eventually. Worked every time. I am curious why it did not take the roach. Maybe it is better to crush it too before putting in the water, as roachs tend to swin well and produce lots of waves. Maybe this scares the beetle away.

 
i keep em, super easy,yeah i'm surprized it didn't take any of those items,but maybe its alittle stressed,you can try frozen bloodworms,turtle pellets,frozen silversides,every one ive owned took those items,i feed the ones i have now frozen bloodworms,turtle pellets. good luck,just courious what state do you live in? i'm courious on the sp.you got:)

 
wizentrop said:
We used to feed them with crickets at the insectarium - and the cricket does not have to be alive (can be crushed prior to feeding). Just toss it in the water, the beetle will find it eventually. Worked every time. I am curious why it did not take the roach. Maybe it is better to crush it too before putting in the water, as roachs tend to swin well and produce lots of waves. Maybe this scares the beetle away.
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manticora said:
i keep em, super easy,yeah i'm surprized it didn't take any of those items,but maybe its alittle stressed,you can try frozen bloodworms,turtle pellets,frozen silversides,every one ive owned took those items,i feed the ones i have now frozen bloodworms,turtle pellets. good luck,just courious what state do you live in? i'm courious on the sp.you got:)
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Well I learned some new stuff today too. Thanks guys!

 
I offered another mealworm, no interest. None in the fish flakes either. I'll probably be releasing this weekend.
I checked the jar it's in--there are little white things in there? I'm not sure if they're eggs/larvae or poop. O_o Any ideas?

 
are you sure its not a water scavenger beetle? they look like predatory diving beetles, but are less predatory. they eat veggies and live insects. hope this may help!
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jebbewocky said:
I offered another mealworm, no interest. None in the fish flakes either. I'll probably be releasing this weekend.

I checked the jar it's in--there are little white things in there? I'm not sure if they're eggs/larvae or poop. O_o Any ideas?
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if they are kinda long,most likely they are eggs,their eggs look like that.

 
they always lay their eggs inside the stems of water plants,but being she just laid them in the container on the bottom,just watch and see what happens,ya never know.

 
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