Can you Keep Different Isopod Species Together?

Isopods are some of the best pet invertebrates! Keeping different isopod species together: is it a good idea? In this video I talk about the possibilities and risks of cohabbing isopods.

Here is a link to the Kathy Auto Magic Fungus gnat trap. It also works for other pest insects, such as fruit flies and mosquitoes!

Check out these LINKS to Isopod foods and supplies below. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

#ad When I feed my isopods Repashy Bug Burger, they love it:
Isopods will munch on dried River shrimp as well!

I own a copy of book on isopods by Orin McMonigle, a great source of isopod knowledge:

Isopod Substrate ingredients:
#isopods #cohabitation

[oceandizzle]

FIRSSSTTTT!!
Cuz I never get first.. And its exciting to me. Its the little things in life y'all 🤷🤣😂🤣😂

[pamelaharris]

From a bio teacher - you are a very engaging educator. Thanks for making this content available to all of us.

[SeverusSnape]

I once kepts powder blues and dwarf whites together in a roach enclosure for clean up crews. For a while, both thrived together. But after a while, I started seeing less and less of the dwarf whites and lots of powder blues until I stopped seeing dwarf whites all together. The powder blues definitely outcompeted the dwarf whites.

[cullenbatsel]

Great video Rus! I've kept A. nasatum and A. vulgare together for about a year and they have yet to outcompete each other. They have a huge enclosure and I think the size of the enclosure definitely has an impact on the likelihood of species outcompeting each other. Some species are nearly impossible to keep together but some armadillidium with similar care requirements can thrive together in a large enclosure with plenty of resources.

[johnselmateo]

Another fantastic vid Rus!

I'm actually keeping Dairy cows and Oranges together, so far I noticed dairy cows attempting to mate with oranges and vice versa.

Kinda weird in my case as well since my oranges actually bred faster than the cows. 😅

[axldlima]

right on time.created a mixed species batch a week or more ago.time to find space

[jnelson]

Please explain their reproduction. I remember as a kid seeing the babies just burst out through a membrane on the ventral surface of our local "pill bug". As a kid I also assumed they were a member of the insect world. I am loving watching all the varieties you are showing us.

[BobbyApple]

Im not quite at 2 years yet, maybe 9 months, but so far i have dwarf whites, and powder orange boys thriving together in my madagascar day gecko enclosure. I just spray em everyday religiously. I was hoping to find out if i can keep more different kinds, im glad i found this video. I will be just focusing on maintaing what i got going on :)
Also thanks for the tip, im going to try to implement them into my leopard geckos tank!!

[hughbrisse]

In case anyone was interested, I kept porcellionides pruinosis and dwarf whites together for around 2.5-3 years (initial introduction was accidental) in a 6 qt. The substrate was very thick however (~3 inches) and it was the bin that got the most supplemental food on account of it being the one I would test new foods on first. Dwarf whites were almost never seen at the surface but had lots of room to burrow, and I rarely saw p. Pruinosus anywhere other than the surface. I did separate them now but it seems like the two species were able to have almost totally separate niches.

(I'm not suggesting anyone try this, still don't think its the best idea)
(Also a detail that I remembered, the surface was usually very dry but with some more humid hides while there was a good amount of moisture below the surface)

[underdogjourney]

Another great video Rus! The Zebras I got from your website are doing great. And of course, I keep them in their own terrarium. 😂 Thanks again!

[theflyingdutchmanlofts]

Exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks man

[tarantulacollective]

Very interesting discussion. I really enjoyed this.

[Crystalspets]

This was great information rus so happy you share this video with us

[soupercalifragilistic]

I have had A. vulgare and A. nasatum cohabiting for a little less than a year now, and the vulgare population seems to have decreased in comparison to the nasatums- it checks out with what you’ve said

[soldierbrutis]

Glad I saw this video. personally I experienced this over and over again. I have kept dairy cow, powder blue and A. Vulgare together. One always ends up taking over. I do have a good thing going in one 20gallon with dairy cow and vulgare. I think it's been like 4 months or more. Love your content.

[DqsHidden]

Love to see videos with 0 dislike and over 100 likes. <3 Keep going

[re__shine]

That was so helpful information! I just ordered dairy cows and an enclosure kit thinking of mixing them with dwarf white which is inside my terrarium. I should order another enclosure kit and thrive them separately later.

[ReptileNexus]

I tried the P. laevis Dairy cow and orange thing myself and the same thing happened. Dairy cows bred so fast, out competed the oranges.

[dragonridr]

Awesome video! I’m thinking of getting zebra armadilium maculatum to maybe get into the hobby, and all your videos are a huge help!!

If anyone were to troubleshoot what could live mutually together without outcompeting the other, it seems like smaller setups would allow them to see the conclusion faster than large setups, as they would reach that tipping point sooner rather than later

[rizalaziz]

Hi Aquarimax! I actually have been looking for video on this issue for quite some time now and thank you for this. I am new on keeping isopods as pets and just started on March this year. I keep all of my isopods together in a 20L tank (bioactive terrarium) and so far I have 6 species/types which are Dairy Cow, Zebra, Orange Vigor, Versicolor, Cubaris Murina and local isopod (and Powder Blue and Orange otw). So far in my experience, Dairy Cow dominate the tank with their size while Murina over compete and very quickly almost fill the tank, follow with Zebra. Orange Vigor and Versicolor however are not doing well.