Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yuk! I have an explosion of centipedes/milipedes(don't know which is which)in my Imitator tank. Anyone know if I should be concerned? What do they eat?

Maggie

They just eat frog poop and organic matter. They aren't invading, they have probably always been there, but just show up in greater numbers now and then, unless you've introduced some new exotic from elsewhere recently. They won't hurt your imitators or do anything to the tank except recycle stuff that needs it. They will eventually become less conspicuous again. I've learned to like them. While there are a lot of different species of centipedes, I think we all get about the same ones in our dart vivariums. I see mine grazing on the algae on logs once in awhile, one on top of the other, piggy back. I don't know if this is sex or what, but they'll often wander around like a two story building, one on top of the other. Whenever I've top-dressed the substrate with cocoanut fiber, they tend to disappear for a long time. This may be something to do if you don't like them hanging out. It doesn't kill them, but seems to discourage them for awhile.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris

I'd agree with patty provided that they are millipedes and not centipedes. millipedes are beneficial decomposers in the vivarium, however centipedes are carnivorous and while they won't harm the frogs they can compete with them for food. you can just leave them and keep a closer eye on your frogs to makes ure they are getting plenty of flies. if they are centipedes and you want to get rid of them simply remove the frogs for a day. flood the tank with CO2 and let it sit overnight, this will kill off any insects in the tank while giving the plants a nice dose of CO2. however, after this you'd have to re-seed your tank with springtails, woodlice, or any beneficial microfauna.

HI:

Thanks for the clarification! I don't know which they are but when the pop. explosion occured I also saw a sharp decrease in springtail population. Though I never caught any eating any fruit flies, I do see them walk, as Patty said, in a two story manner in the tank and they "look" like they might be nibbling on plant material. I also can't remove my Imitators from the heavily planted tank-gotta find another way other then the CO2 method.

If you have any other ideas, thoughts, or tips-that would be wonderful!

Thank you-

Maggie

Hi Patty:

Did you ever see a sharp decline in your Springtail pop at any corresponding time that you saw a lot of centipedes?

THanks-

Maggie

I haven't seen this springtail decline, Maggie, but I don't have many springtails in the tanks that survive the frogs' appetite for them.

I've been over on frognet, too where people are giving the same advice.

I would bet that we both are dealing with the flattened millipedes. They look like centipedes because of their flattened character, so that's what I thought they were. While I've seen them crawling on plant leaves, I think they are only grazing on detritus, as I've never seen any plant damage in their wake. When I had a big organic greenhouse/bedding plant/nursery here, many years ago, there were always a lot of these same critters about. They never did any damage that I could attribute to them.

Another idea that sort of works, since you really can't practically remove your frogs for CO2 treatment, is to top-dress the substrate with some cocoanut fiber. I don't know why, but this seems to cause a definite decline in their population for awhile. It may have been just coincidental, but everytime I have done this, they at least become inconspicuous for several months. I rather like them, so have never tried any kind of serious control.

I've been looking for some to take a picture to post for you to compare, but now can't find a single one, while just last week, I had seen several of them.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
6 P. terribilis mint and organe
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus
2 P. lugubris