Euthyrrhapha pacifica

Tiny, prolific, and awesome micro feeders for baby tarantulas and other miniscule predators. I keep mine warm at around 75–85°F with a couple inches of substrate to burrow in with plenty of dried leaf litter and chunks of rot wood which the nymphs in particular seem to very much appreciate. I provide a 50/50 horizontal moisture gradient. Diet includes rot wood, leaves, fish or dog food and occasionally something sweet like fruit or Asian jelly (which is more like jell-o/gelatin than American jelly).

Gromphadorhina portentosa “LLE Mahogany”

This is the classic hissing cockroach with a bit of a twist – they have a much richer mahogany color scheme than your run-of-the-mill hissers with some of my individuals even being a nearly “pumpkin orange.” Originally isolated from the classic “1972 Cleveland Aquarium” stock by Dan Greiner of Limberlost Exotics, and refined further by Kyle of Roach Crossing, from whom I obtained my starting stock. These are hardy and prolific hissers, they like it warm with plenty of ventilation and air exchange. I keep mine on a couple inches of peat-based substrate and instead of the go-to cardboard egg flats that everyone seems to love I have opted to keep mine on bark slabs and chunks of rot wood which they have rewarded me for with lots and lots of babies! Fed a diet of dog food, fish flakes, Asian jelly (I like the Jin Jin brand), dried leaf litter (which they absolutely demolish), and fruit and vegetable scraps whenever I feel like giving them a treat. Basically these roaches will eat darn near anything.

Pure lineage stock!!

Gromphadorhina portentosa “UCR”

It’s honestly hard to beat the classic hissing cockroach; there’s a reason why they have been a mainstay in the hobby since the dawn of time, and that’s because they are so personable, easy to care for, and who could forget that endearing, dramatic hissing noise they make when you look at them the wrong way? This particular lineage is from University of California, Riverside (UCR) which has (allegedly) been maintained as an isolated line since at least 1985. My founding stock was obtained from Mason of Exotic Wilderness. They like it warm, around 80–90°F, and I give mine a moist substrate with lots of ventilation and airflow, which results in anything above the substrate layer being nice and dry, so your roaches can choose where they want to be at any given time. Many people will tell you to keep them on a bare-floored plastic tote with nothing but egg crates for shelter, but I am staunchly against that ideology. Your roaches will be happier with a substrate layer at least two inches deep, an isopod cleanup crew, and natural wood chunks and bark to hide in. Their staple diet should consist of dog food, leaf litter & vegetable scraps. They also relish sweet treats like fruit or Asian jelly.

Nocticola vagus “Malaysia”

Smallest micro-roach available anywhere in the US. Thrive in a wide range of temperatures and conditions, I have some seeded into almost every invertebrate culture I keep to add biodiversity. They will eat and survive off of nearly anything, I don’t feed them anything special, they eat the leftovers of whatever I am feeding to the other creatures in their tub which is generally: dried leaves, rot wood, fish flakes or pellets, etc. My favorite thing about these roaches is that they aren’t particularly skittish and pretty much always stay on whatever piece of wood or terrarium decor I find them on even when being handled; they virtually never try to jump off or run away, so escapees in my experience are quite rare.

Panchlora nivea “Little Manatee, FL”

The care information linked below for the “Tuscaloosa, AL” locality applies to this locality, as well. What sets these apart is that they were originally collected by Kyle Kandillian of Roach Crossing south of Tampa & east of Cockroach Bay, Florida. According to him they may (or may not) have the genetic possibility of producing individuals with a striking blue coloration (though mine never have). He has pictures on his blog of an individual from his colony that is a beautiful blue coloration, and he does not know if it can be attributed to his husbandry or some sort of genetic variation. Who knows, maybe you’ll be the lucky one to finally isolate a stable blue line from this stock! Adults males are significantly smaller than adult females.

Related care: Panchlora nivea “Tuscaloosa, AL”.

Panchlora nivea “Tuscaloosa, AL”

Green banana roaches have to be some of my absolute favorite roaches and they make excellent feeders for anything from young tarantulas to small lizards such as Green Anoles. Adults males are significantly smaller than adult females. Many people fear keeping these because of their ability to fly, but because they are night active you can generally open their enclosure during the day with a low risk of escapees, especially if you are using a Vaseline or similar climbing barrier at the top edge of their container. Plenty of leaf litter and quality rot wood are essential to their ability to thrive. I recommend keeping them on 3 to 5 inches of moist substrate with a heavy layer of leaves and rot wood on top. Many people suggest low ventilation for this species, but I find that giving a higher level of air exchange prevents colony collapses. Keep em nice and warm, anywhere between 75–90°F is great.

Pseudoglomeris tarsalis “Thailand”

Some folks call these the “Pseudoglomeris species with training wheels” and I think that’s both amusing and completely true; if you’re wanting to get your foot in the door with a Pseudoglomeris species without all the fuss and heartache that can come with some of the more finicky members of this genus then Pseudoglomeris tarsalis is the roach for you! Hardy and prolific, these sleek beauties are very forgiving of beginner husbandry. I keep mine in a vertical/arboreal setup with an inch or so of moist substrate at the bottom and several bark slabs and hollow branches arranged vertically with lots of leaf litter in the void spaces. They appreciate warm temperatures 75–85°F and plenty of ventilation and air exchange. Their primary diet should consist of bee pollen (very important), fish flakes and sweet foods like fruit or Asian jelly (which is more like Jell-O/Gelatin rather than American jelly or jam). My selected clean up crew for this species is a high-density population of Armadillidium vulgare “Orange Vigor.”

Pycnoscelus niger (previously: Pycnoscelus nigra)

This sleek looking roach is nearly identical to the closely related Surinam Roach (Pycnoscelus surinamensis), though arguably more aesthetically pleasing. Just like the better-known Surinam Roach, the Shadow Roach is parthenogenic, meaning all or nearly all individuals are female and reproduce asexually without the need for breeding with males. This allows for reliable and rapid colony growth as long as basic care requirements are being met. This species spends the vast majority of its time underground, so provide a nice deep substrate layer and keep about half of it dry and half of it moist. They’ll do fine at room temperatures of 70–75°F, but will reproduce faster if kept warmer, around 80–85°F. Feed with lots of dried leaves, dry dog or fish food, vegetable scraps and offer an occasional sweet treat like fruit or Asian jelly.

Aeluropoda insignis

When I first acquired this species I had no idea how much I would grow to absolutely adore them. These hissers have rapidly moved up the list into easily my top 3, if not my #1 favorite species of roach. Between their very large adult size, beautiful red and black color scheme, unique flattened morphology, and their ease of care, what’s not to love?

This is one of those species that should absolutely be in your collection whether you’re a total beginner or a seasoned veteran in the hobby. Put them on a couple inches of substrate with a decent level of moisture in a warm (~75–85°F) setup with excellent ventilation and plenty of bark slabs and rot wood chunks for them to navigate and shelter on.

Their diet is pretty straightforward and easy: dry dog food, fish flakes or pellets, dried leaves (which they seem to especially enjoy), vegetable scraps, and occasional sweet treats like fruit or Asian jelly (“Jin Jin” brand is my preferred go-to, and is more like Jell-O or gelatin than traditional American jelly or jam).