Coromus vittattus vittatus

Short description:

Coromus vittatus vittatus is a rather large species of banded phalanx, reaching up to 10 cm in length. It is found in almost all of Africa. The main occurrence is mainly in Cameroon, Nigeria and Liberia.  There it inhabits warm and humid forests. Coromus vittatus vittatus is a relatively well known species of the band-footed fishes and is often offered in the trade. The keeping is very easy for Polydesmida. Only the breeding is a challenge. Breeding has only rarely been successful and if, then with high failure rates.

The body of Coromus vittatus vittatus is dark brown colored. As usual for banded animals it is flattened and divided into clearly visible limbs. The legs, as well as the antennae of this species are colored reddish brown. A conspicuous yellow stripe runs down the back.

Due to the relatively small adult size of this species it can be kept in terrariums with an edge length of 30 cm or more. However, care should be taken that there is enough space for a sufficiently high filled substrate. The substrate height should not be less than 8 cm for this species! The substrate serves the animals as habitat and food at the same time and are visited regularly for moulting.

Daytime temperatures of 21-26°C have proven to be suitable for keeping this species. The animals are mainly crepuscular and nocturnal, so you can do without an additional light source. When reaching the temperatures in the terrarium it is important to place the heat source always from above and never from below! The substrate should always be kept semi-moist. A humidity of 70-100% most closely approximates the conditions of their natural habitat. The substrate can be additionally covered with leaves, pieces of bark or moss. This will help protect it from drying out. Band-footed animals of all species prefer forest terrariums. Climbing branches are gladly used by this species and especially adults can often be observed on the surface. Important for this species is a high amount of white rotten wood in the terrarium, this is eaten with preference. In addition, the foliage contained in the substrate and now and then vegetables, fruit or centipede food are accepted as additional food.

Essentials for Coromus vittatus vittatus!