# Planted Viv for Tapinauchenius



## hydrophyte (Oct 24, 2012)

*Planted Viv for Tapinauchenius *

I have a concept in mind for a planted viv to house a _Tapinauchenius capreus_ tarantula. 

Google: _Tapinauchenius_

Members of this genus are interesting spiders. Most are around three inches long and are smaller than most other arboreal tarantulas. This lesser size should scale well with a smaller enclosure size and I intend to use a 12 X 12 X 18 Exo Terra enclosure for this project. It will have the same basic setup as my current 12 X 12 setup (below) with a few important differences.







The spider is already on its way from Pennsylvania through the post. I hope that it get here OK. I might have pictures to share pretty soon.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## Toogledoo (Oct 25, 2012)

Wow, that is really cool. I'm horrible with plants, can't seem to keep them alive.


----------



## RockinOutAmber (Oct 25, 2012)

Seriously beautiful! I would love to live in that.


----------



## nepenthes (Oct 25, 2012)

What plants do you have in their?

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## hydrophyte (Oct 25, 2012)

Thanks folks. That setup above is actually not for the new T, but I will use a similar kind of plant layout and. 

I have a little group of _Phyllocrania paradoxica_ mantises in the above enclosure. The plants include various miniature ferns and orchids along with a few _Tillandsia_ air plants.


----------



## freedumbdclxvi (Oct 25, 2012)

Gorgeous.  Cannot wait to see the Tappy in there.


----------



## hydrophyte (Oct 26, 2012)

freedumbdclxvi said:


> Gorgeous.  Cannot wait to see the Tappy in there.


Hey thanks. Like I said, the tap is actually going into a different setup. I just included that picture above as an example of the general setup. I will also do the new one in a 12 X 12 X 18 Exo Terra, but I'm using different plants.


----------



## MarkmD (Oct 26, 2012)

Pretty cool love the design.


----------



## Gilberator (Oct 26, 2012)

Yeah man....WOW! Your mantids must LOVE it!! Definitely interested in seeing the tappy in its new home.


----------



## hydrophyte (Oct 28, 2012)

Here are a couple of quick and crummy pictures of the _T. capreus_. It has a real distinctive appearance .

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## SamuraiSid (Oct 28, 2012)

Really love all your planted tanks, and look forward to this one. Any idea on plant sp. you plan on using? And what kind of lights are you gonna have? I recall a set-up similar to the pic provided for an A.avic. Im wondering how its doing with all the light?


----------



## Storm76 (Oct 28, 2012)

AWESOME looking tank!


----------



## hydrophyte (Oct 29, 2012)

SamuraiSid said:


> Really love all your planted tanks, and look forward to this one. Any idea on plant sp. you plan on using? And what kind of lights are you gonna have? I recall a set-up similar to the pic provided for an A.avic. Im wondering how its doing with all the light?


Thanks again. This new setup will have mainly Tillandsia air plants situated up on manzanita with other short plants planted into the bottom area. The A. metallica in the 37G doesn't seem bothered by the bright light. Sometimes she walks right out into the front of the tank while the lights are on.



Storm76 said:


> AWESOME looking tank!


Thanks!

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## freedumbdclxvi (Oct 29, 2012)

Beautiful spider, too.


----------



## hydrophyte (Oct 29, 2012)

freedumbdclxvi said:


> Beautiful spider, too.


Yeah it really is great. It looks so different from other tarantulas that I have seen.

Here is a quick shot for an idea of how a manzanita feature might look planted with nothing but _Tillandsia_. These are just a few extra plants that I had on hand. I have an order with more _Tillandsia_ that inlcude a couple of the real small miniature species on the way. This feature isn't mine either; I built it for a customer. I have a slightly different manzanita design in mind for my setup.







---------- Post added 10-29-2012 at 10:42 PM ----------

Thanks for the like Storm76.

It's going to look a lot cooler when I get the new plants for it.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Ambly (Oct 30, 2012)

this enclosure looks more beautiful every time I see it.  Absolutely awesome design.


----------



## hydrophyte (Oct 30, 2012)

Ambly said:


> this enclosure looks more beautiful every time I see it.  Absolutely awesome design.


Thanks Ambly! 

I hope to have more pictures on the way soon.


----------



## hydrophyte (Nov 2, 2012)

Last night I got a box in the mail with eight or nine different _Tillandsia_. They are such cool little plants. I'm editing and uploading specimen pictures right now. Here is _T. aeranthos_ "Miniata".

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## sternod1235 (Nov 5, 2012)

*that big*

thats pretty big for that small of a tarantula i keep my borneo black ts in that size enclosures and they get to be allmost 10 inches


----------



## hydrophyte (Nov 5, 2012)

sternod1235 said:


> thats pretty big for that small of a tarantula i keep my borneo black ts in that size enclosures and they get to be allmost 10 inches


Yep it's plenty of room. I need to have space for the plants, too!


----------



## hydrophyte (Nov 13, 2012)

Here's the cork round that I am using for the hide/trunk feature. I built up a bunchof Gorilla Glue around the top opening so that I would have something harder to drive the stainless steel screws into. 







And here's the whole thing. I am considering sanding down the cork texture to make it more slender and with a texture more like the manzanita branches that I will also use. What do you think?


----------



## grayzone (Nov 13, 2012)

i think that no matter WHAT you do with it, it will be great. I really like the drop in features you have, and the creative ways you use real plant life. I have yet to try a real viv. Ive always wanted to though, and plan on doing a new tank soon. You may be getting bombarded with questions shorly.
Nice work


----------



## hydrophyte (Nov 14, 2012)

grayzone said:


> i think that no matter WHAT you do with it, it will be great. I really like the drop in features you have, and the creative ways you use real plant life. I have yet to try a real viv. Ive always wanted to though, and plan on doing a new tank soon. You may be getting bombarded with questions shorly.
> Nice work


Hey thanks so much.

Please let me know whenever you might get rolling with a planted viv project. I am pretty good at coming up with ideas and other stuff.


----------

