So I have a 55 gallon former fish tank. I got tired of cleaning, changing filters, doing water changes, checking ph levels, etc etc. So I decided to get rid of my fish and get a B. Smithi. Here i am with a huge very nice oak tank and one spider. Currently I dont want to get anymore T's, but im not sure what to do. I want to make the tank look very natural but im not sure what a natural B. Smithi tank would look like. I know its a huge tank for one spider but its what I have so I am using it. Any help with what a "natural" setup would like?
55 gallon tank, need ideas.
- Thread starter VryfastRR
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A 55 gal tank presumably has very high walls. Please keep in mind a fall, even a very short one, is deadly to tarantulas. Especially terrestrials like B. smithi, they are extremely fragile. You could use it for an awesome terrarium for a Nephila species (orb weaver) or maybe a big huntsman. If you like trues, that is
Its suggested that you keep the distance from the top of your tank to the substrate no more then 1 1/2 times your spiders leg span for terrestrials. A fall from anything more then that can be fatal. I go a step further and keep the distance the spiders leg span and no more.
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This site has some pretty good tarantula habitat pictures. I dont see a smithi but there are other Brachypelma habitats that are similar. Heres the site...
http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/g.php/6
http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/g.php/6
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That is a great picture. 
ballpython11
Arachnopeon
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Divide it with plexi glass and hot glue and put some peat moss and a big dry african forest background some sticks and 2 big King Baboons
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H. gigas with a nice big pond to go fishing in.
I think that if someone's asking for a setup for their B. smithi, then suggestions of a different species might not be what they are asking for.
You could divide up the tank's substrates into "zones" and make a kind of progression from desert to foresty, allowing for some of the substrate on one side to be moist, while on the other side bone dry (think of a siliconed plate of glass that reaches up near the top of the substrate). Just remember about distances of falls for the spider, and the weight of the aquarium as you fill it up with dirt. At 55 gallons I imagine the decorative side of the tank may be un-used by the spider, and possibly become a sanctuary for whatever food critters you use.
Who knows, it might like the other side instead of the "dry side" though. It's your spider and your aquarium.
You could divide up the tank's substrates into "zones" and make a kind of progression from desert to foresty, allowing for some of the substrate on one side to be moist, while on the other side bone dry (think of a siliconed plate of glass that reaches up near the top of the substrate). Just remember about distances of falls for the spider, and the weight of the aquarium as you fill it up with dirt. At 55 gallons I imagine the decorative side of the tank may be un-used by the spider, and possibly become a sanctuary for whatever food critters you use.
Who knows, it might like the other side instead of the "dry side" though. It's your spider and your aquarium.
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haha thats wut i did. she seems to love the water. no actual swimming more like basking in it and waiting for fish lolH. gigas with a nice big pond to go fishing in.
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Yeah... see, that tank is just way too big for a spider that size. Right now you have a pretty significant fall risk. To rectify that you'll need to put a lot more soil in there. Also in something that big the prey can take up habitation in a section of the tank nowhere near the spider and just stay there. So you have potential feeding problems that will only be made worse by adding plants and decorations.
My opinion is that it wouldn't be worth the hassle of outfitting a tank that big for a spider that small, get a 5 or 10 gallon for it instead. Put fish or something in the 55.
My opinion is that it wouldn't be worth the hassle of outfitting a tank that big for a spider that small, get a 5 or 10 gallon for it instead. Put fish or something in the 55.
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A bearded dragon or two would love that tank.