First communal Tank?

[hardlucktattoo]

Ive been considering my First communal tank And I wanted some advice on it as far as what sp. you would go with what size tank to use and any precautions I could take..........Yes I could use the search function but I don't want to

 

[nico p]

i saw in a thread somewhere someone who has an h. incei community, has a lot of them living peacefully, they're small but have very nice colors.. you might wanna try looking that up

 

[Scott C.]

I'd go with P. murinus. Cheapest way to go I think.

 

[Stamper]

I would say wither P. murinus like Scott C said, or A. Avic.

 

[Merfolk]

So far, the species that have an history of good cohabitations are the following:

Avicularia sp (except versicolor, those have been reported being mutulay intolerant)
Holothele incei
Poecilotheria (except ornata)
Pterinochilus
Monocentropus (if you are rich)

Absolutely avoid putting together Brachypelmas, Grammostolas and other ground dwelling NW, they will surely kill each other senseless. I would try with Psalmopeus or Pamphos to see.

And remember: They have been instances of cannibalism in humans and other mammals, so expect some with Ts!!!

 

[hardlucktattoo]

Decision

Ive decided to go with 4 P. murinus I was gonna go with 2-3" I wanna use either a 25 gallon tank. Should that be big enough for them to grow into for a while or should I go with something larger? Also I have a slight concern about the bite. I'm not concerned so much with the chance of getting bit I dont plan on handling the too often if at all, my concern lies within the effects of the bite I am going to be researching it in the bite reports but i wanted to include it here as well this is going to be my birthday present to myself at the end of the month I believe it is well deserved

 

[Moltar]

You might get better results if you start with smaller slings. At 2-3" they may not play nice when first introduced. My experience w/ P murinus is that they're not as nasty as their reputation. They're scaredy cats that occasionally have a bad temper, not the other way around.

FYI there seems to be a difference between communally tolerant and truly communal. I'm not sure which category P murinus falls into. H incei however is truly communal. They'll share burrows, catch food to feed the young, freely walk all up in each others personal space, etc. Avics however are only tolerant and are more likely to cannibalize if food or space runs a bit short.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

You might get better results if you start with smaller slings. At 2-3" they may not play nice when first introduced. My experience w/ P murinus is that they're not as nasty as their reputation. They're scaredy cats that occasionally have a bad temper, not the other way around.

FYI there seems to be a difference between communally tolerant and truly communal. I'm not sure which category P murinus falls into. H incei however is truly communal. They'll share burrows, catch food to feed the young, freely walk all up in each others personal space, etc. Avics however are only tolerant and are more likely to cannibalize if food or space runs a bit short.

Yea I was considering Avics but that is what I had heard so I didnt want to mess with it too much like it says this will be my first communal tank so i wanted to stcy with what works I was considering H.incei but they arent as colorful as an OBT but if this works out I was planning on doing the H.incei communal tank later on cause I wanted to do a larger number with them probably 11 or so to start but I wanted to get some experience first if Im going to go with smaller slings what size tank should I start with I had a feeling size was going to be an issue

 

[Merfolk]

M balfouri, and some Pamphobeteus (the famous Chicken Spider) have been reported to live in multi generational community. Some Pokes as well.

 

[GForce14063]

I have both H. incie and obt's I was thinking of a communal tank also so I will be following this thread to see what info comes. I seen a thread somewhere with pics on a H. incie communal tank on one of these's forums I tried to find it again but can't seem to find it anywhere.

 

[P. Novak]

H. incei communal

Best communal species IMO

Hre's the communal setup you guys were talking about; couple posts from it, and the actual link to the thread it's from.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=637797&postcount=69
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=749515&postcount=121
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=804734&postcount=152

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=35854&highlight=H+incei

 

[Moltar]

Here's a lengthier thread about the same setup from the Arachnofreaks forum.

http://www.arachnofreaks.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3325&PN=0&TPN=1

 

[GForce14063]

Best communal species IMO

Hre's the communal setup you guys were talking about; couple posts from it, and the actual link to the thread it's from.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=637797&postcount=69
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=749515&postcount=121
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showpost.php?p=804734&postcount=152

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=35854&highlight=H+incei

Yep thats the thread I have been searching for thanks.

 

[GForce14063]

Here's a lengthier thread about the same setup from the Arachnofreaks forum.

http://www.arachnofreaks.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3325&PN=0&TPN=1

Actually this is the originial thread that I had first seen that made me curious about a communal tank and thanks to u too

 

[Scott C.]

If you're going to use such large t's to start with I suggest putting one in at a time.... Wait until it's established a burrow, then segregate it and add another until you have them all in there.

Really though, they grow very quick, and they're dirt cheap as slings. You could throw double in a tank, and just watch 'em do what they do. A lot easier, and prolly a lot less risk.

Just an opinion of course

And start with the tank you're gonna end with. You don't want to have to rehouse.

 

[Zoltan]

I have to agree with P. Novak. H. incei are small (require little space, even communal), cheap, "friendly" to each other and beautyful. What's not to like?

 

[Scott C.]

What's not to like?

The price of your experiment.

 

[Moltar]

The price of your experiment.

Lol. Yup. It's for this reason i'm planning a communal P murinus experiment that's heavily dependent upon the success of a preceeding P murinus breeding project...

It's pretty well documented that H incei does quite well communally so even if the cost is still high ($30+ per sling i believe?) at least the risk is a bit lower. Those guys up in Canadia with the huge incei community had the luxury of starting with a whole sac...

 

[hardlucktattoo]

If you're going to use such large t's to start with I suggest putting one in at a time.... Wait until it's established a burrow, then segregate it and add another until you have them all in there.

Really though, they grow very quick, and they're dirt cheap as slings. You could throw double in a tank, and just watch 'em do what they do. A lot easier, and prolly a lot less risk.

Just an opinion of course

And start with the tank you're gonna end with. You don't want to have to rehouse.

What do you think would be a good size tank I figured these guy grow up to be 7"-9" but I wasnt sure I was thinking 35 gallon that i could section off and remove the dividers as they grow but i have a habit of thinking things are going to be too big or too small If anyone has done this what size tank would you recommend

 

[Zoltan]

It's pretty well documented that H incei does quite well communally so even if the cost is still high ($30+ per sling i believe?) at least the risk is a bit lower. Those guys up in Canadia with the huge incei community had the luxury of starting with a whole sac...

Maybe they cost more over there, but I got my sling for 13$, and later I discovered a breeder who sells them for 10$.