If you were only allowed to keep one genus, which one would you pick and why?

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
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Mar 28, 2013
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Mine's a toss up between Phormictopus, Pamphobeteus and Grammastola. I love the attitude of the Phormics and their feeding response is astounding. Not to mention the color change that happens with them is pretty amazing as well. Pamphos are even more beautiful and they range in colors, sizes, etc. The feeding response again is great and they grow pretty fast. Also, who doesn't love the 'Christmas tree' pattern found in some of the species? Lastly, Grammastola has captured my attention in the least likely of ways. Not because of the beautiful G. pulchra or G. iheringi but because of the ones that are unsubscribed (what I sometimes call the rosea/porteri complex). So far out of the complex, the 'maule' and the 'concepcion' have stolen my heart and I can't get enough of them. Sadly, they grow very slowly and are a bit hard to find.

So, which would you pick and why?
 

Screamingreenmachine

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
65
For me, mine would definitely have to be the Aphonopelma genus, namely the Aphonopelma chalcodes. Extremely long lived, slow growers, gorgeous in their muted earth colors, hardy, and from North America (would love to have a native T). An A. Chalcodes is on my list and most likely will be my 3rd tarantula! I adore my 2 monsters, but something about having a very long lived tarantula is super appealing to me.
 

STi

Arachnopeon
Joined
May 31, 2011
Messages
14
Poecilotheria's with Avicularia's and Brachypelma's as a not so close 2nd. They all have a good variety of species to choose from so you could still make a collection if you were just limited to one. Thank goodness we don't have to choose just one though.
 

symbol

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 4, 2016
Messages
41
Monocentropus all the way. M. balfouri was the spider that first got me interested in keeping tarantulas. There are lots of others that I think are beautiful and/or interesting, but none that completely captivate me like the balfouris do.
 

Venom1080

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Sep 24, 2015
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4,611
id be happy if my collection consisted of only Avicularia. they have epic colors and a variety of sizes.
 

shawno821

Arachno Pimp
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
172
Pamphos without a doubt. Size,always out,feeding response,beauty,and variety.Plus have you SEEN the Pampho solaris?? o..m..g...
 

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
Old Timer
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Mar 28, 2013
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Pamphos without a doubt. Size,always out,feeding response,beauty,and variety.Plus have you SEEN the Pampho solaris?? o..m..g...
Have you seen the price tag that comes along with it, that's even a bigger omg...haha
 

magicmed

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jun 4, 2016
Messages
404
Wow, tough one.... it would probably be Brachypelma...maybe Grammostola, yeah, one of those two, coin flip time.
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
I would probably pick Pamphobeteus. Just picked up my first one and I already love it. So many in the genus too...
 

saturnthegrey

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jan 15, 2016
Messages
80
my favorite so far has to be checksums. I love dwarfs so their small size is awesome for me. the variety of patterns on each species is fun but the lifespan is a downside. sadly dwarfs all seem to have much shorter lifespans. also, their growth rate is wonderful. I always see a huge bump in size when any of mine molt(also sad since it means they will die faster). but no other genus has caught my attention on this scale. I would gladly purchase every single species and I wouldn't mind if a good chunk of my collection was cyriocosmus
 

Trenor

Arachnoprince
Joined
Jan 28, 2016
Messages
1,896
I refuse to participate in a hypothetical world where I can only have one genus of tarantula. :p
 

cold blood

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jan 19, 2014
Messages
13,223
1. Psalmopeous. you talk of feeding response...ha, get a Psalmo, its just as ridiculous, only the t is 10 times faster and more athletic than a Pamph or Phormic making the hunt all the more impressive. They also grow really really fast, cams grow about as fast as any t there is....on top of that, they breed readily and are desirable as well.

2. Close second is Avicularia...just soooo much variety and so many beautiful oprions within this genus, they're across the board desirable (except for eulersK, most everyone likes them:)) and again, they pair and breed readily.
 
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louise f

Arachnoangel
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
936
I go with cold blood here <3 Psalmo of course, no surprise :p Beautiful species, incredible growth rate. Speedy and great feeding response.
Just how i like it. :D
 

Andrea82

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Messages
3,686
my favorite so far has to be checksums. I love dwarfs so their small size is awesome for me. the variety of patterns on each species is fun but the lifespan is a downside. sadly dwarfs all seem to have much shorter lifespans. also, their growth rate is wonderful. I always see a huge bump in size when any of mine molt(also sad since it means they will die faster). but no other genus has caught my attention on this scale. I would gladly purchase every single species and I wouldn't mind if a good chunk of my collection was cyriocosmus
What is a checksum?
 

EulersK

Arachnonomicon
Staff member
Joined
Feb 22, 2013
Messages
3,292
Chilobrachys, Chilobrachys, Chilobrachys.

OW attitude, NW feeding response, you get to choose burrower or webber based on setup, beautiful colors, fast growers, relatively easy to breed, no urticating setae, small enough to have a huge collection, big enough to keep it interesting, fast as lightening, gorgeous colors on some species. I'm moving towards nothing but Chilobrachys as it is, let alone some hypothetical scenario.
 

chanda

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
2,229
Wow... tough call! I love the Brachypelmas for looks, but can't beat the Grammostolas and Aphonopelmas for easygoing temperament. My A. geniculata and Pamphobeteus have that insane feeding response, but the sheer size of the T. stirmi is guaranteed to impress my students. And the GBB's make those incredible webs! (The Poecilotheria, on the other hand, has turned out to be something of a pet hole - that one I probably wouldn't get again.)

If I had to pick just one genus, I'd probably go with Aphonopelma - but I'm so glad that I don't have to make that choice in real life!
 

Jones0911

Arachnobaron
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
406
I'd pick Theraphosa i love the colors of all three species.


I love the fact that compared to all the other animals in the kingdom this "small" animal can kick off/rub onto you some of the most irritating hairs to the point people need to "suit up" just to do cage maintenance.

Imagine a new age smoke bomb using uricating hairs from this T genus that would one hell of a bomb lol....

And of course the size that these Ts get is very impressive like a mini dinosaur!!
 
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