Live plant recommendations for T enclosures?

Artaeshia

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
122
Sometime in the future when I have more space I would love to have some live plants in my T enclosures. I've looked up care requirements for certain plant genera such as Hypoestes (Polka dot plant) which like humid conditions and not too much light. Has anyone used this type of plant in T enclosures before? I've seen them used in E. murinus enclosures before and they look beaut! Anyway the Ts welfare is much more important. Just looking for a challenge tis all.

So are there any plants inparticular that look awesome and do well in tropical enclosures? Ran a search on here but didn't find anything that suited my question.

Thanks for any responses! :)
 

JZC

Arachnobaron
Joined
Oct 9, 2012
Messages
421
Since plants need water, which moistens the substrate, I would think that the best sepcies for such a tank would be theraphosa or ephephobus. Maybe some avics. Bromeliads work very well in a tropical vivarium. I tend to prefer animals like dart frogs in a planted viv, but it could work for Ts.
 

macbaffo

Arachnolord
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Messages
652
There is a thread with.a list of plants that you could use.
Even if a plant needs little light, keep in mind it doesn't mean a couple hours of light or a feeble light.

Basically every species can be provided with live plants. But you have to get the right plant that can live in that particular climate.
That goes also for dry species.
 

Akai

Arachnobaron
Joined
Jul 23, 2012
Messages
326
I honestly think if I had the space I could get into the vivarium culture. I want to raise some carnivorous plants.
 

pa3k_87

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
127
If I do use a plant with my Ts, it would be the trusty and cheap Pothos vine. I grow them around the house and clip off the rooted tips to add to the enclosure. Other than that, you can probably use ferns that are ok with the low-light conditions Ts require. Warning, Ts will redecorate if they want to! My L parahybanas continue to just snip off anything I plant in their tank. My Pokies and Avics just web up everything to the point of killing the plant due to lack of light and not enough space to send out new leaves. And there's a few that bulldoze their enclosures every now and then, basically just rolling everything in their path.
 

Artaeshia

Arachnosquire
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
122
If I do use a plant with my Ts, it would be the trusty and cheap Pothos vine. I grow them around the house and clip off the rooted tips to add to the enclosure. Other than that, you can probably use ferns that are ok with the low-light conditions Ts require. Warning, Ts will redecorate if they want to! My L parahybanas continue to just snip off anything I plant in their tank. My Pokies and Avics just web up everything to the point of killing the plant due to lack of light and not enough space to send out new leaves. And there's a few that bulldoze their enclosures every now and then, basically just rolling everything in their path.
Yeah I would only ever use them in tanks with Ts that don't web, such as H. gigas, which I have at the moment.

---------- Post added 07-03-2013 at 12:07 PM ----------

I honestly think if I had the space I could get into the vivarium culture. I want to raise some carnivorous plants.
I'm currently raising venus flytraps, they take soooooo long to grow! lol
 

EightLeggedFreaks

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Messages
341
Pothos work well, but I myself use bamboo palms.

Fertilizer stick and water them once every week or two and they are fine.
 

josh_r

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 18, 2008
Messages
1,131
there are many plants that do well in a vivarium. Many of the common plants you will find at your local pet store or fish store (sold as aquatics) are actually not acuatic by nature or are only semi aquatic. you can buy many of these plants and grow them just fine in a moist vivarium. Java moss, Java fern, anubias, pygmy chain sword, cryptocorynes, ludwigia, bacopa, marsilea, echeinodorus to name a few. there are also many other very nice vivarium plants that are available in the dart frog hobby.. many pepperomias, verious ferns, mosses, dischidias, broms, orchids, philodendrons, ficus, many aroids, calathea.... the list can go on..... A great place to check for plants is dendroboard.com and ebay. You really need to decide how serious you are about a planted tank, what you want it to look like, and then you need to accomodate both the plants and the species of T you plan on putting in there.. this will require you to choose your plants and T according to the habitats they come from... You do not want to get plants for a tropical environment and keep a desert T in the cage.... Something will die... Be sure you choose plants and T species from similar biotopes.
 

Louise E. Rothstein

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
430
Java moss parches so easily that I wonder how "moist" its "moist vivarium" would have to be...although some of them did stay alive awhile under " moist vivarium" conditions they did not really thrive or achieve visible growth anywhere outside of water suffused with bright,indirect light.

Are ANY tarantulas in the hobby as aquatic as that...?
 

pa3k_87

Arachnosquire
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
Messages
127
Java moss parches so easily that I wonder how "moist" its "moist vivarium" would have to be...although some of them did stay alive awhile under " moist vivarium" conditions they did not really thrive or achieve visible growth anywhere outside of water suffused with bright,indirect light.

Are ANY tarantulas in the hobby as aquatic as that...?
Hystocrates gigas. I don't have one myself but I've seen videos where owners put out a small pond for them to swim in and a hunt. I've even seen a Pokie go down his water bowl and hide until danger passes by. Again not mine. Just Youtube vids I've seen.
 
Top