Why are Bio-Active setups "controversial"?

[Isaax Critterz]

Just wondering, was looking through one of the threads and I saw a quote about the following statement.

 

[Frogdaddy]

Just wondering, was looking through one of the threads and I saw a quote about the following statement.

There are a few reasons. First, bioactive enclosures are totally unnecessary to successfully keep a tarantula.
Second bioactive has become a trend. It's gone viral if you will. Mostly promoted by vendors that make more profit by you buying more supplies. So from that standpoint it's a marketing gimmick.
Third, many beginners see bioactive enclosures on the Internet or YouTube and they think that's what they have to do thereby complicating their tarantula husbandry exponentially. Beginners should concentrate on basic husbandry skills without complicating matters with plants, lighting, micro fauna etc. The simpler the enclosure the more success a beginner keeper is likely to have. By going bioactive you are introducing more opportunities for things to go wrong, more parameters to worry about. Beginners don't need that.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

There are a few reasons. First, bioactive enclosures are totally unnecessary to successfully keep a tarantula.
Second bioactive has become a trend. It's gone viral if you will. Mostly promoted by vendors that make more profit by you buying more supplies. So from that standpoint it's a marketing gimmick.
Third, many beginners see bioactive enclosures on the Internet or YouTube and they think that's what they have to do thereby complicating their tarantula husbandry exponentially. Beginners should concentrate on basic husbandry skills without complicating matters with plants, lighting, micro fauna etc. The simpler the enclosure the more success a beginner keeper is likely to have. By going bioactive you are introducing more opportunities for things to go wrong, more parameters to worry about. Beginners don't need that.

What’s a Good example of one of these enclosures? I don’t Keep even plants in my t enclosures let alone isopods and all sorts of little organisms. With my luck the whole thing would die off and I’d have to clean it up and put the spider in-another tank.

 

[Frogdaddy]

What’s a Good example of one of these enclosures? I don’t Keep even plants in my t enclosures let alone isopods and all sorts of little organisms. With my luck the whole thing would die off and I’d have to clean it up and put the spider in-another tank.

Here's where bioactive enclosures started. Dart frog vivariums.
Newly set up and then grown in.

 

[viper69]

Here's where bioactive enclosures started. Dart frog vivariums.
Newly set up and then grown in.
View attachment 447066 View attachment 447070

It’s such a gimmick. No T needs this.
We’ve been keeping Ts for many decades without anything but various sub

 

[Dry Desert]

Just wondering, was looking through one of the threads and I saw a quote about the following statement.

It's not so much controversial it's that other than amphibians or diurnal lizards it's not necessary, or appreciated by the tank occupants.

As most inverts are nocturnal they won't appreciate high intensity lighting required for plants long term.

Also most t,s don't like walking on plants or damp substrate, and things that burrow constantly will only uproot them anyway.

Keep " bio active " for amphibians or lizards.

You may be able to succeed somewhat with forest scorpions, although it won't be appreciated by the scorpion.

 

[The Snark]

Bio: life. Active: living. Redundant from word go. You can't find a more ambiguous term or phrase. Go poop in a bag and seal it. You got yourself a bioactive containment that should last for a few years.

 

[l4nsky]

I wouldn't say they're controversial per se. The best comparison I can make is they're the terrestrial version of a reef aquarium (not the best analogy mind you). If you want to keep saltwater fish, you really have two options, a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) tank, or a reef tank. The FOWLR tank is focused just on the husbandry for the fish whereas the reef tank has to balance the needs of the fish with the more demanding husbandry needs of the corals, anemones, and other reef organisms. It's an added layer of difficulty and complexity that's not necessary to keep just the fish, but the flip side is, when properly done, the aquarium becomes a living work of art.

Where the "controversy" starts to set in is too many people try to run before they walk. They don't have basic tarantula husbandry quite figured out, and when you start adding other living organisms into the same enclosure that have differing care requirements, the tarantula's husbandry needs just get further neglected as the inexperienced keeper starts to flounder.

In the end, bioactive tanks can be beautiful, show-stopper displays that will demand the attention of anyone who sees them, but, if you don't do your compatibility research or can't provide proper husbandry to every organism in the enclosure, then there are more ways to screw it up then there are to get it right.

 

[Tired Teacher Vibes]

Just wondering, was looking through one of the threads and I saw a quote about the following statement.

I have a bioactive setup. Everything I read about how to do it came down to like 2 things that made in controversial:

1.) It's more for the owner, because it makes the enclosure look pretty. But isn't necessary for the tarantula.
2.) To go along with #1, people put in plants and other things that don't pair well with their tarantula's. Mostly adding things that ramp up the humidity, which is bad for their Ts.

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

Mostly adding things that ramp up the humidity, which is bad for their Ts

The issue isn't with the humidity itself (and frankly, humidity is unavoidable with certain Ts such as Asian arboreals that need moist substrate, which is inevitably going to release water vapor into the air and thus raise humidity; and high humidity does reduce the rate in which water is lost through the cuticle, though it will do nothing in regards to a T's water intake), but more with people reducing ventilation for the sake of maintaining specific high-end humidity figures, which genuinely is bad for Ts (especially Avics).

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

The issue isn't with the humidity itself (and frankly, humidity is unavoidable with certain Ts such as Asian arboreals that need moist substrate, which is inevitably going to release water vapor into the air and thus raise humidity; and high humidity does reduce the rate in which water is lost through the cuticle, though it will do nothing in regards to a T's water intake), but more with people reducing ventilation for the sake of maintaining specific high-end humidity figures, which genuinely is bad for Ts (especially Avics).

What’s up with all those old care sheets and suggestions to block off ventilation for higher humidity?? It seems all that does is create a mold spawning environment… Infact I just removed such stuff from a few tanks now it’s just airflow . It wasn’t causing any mold just didn’t like it , and an outdated care tactic .

 

[Kada]

Probably the only controversial part is if the keeper is intelligent enough to make it right. Most seem not to be. Really its just a tank that looks pretty and naturally decorated, but must meet the needs of the occupant. Tarantulas and dart frogs are vastly different and a bioactive vivarium for those shouldnt in anyway look similar. Many people do seem to just think planted tank with stuff living in the soil though, thus the controversy being human intelligence not so much the "natural tank"

 

[Introvertebrate]

I get the impression that the frog guys like their plants as much as the frogs. They want to create their little slice of the Amazon. The frogs are just an excuse to make an ecosystem.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I get the impression that the frog guys like their plants as much as the frogs. They want to create their little slice of the Amazon. The frogs are just an excuse to make an ecosystem.

I’d imagine frogs like sunlight a lot more than most inverts esp most pet species are nocturnal , I can see why frog keepers do this type of natural set up. I’ve never kept reptiles or amphibians, not that I didn’t want one once .

 

[Introvertebrate]

I’d imagine frogs like sunlight a lot more than most inverts esp most pet species are nocturnal , I can see why frog keepers do this type of natural set up. I’ve never kept reptiles or amphibians, not that I didn’t want one once .

Yes, dart frogs are diurnal. That accounts for a lot of their popularity.

 

[Frogdaddy]

I get the impression that the frog guys like their plants as much as the frogs. They want to create their little slice of the Amazon. The frogs are just an excuse to make an ecosystem.

Yes and no. I enjoy the plants but I don't geek out over them like some frog keepers do.

I’d imagine frogs like sunlight a lot more than most inverts esp most pet species are nocturnal , I can see why frog keepers do this type of natural set up. I’ve never kept reptiles or amphibians, not that I didn’t want one once .

Actually the frogs don't have any light requirements. Remember on the forest floor, under the canopy it can be pretty dark at noon. The lights are really for the plants.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

What’s up with all those old care sheets and suggestions to block off ventilation for higher humidity?? It seems all that does is create a mold spawning environment… Infact I just removed such stuff from a few tanks now it’s just airflow . It wasn’t causing any mold just didn’t like it , and an outdated care tactic .

Care sheets are too vague to be of any use, but there is often an unstated reason behind the info they contain. The purpose of blocking ventilation is to prevent the soil substrate from drying out too fast and prevents someone from having to water the soil, or refill water dishes, on a regular basis which could drive your tarantulas crazy.

What usually gets lost in translation from cares sheets and other online guides is that soil moisture, or humidity in general, is a balancing act that is controlled by the amount of ventilation. Too much ventilation and the enclosures dry out too fast, but too little will cause a stagnant environment which is detrimental to the health of your tarantula.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Care sheets are too vague to be of any use, but there is often an unstated reason behind the info they contain. The purpose of blocking ventilation is to prevent the soil substrate from drying out too fast and prevents someone from having to water the soil, or refill water dishes, on a regular basis which could drive your tarantulas crazy.

What usually gets lost in translation from cares sheets and other online guides is that soil moisture, or humidity in general, is a balancing act that is controlled by the amount of ventilation. Too much ventilation and the enclosures dry out too fast, but too little will cause a stagnant environment which is detrimental to the health of your tarantula.

Yeah that’s why I redid a few cages , for better ventilation. And a few more might need it also . But I thought l klugi was wandering because its tank was too wet , I give it a dry tank it did the same thing . So maybe it didn’t hate the wet sub it just lt keeps sitting on the glass for some reason. O well maybe it will settle down in a month or so I gave its legspan in height around so it can’t fall far if it climbs. 1.2x dls to the top of the cage . I’ll probably have to feed it a roach not a super worm because it won’t sit on the ground . I expect this behavior post rehouse anyways nothing new . I asked for tips from a critic but he left lol .. I’m like cmon man like I haven’t had enough issues .

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

As someone with both dart frogs and tarantulas, here's my 2 cents:

Dart frogs love 'muggy', dank enclosures and hunting micro-fauna. So a bio-active enclosure can satisfy both needs by having critters that control the mold that grows in such high humidity and giving the frogs something to hunt as enrichment. Most tarantulas, on the other hand, get stressed out by both of these things.

I think a lot of what this comes down to is wanting a nice looking tank. You can decorate a tarantula enclosure with some humidity-appropriate plants that you can trust haven't been treated with pesticides, but the tarantula won't care. I think people just like the word 'bio-active' when what they are really aiming for is just a planted tank. Some panarthropods really do well in bioactive setups though; I keep my velvet worms in one and I've seen people successfully keep centipedes in ones without any isopods.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

As someone with both dart frogs and tarantulas, here's my 2 cents:

Dart frogs love 'muggy', dank enclosures and hunting micro-fauna. So a bio-active enclosure can satisfy both needs by having critters that control the mold that grows in such high humidity and giving the frogs something to hunt as enrichment. Most tarantulas, on the other hand, get stressed out by both of these things.

I think a lot of what this comes down to is wanting a nice looking tank. You can decorate a tarantula enclosure with some humidity-appropriate plants that you can trust haven't been treated with pesticides, but the tarantula won't care. I think people just like the word 'bio-active' when what they are really aiming for is just a planted tank. Some panarthropods really do well in bioactive setups though; I keep my velvet worms in one and I've seen people successfully keep centipedes in ones without any isopods.

A bioactive enclosure itself takes more maintenance than a tarantula does . And for frogs most t care sheets are so far off on the internet you’d think they’re written for amphibians not Ts . I have one tank with a pothos plant in it . That’s the closest I’ll go to bio. Any pics of your bio active enclosures?