[hydrophyte]

37G Forest Floor

I have a start on a new setup that for a Marineland 37G. This tank has a nice shape with a 18" X 20" footprint and 24" height.

This setup will be mainly for showcasing plants and I haven't given much thought to livestock yet. I don't have any frogs here I will not have the time and space anytime soon for tending frogs. I had pondered Geosesarma sp. crabs. I have found conflicting information about them, but it sounds as though they really do best with a real water feature, and there won't be space for that. I might add mantids if I can get some going later on and if the setup looks right for them.

This is a shot of another tank that I set up at our local children's museum. This is the same model aquarium and I might also be a similar stand for this new project.

I do have some cool plants in mind. I mainly want to use real terrestrials, although I will also include a tree root feature where I can plant a few orchids or climbing aroids too. I'm setting it all up with a Forest Floor Terrarium false bottom assembly like I'm using in my 30 High...

 

[frogparty]

As long as there are unobstructed areas for them to molt then mantids would be awesome in that tank. You could put a dozen or more ghosts in there

 

[hydrophyte]

That would be cool to have a big group of them, so long as they don't eat each other.

 

[hydrophyte]

I'm pondering building a feature to look like the stilt roots of a Socratea palm, like this...

(File:Socratea exorriza2002 03 12.JPG - Wikimedia Commons)

...and I wonder about using this stuff to form the roots...

Google: caulk backing

Can you imagine any issues with that? I'll seal it up real good probably with Zinsser Watertite.

 

[skanderson]

the only trouble i would see with using the backer rod is that it is fairly flexible. if you wanted something stiffer but still somewhat flexible you could use the in floor heating piping. it comes in 3 or 4 different diameters and is pretty cheap. i was going to use it for roots and vines but it is a pain to get them to look decent so i just cut a bunch of cedar.

 

[hydrophyte]

Thanks. Actually I intend to use some thick aluminum wire skewered through the backer rod to give it stiffness and so that I can bend it into shapes. I only had a shot piece of wire handy but I found it was real easy to drive it through the foam and I made a piece more than 12" long that way.

I hope that I can get a pretty good finish with the Zinsser. That stuff goes on so thick that with enough coats it starts to smooth contours and seal up seams pretty well.

 

[hydrophyte]

...posting this link here before I forget it...

Basic Arboreal Tarantula Husbandry | TARANTULAS.com

 

[hydrophyte]

The more I look the more I like the idea of using an arboreal tarantula. I found a page all about those Avicularia spp...

Avicularia species descriptions

I bet one of those would really like a feature like those stilt roots. An important questions would be how compatible they would be with some of the plants that I have in mind. The smallest Avicularia are about 4", which is still going to be pretty heavy and if they climb on plants it would them down.

 

[hydrophyte]

Well apparently some of the smallest tarantulas in captivity are of various Cyriocosmus species. Some of them are really beautiful. Just look...

Google: Cyriocosmus

They are New World rainforest spiders, so they would conform to the general biotope idea that I have in mind. They are terrestrial, not arboreal.

Another article about arboreals that I found...

http://www.thebts.co.uk/New%20World%20Arboreal%20Tarantulas.htm

 

[BurnsinTX]

What kind of lighting do you have on that 30H if you don't mind? I like the look of it.

 

[frogparty]

Pooh I think you need Avicularia metallica!

 

[hydrophyte]

Pooh I think you need Avicularia metallica!

What do you think would those spiders make a mess with lots of webbing and trampling plants? And will I get bored with them because they hide all day?

 

[frogparty]

They will web the hell out of it. And sit still all day. I doubt they'll crush bromeliads but maybe more delicate plants.

Ghost mantis sit pretty still most of the time too, but the flower mantids are a lot more active

 

[hydrophyte]

What kind of lighting do you have on that 30H if you don't mind? I like the look of it.

This thing, minus the stand....

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-2-Foot-Start-Light-System/dp/B0006856EQ

...easy, cheap and bright!

 

[hydrophyte]

They will web the hell out of it. And sit still all day. I doubt they'll crush bromeliads but maybe more delicate plants.

Ghost mantis sit pretty still most of the time too, but the flower mantids are a lot more active

I have seen a few pictures and videos where the Avicularia had built their webs up bear the top of the enclosure. So I wonder If I were to make a stilt root feature maybe they would put their web up inside the roots, which would be the most protected area in the viv and also higher up(???). That way it wouldn't get all over the plants that I plant underneath.

(File:Socratea exorriza2002 03 12.JPG - Wikimedia Commons)

 

[frogparty]

Only one way to find out...

 

[hydrophyte]

Well I just, again , ran into the article in the June 2009 TFH about tangerine-head crabs (Geosesarma krathing). It sounds as though this one might be the most arboreal in genus and maybe they don't require such a big water feature. This setup just has a little puddle for them...

Geosesarma krathing vivarium

But, I can't find any evidence that they have made it to the US for sale.

 

[frogparty]

I love Geosearma! I've never seen that species, but they look great. If they are arboreal that would be awesome!

 

[hydrophyte]

Yeah the main constraint is that this setup won't ahve room for much of a water feature. If I can just provide a dish with water towards the back that might work. But like I say I don't know if this species has become available here or not.

The vampire crab Geosesarma are bigger and apparently they really do best with a larger water feature with some water circulation.

 

[hydrophyte]

I finally got around to cutting the plate for this thing...

I might go pick up the tank tomorrow, and then I'm going to start working on the cabinet.