[droogievesch]

I am starting up a terrarium, and I've posted quite a bit on the construction part of this forum. I have a few micro/mini phals that I was hoping to be able to put into my terrarium. They are in a 2" pot (flowering size) and that is about as big as they get. I get them directly from an orchid dealer here in my area (not sure where she gets them).

I have read the threads so far on these and most people say they get them in their terrariums and they don't bloom because of not having a cool off period and stagnant/constant humidity. Here is where my questions come in:

1.) I plan on molding little "cups" for the plant pots to sit in. So in effect, the entire plant can be removed from the background and exchanged out if needed. So I can always remove the plant after it blooms to let it cool down.

2.) I am going to be putting in fans for air circulation to prevent stagnant air. The humidity will still be up since it will be an internal system and not taking air from outside the tank.

Does anyone see any glaring reason why this won't work? My main goal right now is to set up a terrarium, frogs may or may not be introduced later. My initial size is going to be a 29 gallon, but I am working on obtaining a few larger tanks to experiment with (I found a 70g with stand on craigslist for 50.00 and 175 gallon with stand for 100.00/or trade).

 

[frogparty]

Only one way to find out.... Your setup sounds about as good as it can get to keep ovals happy in a viv

 

[frogface]

In my experience, Doritisphalaenopsis tolerate the conditions of a terrarium better than phalaenopsis. They tend to be a little smaller too.

 

[droogievesch]

In my experience, Doritisphalaenopsis tolerate the conditions of a terrarium better than phalaenopsis. They tend to be a little smaller too.

I will double check with her to see if she can get them in, do you have a certain supplier that you would personally recommend for this species?

 

[frogface]

I get mine from a local grower, The Orchid Trail, Orchids and Orchid Seedlings For Sale

They do ship orders, but, you could probably find the plants available from most any orchid suppliers. Andy's Orchids has a nice variety of plants and you can sort them for the plants that will do best in viv conditions.

 

[littlefrog]

Dtps (Doritaenopsis) is what you are trying to find... That is a hybrid containing the genus Doritis (probably only one real species there, D. pulcherrima) and any Phalaenopsis. According to the most recent monograph by Christenson, the Doritis in the background is really a phalaenopsis, so they are all phalaenopsis. Nobody has gone around changing tags though. It just takes one dose of the Doritis species to make it a Dtps forever. 10 generations out, even if it looks like a standard phal (and is as immense as a standard phal) it is still a Dtps. I'd be wary of ordering anything that was a Doritaenopsis in preference to a phalaenopsis, most are really no different and you'll be disappointed.

Many of the 'miniature' phals you see now at supermarkets aren't exactly miniature, they have been hormonally treated to bloom on small plants. They might get bigger.

All of those caveats aside, if you can pull them in and out of a viv, go for it. Sounds like a great idea. Some phalaenopsis species that stay small to look for: Phal. lobbii, Phal. parishii, Phal. celebensis, Phal. equestris (bigger than the first three). There are several more that are probably getting into the range of too expensive to experiment with. You can find many of these at any orchid show, or try some orchid specialists like Andy's Orchids or Oak Hill Gardens. I generally grow other orchids, but I occasionally have some small phal species (don't think I have any now).

 

[mordoria]

I have a viv with a similar design element. I also have some Mini/micro phal orchids. I use a net cup to create the pocket in the wall (GS foam background) and keep the orchid potted in another netcup. the orrts come out the top which allows me to pull out the orchid and drop in another in a netcup.

My Mini/micro phal orchids seem to flourish but they never bloom. I have some at the top where its hot and moist and some at the bottom that are cooler and moist too. I think that if they are younger, they adapt to the environment.