Planted Viv for Tapinauchenius Arboreal T

[hydrophyte]

Planted Viv for Tapinauchenius Arboreal T

I have a concept in mind for a planted viv to house a Tapinauchenius capreus tarantula.

Google: Tapinauchenius

Members of this genus are interesting spiders. Most are smaller than most other arboreal tarantulas at only around 3" long. This lesser size should scale well with a smaller enclosure size and I intend to use a 12 X 12 X 18 Exo Terra enclosure for this project. It will have the same basic setup as my current 12 X 12 setup (below) with a few important differences.



That is a high-humidity viv that I mist every day. I am selecting plants that will grow with lower humidity levels (~75%) for this new tarantula setup.

The T. capreus got here on Friday through the mail from Pennsylvania. Here are a couple of quick and crummy pictures. It sure is cool. It has a real distinctive appearance with short an velvety hairs on the abdomen and long front legs. It's super fast too.

[andrewss]

haha nice... don't let him escape heh

[hydrophyte]

Here is a quick shot for an idea of how a manzanita feature might look planted with nothing but Tillandsia. These are just a few extra plants that I had on hand. I have an order with more Tillandsia that inlcude a couple of the real small miniature species on the way. This feature isn't mine either; I built it for a customer. I have a slightly different manzanita design in mind for my setup.

[crazydaz]

Hmm....what species of Tilly is that on the left side Devin? Looks wonderful!

Just curious if you ever thought doing this with a large tank....maybe for a 55gallon? I think that it would be awesome to see several of these types of Manzy set ups side by side by side!

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by crazydaz

Hmm....what species of Tilly is that on the left side Devin? Looks wonderful!

Just curious if you ever thought doing this with a large tank....maybe for a 55gallon? I think that it would be awesome to see several of these types of Manzy set ups side by side by side!

I got it as a NOID, but I think that the hairy one on the left is T. mallemontii. The larger tidy rosette on the right is T. velutina.

One could make a real nice viv in a 55, but there are better sizes/shapes. I have a plan sketched out for a viv setup in a 47 Column fish tank and I think it will be cool.

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice!

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by GMYukonon24s

Nice!

Thanks!

I hope to get my order with the new plants tomorrow!

[hydrophyte]

Last night I got a box in the mail with eight or nine different Tillandsia. They are such cool little plants. I'm editing and uploading specimen pictures right now. Here is T. aeranthos "Miniata".

[c_gwinner]

This amazing. Will def follow this one.

[rainbuilder]

This looks really cool. These setups of yours always turn out really nice.
Have you ever thought of keeping cockroaches in these manzanita setups? Panchlora nivea would look really cool in one of these in a group.

[BeachBum2012]

I can't wait to see how this turns out. All of your projects turn out beautifully.

[Robotponys]

Ooh exciting! I just re-did my poor A. Metallica's tiny enclosure. It has been cold and dry for over a week (blackout and at dad's house) in there and she was death curling. The new cage has a live moss substrate and live moss for climbing. Only problem is getting the little fast thing back into the little cage...

Once she is bigger I want to design a cage like yours. They are really amazing!

[BeachBum2012]

Where do you get your tillys and your identifying information on them? I picked up a few and would live to be able to identify them

[hydrophyte]

Originally Posted by c_gwinner

This amazing. Will def follow this one.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by rainbuilder

This looks really cool. These setups of yours always turn out really nice.
Have you ever thought of keeping cockroaches in these manzanita setups? Panchlora nivea would look really cool in one of these in a group.

Thank you! Yes I have thought about using roaches. I acquired a few different species and I have them here. Roaches are perhaps less useful for planted viv displays. Most of them just hide all day long and most will also nibble on any live plant. Panchlora might however be a good one to try because I think that they are somewhat more diurnal in their habits.

Originally Posted by BeachBum2012

I can't wait to see how this turns out. All of your projects turn out beautifully.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Robotponys

Ooh exciting! I just re-did my poor A. Metallica's tiny enclosure. It has been cold and dry for over a week (blackout and at dad's house) in there and she was death curling. The new cage has a live moss substrate and live moss for climbing. Only problem is getting the little fast thing back into the little cage...

Once she is bigger I want to design a cage like yours. They are really amazing!

Oh I hope that your spider can recover. They really are cool animals. Avics are well-suited for use in planted viv setups.

Originally Posted by BeachBum2012

Where do you get your tillys and your identifying information on them? I picked up a few and would live to be able to identify them

There are many Tillandsia sellers online. I got this order from an etsy.com vendor who had low prices, a wide selection and lots of good reviews.

[hydrophyte]

Here is thing planted up some more. This manzanita piece is not for me, but it gives an idea how this kind of planting with Tillandsia can look.