Hello~ I made this vivarium a year ago.
At the moment there are only springtails and a few small isopods that appeared somehow, all as a cleanup crew.
Its a exoterra nano tall (8x8x12" / 20x20x30cm), and now I was thinking about introducing some invert inside.
My first idea were bigger isopods (yellow zebra, for example), but Im worried about them eating all the fittonias, since apparently they are know for eating live plants too, and specially fittonias. In case I add isopods I would add leaf litter, cork bark hide and a suplement food anyways, but also the enclosure is more vertical than horizontal, so Im not completly sold about the idea of isopods since I imagine they will not really use the available space that much.
There are other things that catch my interest, like a dwarf tarantula or a mantid, but I kinda pref to not get an invert that requires keeping a feeder insect colony, and might be too humid and crowded for a tarantula anyways.
Any invert ideas? If not, I guess I will just get isopods, or a mantid and deal with getting into a feeder insect colony.
Thank you! 🐜🦗🪲🪳🪱🐞🕷️🦂
by ikaroikaroikaro
4 Comments
Prey mantids of smaller varieties would enjoy this but obviously just house one. Mourning geckos are another(not an invert I know but an option). Smaller huntsman spiders could do well. Aboreal tarantulas too.
First off I just want to say that viv is majestic.
You want a solid population of détritivores first of all:
Isopods (a good amount)
Springtails
Earthworms (if soil is deep enough, 5+ cm)
And if you live in a tropical area I recommend just adding some leaf litter from outside. It adds food forr the détritivores along with beneficial bacteria.
Next up depends on if you want a single, impressive invert or a more diverse ecosystem.
For the former I recommend mantises(1), assasin bugs (up to about 20) or a scorpion or whip spider if you’re really brave.
All of these are carnivores and require live meat, so get feeder insects like mealworms or roaches that you can raise separately.
If the latter interests you more, here’s a list of compatible tropical species:
Millipedes, they come in all sizes and are excellent detritivores. You can feed them with dead leaves/fruits.
Sun beetles. They eat fruits or beetle jelly and look very pretty.
Madagascar hissing roaches. They are quite large and easy to breed. They enjoy vertical climbing space and hiding spots, like logs and hollow wood. They eat fruits vegetables and even fish food.
WARNINGS:
mantises eat eachother, only get one if that’s what you’re looking for.
Stick bugs are not compatible with these terrariums as they eat any plants they can find, many of which are toxic to them.
Ant colonies are not compatible with these. They will extinguish other species and escape quite easily.
If you want larger arachnids (tarantula, scorpion, whip spider) be sure to provide several shaded hiding spots and to provide live prey.
If you dont want to mess with feeders, some roach species are pretty neat looking, though you may need to cull the colony fairly regularly with an enclosure that size.
I’ll triple down on what the other folks have been saying about mantids as well…there’s several species that dont get huge, are able to thrive in a space that size and can be super interesting to take care of. Feeders arent really too bad if you get a routine down for care and purchasing.
A dwarf arboreal tarantula would LOVE this! And honestly, they really don’t eat enough that owning a single one would require a feeder colony. I have 4 tarantulas and a dozen crickets lasts weeks, if the crickets don’t die.