# Planted 12" X 12" Exo Terra



## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

*Planted 12" X 12" Exo Terra*

This is a new little project that I have a good start on, but I am still trying to figure out livestock selection. I considered using one or two Ranitomeya or other smaller dart frog, but the setup (see details below) might not be so good for most frog species. Somebody suggested a _Melanophryniscus stelzneri_ walking toad and I kind of like the idea of them, but I don't know if I can find them. If I can figure out a good display species it seems more likely I'll use some kind of smaller pet roach or mantis. I'd be interested in any ideas anybody might have. 

Here is the Exo Terra with the Forest Floor false bottom plate. 










In addition to some plants planted into the bottom I also made this manzanita feature to position in the middle of the layout. The manzanita branches are mounted to a 1/4" plastic plate suspended from the enclosure top plastic rim.










Here it is in the enclosure.










I wanted to plant the manzanita with some small epiphytic plants, so I wrapped some long-fibre sphagnum moss around the pieces facing toward the front that would be in the brighter light.










And here it is planted.



















To finish up the planting I positioned a few small terrestrial plants in the bottom, then covered that false bottom assembly with leaf litter.










I think this will start looking cool when those little epiphytic mini ferns start to spread and fill in on the manzanita. 

Thanks for reading. I'll be interested to hear any suggestions at all for livestock. I put this together mainly as a plant display but I hope I can figure out a good animal to put in there too.


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## Chillean frog (Nov 29, 2011)

This looks awesome I love the manzanita branches.. what epiphytes do you have mounted on the branches?


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Your ghost mantis are ready. They will look amazing in there


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

frogparty said:


> Your ghost mantis are ready. They will look amazing in there


Hey that's the other livestock idea. The advantage of using a mantis is that they won't chew on the leaves. I wondered about roaches chewing on plants(???).


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## FHal11 (May 8, 2012)

Chillean frog said:


> This looks awesome I love the manzanita branches.. what epiphytes do you have mounted on the branches?


Specifically, what species are the little epiphytic ferns?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Sorry there are three little ferns in there. One of them is a NOID and I have to look up the names for the other two. I will try to get some close-up shots of them tomorrow.


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## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

Nice one Devin. I always enjoy your builds. I see my tillandsia on there 
It will look amazing when the branches fill in with the epiphytes...personally I think it would look good to get a little moss going on the whole branch, especially the lower parts.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks! Yes those little _Tillandsia_ you sent are perfect in there. I would have used more of that moss, but I have found that it has a way of overgrowing small fine plants like those ferns. That short branch in the upper right is covered in moss.


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## snake54320 (Dec 16, 2011)

Really like your job ! It's nice, but this tank will definitively not be able to keep M. stelzneii because they live in a dry area. 
If you could do pictures of each plant and put the name to it it would be very nice of you !

Best regards, 
Snake


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Devin, Your creations are always stunning and you have an amazing "eye" for what works! 

Awesome job!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

snake54320 said:


> Really like your job ! It's nice, but this tank will definitively not be able to keep M. stelzneii because they live in a dry area.
> If you could do pictures of each plant and put the name to it it would be very nice of you !
> 
> Best regards,
> Snake


Thank you that is good to know. I had not done a whole lot of research on them yet. I do like the way those walking toads look and they are nice and small. It looks like I will be using some kind of insect maybe a roach or more likely ghost mantis.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Duff said:


> Devin, Your creations are always stunning and you have an amazing "eye" for what works!
> 
> Awesome job!



Thanks so much Duff! I didn't know you were over here on dendroboard.

I should have a little group of _Phyllocrania_ ghost mantises on the way pretty soon. I'm pretty much settled on using those in here. The enclosure will be real humid inside, but I am going to install a ventilation fan and I hope I can keep conditions fresh for the ghosts.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Here's another shot to show the terrestrial plants a little bit better. That is a _Costus woodsonii_ spiral ginger right in the middle with a couple of _Pilea grandifolia_ on the left. I am trying to figure out what the fern is.


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## yumyow (Apr 28, 2012)

Really like the way this is turning out. Keep up the good work!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

yumyow said:


> Really like the way this is turning out. Keep up the good work!


Thank you!


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## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Here's another shot to show the terrestrial plants a little bit better. That is a _Costus woodsonii_ spiral ginger right in the middle with a couple of _Pilea grandifolia_ on the left. I am trying to figure out what the fern is.


Figured out the fern yet? I am pretty sure the genus is Dryopteris. I know I've seen that one but it's been a long time since my 'fern phase' lol


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

It could be a Dyropteris. I looked around on the Exotic Angel site at the ferns because they have a lot of those littler table ferns, but couldn't find one that looked just like it. 

I like this littler fern. It has the right size and growth habit for a setup like this. It has that little bit of lighter green patternation on the leaves to add more interest, but not so much to be gaudy.


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## snake54320 (Dec 16, 2011)

What Tillandsia specie is it ?
Can't wait to see it covered of moss !


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

snake54320 said:


> What Tillandsia specie is it ?
> Can't wait to see it covered of moss !


That _Tillandsia_ is a NOID.

There is only one little corner of moss in there. Most of that green that you see is three different species of little mini ferns.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I was looking through my folders and ran into this other shot from before I added the leaf litter and with a different perspective.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I just got my half-dozen _Phyllocrania paradoxa_ 100% alive with the mail. 

I'm pretty tickled about that.


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## cschub13 (Apr 27, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> I just got my half-dozen _Phyllocrania paradoxa_ 100% alive with the mail.
> 
> I'm pretty tickled about that.


Awesome, I just got mine too! Pretty cool little fellas!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I got these little monsters set up in somewhat larger jar enclosures.

They are eating fruit flies with gusto.


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## karag (May 12, 2005)

Very interesting.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

One of these ghosts already moulted sometime overnight. 

These little guys are really cool! I hope that I can keep them going.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Umm... Photo's? I've been looking forward to see them and it's really not fair to keep them all to yourself and not share a photo or two with the rest of us!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I have pictures right here I just need to process them and load them up.

I got some shots of the avic too.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Here's one of the little _P. paradoxica_ nymphs with the macro lens. 


Phyllocrania-paradoxica-1-VII-12-II-m by hidrofit


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Cute little female. Wait till you see the casques on the males once they get bigger!


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

WOW, Alien movie flash back! What a stunning little creature Devin!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks you guys!

I really want to get some other species started. I hope that I can keep these things alive and get them breeding.

Here is the second shot I got.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

WOW AGAIN- that is an amazing little creature. I had no idea they existed until I saw your post. It's so "mechanical" looking! (forgive my newbie'ness). I hope you do more Macro shots of these little ones as they grow up, I'll be checking in to see updates!


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## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Thanks you guys!
> 
> I really want to get some other species started. I hope that I can keep these things alive and get them breeding.
> 
> Here is the second shot I got.


Holy *bleep*, how small is that cute thing?!


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## chipcount (Aug 27, 2010)

I really like the upside down branches. Gives it a nice appeal!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Duff said:


> WOW AGAIN- that is an amazing little creature. I had no idea they existed until I saw your post. It's so "mechanical" looking! (forgive my newbie'ness). I hope you do more Macro shots of these little ones as they grow up, I'll be checking in to see updates!





flyingSquirrel said:


> Holy *bleep*, how small is that cute thing?!





chipcount said:


> I really like the upside down branches. Gives it a nice appeal!


Thanks everybody!

That little nymph is only 3/8" or so long. They are eating several fruit flies everyday so I hope I will see them getting bigger soon. I've already seen three moults among them.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

So tiny! I had no idea - it is quite possibly the cutest thing I've seen in a long long time (other then my pup of course!) Please post more pictures as they grow! 

Are they all in one temp enclosure now? It must be pretty small?


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

They get bigger every molt! You'll be surprised how much bigger they are post molt


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## Smashtoad (Apr 27, 2007)

That truly is a magnificent tank. Congrats.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Smashtoad said:


> That truly is a magnificent tank. Congrats.


Thank you so much!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I checked out an HD video recorder at the library. I hope to get some good video of this setup and others this weekend.

I also want to get out to one or two of our local forest preserves to try to get some habitat video.


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

You have a library that allows you to borrow electronics? Cool


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Now I just need to set everything up for recording. I would make more videos, but they take so much time.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Little monsters are eating pinheads now...still waiting for them to molt into the next instar.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey thanks for the likes you guys.

I can't wait to get some more species! I am really enthused for this idea of keeping mantises.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I made a real quick 1-minute video just to try out some of the clips that I got.

I did not get the HD recorder. I might do that for a second round of recording. I will probably need to find a machine faster than my old MacBook to work on with HD files.


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## jacobi (Dec 15, 2010)

The first part of the video had me confused.. I thought you uploaded the wrong video 

Looks really nice. The roach looks like it belongs. What are you feeding them?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I have a couple other clips from out in the woods that I want to add.

Those two javanica roaches eat various veggies and organic dog treats.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

If it loads right I'm going to have another video to link in a few minutes.


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## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

This build is looking really nice man, I love it! Cool roach too!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

flyingSquirrel said:


> This build is looking really nice man, I love it! Cool roach too!


Thanks! I really want to get more roaches. I'd love to trade for some new species. It gets costly buying them at three to ten bucks per nymph.

Here is this new video that features this setup. It's kind of long and there is no sound, but you will get the general idea. I wan to edit it down to about 3:30 and add voiceover too.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Devin, So very cool - The intro and end are a very nice touch. Would be nice to speed up portions of the video but 5 mins was not bad at all. Zoomed right by. Great instructional video on how to set up a new system. Though, I'm also kind of freaked out /laughing - your shorts match your wall color!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

[/QUOTE]



Duff said:


> Devin, So very cool - The intro and end are a very nice touch. Would be nice to speed up portions of the video but 5 mins was not bad at all. Zoomed right by. Great instructional video on how to set up a new system. Though, I'm also kind of freaked out /laughing - your shorts match your wall color!


Thanks for watching it Duff! 

That was Cathy putting the whole thing together. The color coordination was an accident .


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## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

What kind of paint or coating was that, that you brushed on to conceal the false bottom?


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## guylovesreef (May 3, 2012)

that looks really good!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

flyingSquirrel said:


> What kind of paint or coating was that, that you brushed on to conceal the false bottom?


That was just flat black latex paint. It looks nice and sharp with a clean masked line.

And it comes off easy too. 



guylovesreef said:


> that looks really good!


Thanks!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

These little epiphytes are growing! Especially the mini _Davalia_ on the middle branch. It already has several new leaves.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I made another one of these manzanita features. This one has a different shape with a larger branch curving from the top center down to the lower right.










Here it is in the Exo Terra.


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## The Dude1 (Jul 5, 2012)

Very cool. How are the mantids coming along?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

The Dude1 said:


> Very cool. How are the mantids coming along?


Thanks! 

The mantids are doing fine. They have all moulted twice for me now, but they still small and the largest is only about 1/2" long. Each of them eats one pinhead cricket every day. I still have them in their individual plastic jar enclosures.


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## Giga (Mar 31, 2011)

where do you get the wood for these


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Giga said:


> where do you get the wood for these


I buy the branches in big crates and then make the arrangements by cutting them and fastening to that 1/4" plastic sheet.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Little ghost mantises eat like monsters... I found that I can chill the pinhead crickets till they stop moving altogether, then get the mantises to bite by picking the crickets up with a paintbrush and just putting them right up to the mantis's mouth. The crickets don't even have to be moving their legs or anything.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

We so need a video (or picture) of that, I'm dying to see more photos of the Devin! Pretty please!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

A couple more instars and I hope they will be big enough to get some good video...It really is fascinating to watch them eat.


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## SteveR (Jul 26, 2012)

Nicely done... I love the idea of hanging branches... 

...very groovy.  Its got a clean, zen look about it.... and I love the epiphytes up there. What did you do... silicone a little moss to it?

yeah... Im also lookig for a source of some clean looking, gnarly, driftwood like that.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

SteveR said:


> Nicely done... I love the idea of hanging branches...
> 
> ...very groovy.  Its got a clean, zen look about it.... and I love the epiphytes up there. What did you do... silicone a little moss to it?
> 
> yeah... Im also lookig for a source of some clean looking, gnarly, driftwood like that.


Thanks!

The sphagnum moss is just wrapped around the branches with 4 lb. test fishing line. The plants are tied on loosely with cotton sewing thread.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I got a molt from the little _A. diversipes_ last night. It's a lot bigger! But the abdomen sure did shrink. I tried to feed it a little dubia roach today and I was surprised it did not want to feed.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey!

I just formatted a new video featuring this setup to explain the Forest Floor terrarium concept. This is the short (~5:00) version video that I made using some clips that I had. I'll makea somewhat longer one with more detail sometime pretty soon. 

Thanks for watching!


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

lets see pics of your ghosts now. They have to be quite a bit bigger by now


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

They are quite a bit bigger I could get some new pictures.

But what about my new video?


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

video looks good!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks for watching it. That video is 5 minutes long, which is a long time for YouTube, but I didn't have much time to explain how everything works. I think I might use most of the same clips but cut them down less to make a longer more detailed video in two parts. I want to take some time to talk about livestock and plant selection too.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I got a few picture updates today! Here is detail of the planting up at the top of the manzanita.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I got a couple pictures of one of the ghost mantises in there too. I'm still not keeping them in this enclosure; I still need to button it up a bit tighter. It has a loose plexiglass cover that I want to replace with glass.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Here's the whole planting...


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Looks great!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey thanks!


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

that little female ghostie looks super fat and happy! I knew youd treat them right!!!!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks again so much for sending them. They really have been so entertaining. I lost just one of them that seemed to have a molting problem and never got past the smaller instar, but the remaining individuals all look great and they are growing steadily.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

That occasionally happens. Even with perfect humidity etc sometimes insects have bad molts


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I got this quick picture of the setup with a manzanita feature that I made for somebody else before I shipped it off. It looks kind of cool too with just the bare manzanita in there.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

The _P. paradoxica_ are looking good. The largest individual molted again the other night and now it's better than 1" long.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey thanks for the like cshub13!


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

That fern is actually an outdoor fern with the common name English Holly I believe. I have several of them...nice fern. Those critters are just spectacular...so different than the typical ones you see...I had to go through several posts to actually figure out what I was looking at!!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks Judy S. I bought that fern as a houseplant--I don't think it would be hardy outdoors here. 

Here's another quick shot I got of the epiphytic ferns. I need to clean it up some more to get a picture of the whole setup.


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## goof901 (Jan 9, 2012)

what's the fern that looks kinda like parsley?


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## cschub13 (Apr 27, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Hey thanks for the like cshub13!


Yeah man of course, I got three of them myself from frogparty too. I wish I had a sweet setup like yours for mine! I love the little guys though and they are getting so big, just chowing down on crickets.


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## dendrothusiast (Sep 16, 2010)

goof901 said:


> what's the fern that looks kinda like parsley?


davallia parvula


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

cschub13 said:


> Yeah man of course, I got three of them myself from frogparty too. I wish I had a sweet setup like yours for mine! I love the little guys though and they are getting so big, just chowing down on crickets.


Yeah I really want to get more species. I really don't have the time + energy to maintain frogs right now, but I can keep up with mantises.

Do you just have the _P. paradoxica_, or do you have any other species?


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## cschub13 (Apr 27, 2011)

hydrophyte said:


> Yeah I really want to get more species. I really don't have the time + energy to maintain frogs right now, but I can keep up with mantises.
> 
> Do you just have the _P. paradoxica_, or do you have any other species?


Yeah I do! I really would like to get some orchid mantids from Jason myself, one of these days anyway.


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## sarasmiles (Sep 5, 2012)

Wow! Looks great already! Very creative.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thank you!


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## soulis (Sep 7, 2012)

very creative ... nicely done


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

soulis said:


> very creative ... nicely done


Thanks soulis!

The largest Phyllocrania, the one that I have in this enclosure, molted again last night. She is really big now. I gotta try to get some new pictures.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

The _P. paradoxica_ and the plants are still growing well and today I got a few pictures.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Here's a shot of the whole thing...










I monkeyed with the terrestrial area a bit more and I'm happy with it now. I added bright red fallen maple leaves and they make an excellent contrast with the green foliage and black background...


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey thanks for the likes you guys.


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## flyingSquirrel (Aug 22, 2011)

This is looking awesome, man. And it's not just 'another tank' but more of a work of art. 

I see the Tillies I sent are still doing great and that large one finally pupped! I hope you get that one to bloom some time and can post pics so I can live vicariously through the photos, LOL.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Yeah I was going to write you about that. I only noticed that pup when I put the plant into this setup. I needed something to complete that upper left corner and that _T_. 'Califano' had the perfect size and shape.


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## Styx (Oct 25, 2008)

Wow, that is an awesome little tank.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Thanks Styx!


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

Nice.. You used fresh Oak and Maple leaves for the leaflitter?

I tried it with my 18x18x24 Terra and it turned to mush, soft leaves no bueno!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

JonRich said:


> Nice.. You used fresh Oak and Maple leaves for the leaflitter?
> 
> I tried it with my 18x18x24 Terra and it turned to mush, soft leaves no bueno!


All leaves will decompose over time in a viv, but I just add more on top. The maple leaves do break down a lot faster than oak.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

hydrophyte said:


> All leaves will decompose over time in a viv, but I just add more on top. The maple leaves do break down a lot faster than oak.


Yea, i have some Magnolia,sea grapes and Indian Almond that last a ton longer then the Oak and Maple.

I'm considering adding a pair of Painted Mantellas to my 18x18x24 ExoTerra. Works good, and with the Selva kit i can mist a ton more without fear of saturation. I also use an inline dosing pump and 1/4" tubing ran into the void to automatically drain excess water via a timer for 30 seconds, once a day!
http://www.marinedepot.com/Tom_Aqua...low_Boxes-Tom_Aquatics-OE11371-FIOFOA-vi.html
I have been lazy to take pix and a video.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

JonRich said:


> Yea, i have some Magnolia,sea grapes and Indian Almond that last a ton longer then the Oak and Maple.
> 
> I'm considering adding a pair of Painted Mantellas to my 18x18x24 ExoTerra. Works good, and with the Selva kit i can mist a ton more without fear of saturation. I also use an inline dosing pump and 1/4" tubing ran into the void to automatically drain excess water via a timer for 30 seconds, once a day!
> Tom Aquatics Aqua-Lifter Dosing Pump, Suction Pre-Filter & 25 Feet of Flexible Air Line Tubing
> I have been lazy to take pix and a video.


That's a great idea. I have been meaning to set up some kind of automatic drain that wouldn't require drilling the enclosure bottom. Is that Tom Aquatics pump working pretty well without clogging? I'll be interested to see pictures of it when you get a chance.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

hydrophyte said:


> That's a great idea. I have been meaning to set up some kind of automatic drain that wouldn't require drilling the enclosure bottom. Is that Tom Aquatics pump working pretty well without clogging? I'll be interested to see pictures of it when you get a chance.


Works great so far. I have the ExoTerra tilted slightly (i used an extra mouse pad that i cut and stacked) in the back so the water pools better towards the front. 

It's not the fastest drain (3g/hour). But it's completely hands free. I have the tubing in a "sock" (just some nylon thats spaced with a paperclip) so there is no debris being picked up. But moss might be a concern over time.


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## JonRich (Oct 19, 2012)

You can't really see it in this video because the line is ran down along the back wall and then under the screening along the side towards the front behind the PVC "leg" on the front left side.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey that's a great video! 

The _L. williamsi_ look happy in there. 

I like the misting. 

Look at all of those healthy white roots under the false bottom plate.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

I have an adult ghost in here now. The largest individual molted one last time and now it's almost three times bigger than its siblings. I don't know why the others are so far behind(??). I need to move them out of this enclosure before they get eaten by the big one.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Here's that lone adult _P. paradoxica_.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Ugh, the adult _P. paradoxica_ grabbed one of the other ones and it's eating it right now. I knew there there was a risk of this happening, but I had hoped that I could keep them going as a colony by feeding as much as possible. I'll have to remove the other two and get them each into their own small separate enclosures.

I might still try keeping ghosts as a group colony in future planted viv setups, but I think it will work better if the enclosure can be supplied with a constant source of food. Blue bottle flies might work well for this purpose.


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

hydrophyte said:


> Here's a shot of the whole thing...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What kind of fern is at the bottom?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

rigel10 said:


> What kind of fern is at the bottom?


I have been trying to figure that out. It's some sort of "table fern" that I got at Home Depot. I'd like to find some more of it because it works real well with this kind of planting.


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## Percularis (Mar 22, 2011)

Not sure if this was discussed already, but how did you attach the plants using just sphag? Did you use fishing wire to hold them on?


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Percularis said:


> Not sure if this was discussed already, but how did you attach the plants using just sphag? Did you use fishing wire to hold them on?


I used fine (4 lb.) fishing line and just wrapped small wads of moist sphagnum up the length of the branch. It is slow-going, but just take your time and you can get a nice effect.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi Devin, So sorry to hear you lost one of your P. paradoxica!  Were you able to get the other two out safely? It's amazing how they have grown

PS. Your tank is stunning of course and the plant growth and placement create a beautiful set up!


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Duff said:


> Hi Devin, So sorry to hear you lost one of your P. paradoxica!  Were you able to get the other two out safely? It's amazing how they have grown
> 
> PS. Your tank is stunning of course and the plant growth and placement create a beautiful set up!


Oh it's not a real big deal and it was instructive to observe. I think that a colony setup with P. paradoxica can work well so long as you try to keep them at around the same size--removing individuals that are growing more slowly or faster--provide a constant source of food and don't mind losing a few.

Thanks a bunch! The plants grew in real well in this setup.


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## Duff (Aug 4, 2011)

Is it normally the females that the males? If so, could there have been a mating or are they still too young? I am sure they must be fascinating to watch! 

I curious, how do you feed flies, or rather raise flies? Escapees must be a pain! or are there wingless types? (hope that's not a stupid question)


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Female mantids sometimes eat the males after mating or in an unsuccssful mating attempt, but if you keep groups of mantids together they may cannibalize each other at any time. _Phyllocrania_ ghost mantids are among a few species that are less likely to eat each other in a colony setup, but this can be achieved most successfully if the animals are close in size and if they are provided with constant sources of live food. 

There are several different online vendors who sell blue bottle flies. I have never tried to raise them, but it doesn't sound too difficult. I have never heard of wingless bottle flies. For easier handling I would probably chill them in the fridge for a few minutes to make it easier to remove them from the culture container without escapes.


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

_P. paradoxica_ in here viv habitat...


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Here's yet another view a bit closer of the ghost. I need to take some time and get some very good shots of this bug. I might put together a white box setup.


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