# no more neos



## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

im bored with the dull shape of (most) neos and im looking for more (for lack of a better term) pointy broms. but where to start?

of course anything im looking for needs to be viv suitable. i dont want to get a beautiful new brom only to have it melt away. i need at least some to hold water. and i have some size constraints. at the moment, the largest brom i could reasonably fit in a tank would be 8-10 inches in diameter.

also, i actually like the more "dull" colored broms. they have a nice natural look to me.

so, ive been looking at Vriesia and Aechmea, but i know there are some more specific answers out there.

btw, i have to give credit to this thread for sparking the idea to create one of these for myself:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/72094-help-me-select-broms.html#post633565

antone; please post some sweet pics of options like you did for beth 

thanks,
james


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## JP41 (Apr 20, 2006)

V. lubbserii
small plant suitable for viv
btw antones not the only brom guy on forum


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

thats great!
mature size? special requirements?

the tank does have a circulation fan that creates a VERY gentle flow of air.

and i know he's not. he just seems to post a lot of really spectacular pics 

james


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

any for sale?

james


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## BethInAK (Jul 12, 2011)

what about some shiny (non arid) tillisandia? its pointy and curly and interesting looking.


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

nope. its just not what im looking for. i will probably use some tillandsias in this build, but im looking for something that can accept water standing in it.

they are for a tank w/ egg feeders, so at least one brom has to hold water.

james


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## BethInAK (Jul 12, 2011)

i know very little about frogs, except what I read on dendroboard, so you don't want my help ;-) I'll pick by dull color and pointyness only.


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## JP41 (Apr 20, 2006)

i would say its between the 6 to 8 inch wide range. sure,i have a few . shoot me a pm


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

BethInAK said:


> i know very little about frogs, except what I read on dendroboard, so you don't want my help ;-) I'll pick by dull color and pointyness only.


i wasnt trying to be a jerk, if that what you think.

i kill tillandsias with a skill unmatched by many. 
james


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## Jason DeSantis (Feb 2, 2006)

What about a nice v.racinae? Nice little plant with some color but not to much.
Jason


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

vresia racinae is my favorite viv brom ever. HOWEVER, I also really really like Aechmea recurvata, and I just won a few awesome rare Racinaea on ebay


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## BethInAK (Jul 12, 2011)

james67 said:


> i wasnt trying to be a jerk, if that what you think.
> 
> i kill tillandsias with a skill unmatched by many.
> james




I don't think you are a jerk. You are just fine!


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

Just to add a picture to the thread.
Vr. racinae








The flashlight in the photo is a 2 C battery size.


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## jkooiman (May 2, 2010)

Neoregalia mooreana and Vriesa vagans are two sexy bromeliads I would love to get ahold of someday. I'm not a fan of real gaudy hybrid neo cultivars either, I've been trying to pick up species neos. I have N. dungsiana, N. punctassima, and they aren't terribly generic-looking, and true liliputiana coming next week.JVK


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## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

Is this a little too pointy for you?


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

i think i would call that spiny and not pointy.

james


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## fishman9809 (Dec 8, 2008)

Looks like the krakken from Pirates of the Caribbean


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

You can check out tropifloras site too. They had some interesting non neo viv broms awhile back.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

How about Vriesea erythodactylon, the small form with the black stem bases? I've used it with good success. 

Ed


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

JP41 said:


> V. lubbserii
> small plant suitable for viv
> *btw antones not the only brom guy on forum*


Just an FYI, I don't sell them anymore so you gots nothing to worry about. I think my name is synonymous with bromeliads bc of the 5k+ posts I have at this point, 4k of them are probably brom posts. 

James, your request is definitely something I've encountered before. There a couple of problems though...

1. Neoregelias are popular bc it's almost like they were purpose built for our needs. No other genus in the bromeliad family has more terrarium compatible plants. 

2. Many of the other genera that DO contain terrarium suitable plants are hard to find and when you do, they ain't cheap!

Now, lemme see here... Looks like everyone else mentioned many of the ones I might have suggested. I think V racinae is a touchy viv brom. It seems to catch fungal infections easily. If you can let it get some air flow (which I believe you said you could) it would do amazing things for you. 










I agree with Ed, V erythrodactylon 'Mini' works wonders. It's perfect for Escudo btw. 

V vagans is prob my fav Vriesea and does great. Just obtain healthy stock bc some clones floating around out there are weak. 










Guzmania lingulata 'Mini' is another good one...










I think some of the Racinaea plants would be great to try. Especially R crispa. Problem is they are rare, expensive and touchy. 










There is a genus of bromeliads that I believe would be worth trying that i have never had the chance to do, Lymania. This genus contains some AWESOME plants many of which are from similar climates as our vivs. I don't have any pics so you'll have to hit the FCBS for that one. 

Hope this helps some.


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## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

thanks. 

i have some searching to do now..

james


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

One of my favorites for the last decade is the varigata form of Vr. erythrodactylon. I usually don't like variegated plants, but that one is really nice. And like the more standard form, does well in the viv.
Aren't a lot of the Racinaea sp., esp. the small interesting ones like crispa from slightly higher elevations? I've never done well with them long term in dart frog conditions.


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

Definitely agree with most said.
I would also back up Neoregelia mooreana
Ive had it growing in my hex tank for years(Probably atleast 4 years now)
The problem I have is I still have all 4 of my 2nd batch of original stock plants(1st batch I killed the pups by removing them too early and killed the parents by over fertilizing to try to get new pups)

This is a photo of the oldest pup a few months ago. Its even bigger now (Probably considered an adult by now)










Aechmea recurvata hybrids would probably do well too. Things like 'Seunos' They arent colorful in the leaves but that have some unique blooms.



Todd


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## jkooiman (May 2, 2010)

Manuran said:


> Just to add a picture to the thread.
> Vr. racinae
> 
> 
> ...


If you intentionally mis-spell the species name to racine in an ebay search, some can be found available for about 20 bucks with shipping. I think they're also listed as "Pineapple"-something on there. JVK


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Antone, I just got racinaea contorta and adpressa so I'll let you know how well they do


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I


frogparty said:


> Antone, I just got racinaea contorta and adpressa so I'll let you know how well they do


Yeah I saw those. I was nice and stayed out of it. Haha.


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Vriesea ospinae is pretty awesome; almost climbs and can form a trunk....

Also, Catopsis, Brocchia, etc....


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## Molch (Jul 15, 2011)

Frogtofall said:


>


oi. What happened to this poor thing? It looks like it's been through the spin cycle too long....

also, noob question of the day: with some of those "spiny" broms, don't you have to worry that your frogs impale themselves when hopping around?


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## fishman9809 (Dec 8, 2008)

For those worrying about frog impalement by means of spiny bromeliads, here's a photo I found on flickr of _Ranitomeya ventrimaculatus_ in the Peruvian Amazon:










And I believe they are on the red form of _Neoregelia mooreana_:










Frankly I think the frogs know what they are doing. They probably won't get hurt.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Molch said:


> oi. What happened to this poor thing? It looks like it's been through the spin cycle too long....
> 
> also, noob question of the day: with some of those "spiny" broms, don't you have to worry that your frogs impale themselves when hopping around?


Ahhh my young Padowan... That bromeliad was actually in perfect condition in that photo. I had it in a lot of light so it was a bit,"Squatty" but healthy nonetheless.


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

fishman9809 said:


> For those worrying about frog impalement by means of spiny bromeliads, here's a photo I found on flickr of _Ranitomeya ventrimaculatus_ in the Peruvian Amazon:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Awesome pictures you found and actually what I have would have said if you hadn't put this here. 

Also, those are most likely Aechmeas. The very few Neoregelias that DO grow outside of Brazil are typically from the highlands.


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## Molch (Jul 15, 2011)

Frogtofall said:


> Ahhh my young Padowan... That bromeliad was actually in perfect condition in that photo. I had it in a lot of light so it was a bit,"Squatty" but healthy nonetheless.


yes, Master Obi-Wan. It is indeed a thing of great beauty. An odd beauty, but beauty nonetheless


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## Groundhog (Dec 17, 2006)

Personally, I prefer tillandsioids--especially vrieseas--to neoregelias because I like tall inflorescences, and many vrieseas hold color better under moderate light. But Antone is definitely right about :

1) neos size, shape and vigor;
2) Their tolerance of humid terrarium conditions.

I must also concur about Vriesea racinae, which rots for me during severe heat waves (and my tank is not as humid as a pdf tank).

That said:

Pitcairnia flammea (terrestrial, grassy)
Guzmania "Teresa' (Is this the same as mini?)
Vriesea carinata (lobster claw flower, good pupper)
V. erythrodactylon
V. flammea
V. heliconioides
V. lubbersii (rarely flowers, stoloniferous)
V 'Retroflexa' (inflorescence recurves up) 
Tillandsia dyeriana
T. kegeliana
T. leiboldiana
T. montana
T. punctulata
T. tricolor melanocrater

And do any of you dart guys try Tillandsia biflora? Beautiful plant, similar to V. racinae. I think my tank may be too warm for it. 

I ain't sure about Aechmea recurvata, which I grow in the rock garden with a Dyckia; this Aechmea seems to like it drier, rocky and sunny (Bronx, zone 7A--yes they get cold burn by mid-winter, so they're coming insidde in December);. 

But if you have REAL room:

Aechmea farinosa discolor
Canistropsis bilbergioides
Canistropsis burchelli
Portea nana (I believe Antone has success with this one in bigger tanks) 
Guzmania lingulata 'minor'
Guz lingulata 'El Cope'
Guz 'Merlot'
Guz 'Trinidad'
Guz 'Venezuela'
Vriesea splendens

(There is now a mini Aechmea chantinii from DeRoose, but I have no experience with it.) 

Hope this helps.


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