# Tillandsia in vivs



## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

Ive always been fairly opposed to putting Tillandsia in dartfrog vivs but Ive seen some pictures of them doing fairly well in vivs.

I was wondering what people experiences were and which ones have done well and which varieties have done porrly.

As well as any factors that helped improve their quality of life.

Thanx

Todd


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## poimandres (Mar 28, 2009)

I have Tillandsia Ionantha ('Ionantha' and Mexican) and they are doing ok in my vivs. 

They are mounted up at high points on wood/background.


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## VivariumWorks (Feb 27, 2008)

Tillandsiais is my favorite plant genera and I've worked with them quite a bit. Things to keep in mind with most of these is that their natural habit is in the upper canopy of semi arid climates. The majority of these guys will rot rather quickly if kept moist all the time which makes placement in most vivs kinda tricky. What I have found works really well with these guys is a full wet/dry cycle. They get really wet, then really dry. This is most easily achieved in the tops of most vivs, or suspended on a fake vine/log that doesn't wick water like a real one will. 

Also when looking at which species to use and where, keep in mind the darker green color the leaf tissue is the less light it needs compared to the greyer colored ones. The grey color comes from almost microscopic hairs called tricomes that are evolved to help reduce the intensity of light that beats down on these guys naturally. If you put wet moss on or near these guys and let it stay moist permanently, it will rot out the bottom meristematic tissue rather quickly and die. Best bet with these guys in vivs is keep them dry and stick to the greener species.

I live in south texas and we get summer heat of over 100 degrees daily and I've had excellent growth with this genera in my makeshift greenhouses out back. I setup the automated mister to go off twice a day and that gives them enough time to be wet each day, but also fully dry out and they grow and divide like mad. That was of course until this last winter where a single 28 degree night froze everything. But alas time to restart anew.

Ones I've had trouble with in vivs are:

T. concolor
T. tricolor
T. capult-medusa
T. bulbosa

Those guys I've had little luck with as the tend to rot out pretty quick. Which is really too bad because they look really cool. I've had luck with:

T. stricta
T. ionazantha 
T. aeranthos
T. baileyi
T.cauligera

But again keeping these guys has everything to do with placement.


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

Thank you guys very much. 

I assumed that I would need some sorta ventilation in there as well?

The 3 that I was considering trying were
Tillandsia funkianna
Tillandsia butzii
Tillandsia ionantha 'Druid'

I had heard somewhere before that the gray fuzzy leaved ones were alot less tolerant of our conditions.

I more than likely will not end up putting these in vivs I just think they would look very cool in a viv.
However I find it is much mor eimportant to keep the plants in conditions that makes them thrive than condemn them to a slow death or a crappy life in a place just becuase they would look cool there

Todd


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

I also forgot to mention that I have Tillandsia biflora that id like to try....
Its a very soft leaved species so I have a feeling it would rot out if kept moist constantly.


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## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

In my opinion, Tillandsia's a staple for vivariums. They are way more resilient than you might think. They're not so expensive that you can't replace one that dies. They're also super easy to place because you don't really have to plant them. Some do better in high humidity than others because they are found all over the world.


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## RentaPig311 (Jul 6, 2009)

I have several in my tank that seem to be doing well. I just hot glued them to my background and they have survived for a few months. They never seemed to "attach" but that's probably my own fault.


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

I have all of these in my Viv and I've had no problems with them at all. I have them all mounted at the top where they get tons of light and less humidity, so they'll dry quicker after being watered.

Tillandsia aeranthos miniata
Tillandsia andreana
Tillandsia brachycaulus miniata
Tillandsia concolor
Tillandsia fuchsii forma gracilis
Tillandsia ionantha-Guatemalan Form
Tillandsia neglecta x stricta
Tillandsia "Houston"- Stricta x recurvifolia
Tillandsia stricta-"J.R. Hybrid"


They all do well but by far the 'Tillandsia brachycaulus miniata' does well the most. Ever since I got it to bloom, it's been growing new plant after plant. I started with one and I think I have almost 10 now.









here's my 'Tillandsia "Houston"- Stricta x recurvifolia' in bloom









my Tillandsia ionantha-Guatemalan Form in bloom


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

Thanx guys!

This is gonna help alot!


Todd


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