# Just went to the store and wrote down what plants they have....



## Smurf (Nov 29, 2014)

I am really not familiar with plant types, but I went to the store and got all the types listed out so I can go back knowing what to buy. They are all exotic angel brand.

Bear in mind my tank is a 20 gallon high, horizontal. Would someone mind taking a look at this list and telling me which ones I can go ahead and buy? 

Here is the list:

Croton, "Gold Star", _Codiaeum_
Ficus, "Fig Bellus",_ Ficus Pumila_
Pothos, "Golden", _Epipremnum aureum_
Pothos, "Marble Queen", _Epipremnum aureum_
Dracaena, "Lemon Surprise", _Dracaena deremensis_
Dracaena, "Florida Beauty", _Draeaena godseffiana_
Sansevieria, _Sansevieria trifasciata_
Aralia, "Olympia", _Dizygotheca elgantissima_
Aralia, "Castor", _Dizygotheca elgantissima_
Peperomia, "Jelly", _Peperomia clusiifolia_
Dracaena, "Limelight", _Dracaena deremensis_
Dracaena, "Lemon Lime", _Dracaena deremensis_
Crown of thorns, "Plata", _Euphorbia milii_
Philodendron, "Silver", _Scindapsus pictus argyraeus_
Selaginella, "Golden Moss", _Selaginella kraussiana "aurea"_
Purple Waffle, _Hemigraphis alternata_
Rex Begonia, _Begonia Rex_
Ivy, "Pixie Dixie", _Hedera helix_


I'm sure most of these won't work for a vivarium, but it is worth a shot. They also had bromeliads but they all seemed too large for a 20 gallon tank.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

I personally wouldn't use any of those. Maaaybe the Scindapsis or Peperomia.


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## Luke-O-Melas (Dec 20, 2014)

Good evening Smurf!

I have to second what was said by Epiphytes.

As an example, Croton is a very high light plant in my opinion and we allow it to go dry between waterings at the nursery. While Sanseveria is tolerant of low light levels, it too wants to be dry.

I am afraid that the humidity levels of a vivarium would soon rot your plants out.

Many of the cultivated varieties of Peperomia are so far removed from their native haunts, that they now cope better with dry air than with constant humidity.

I have had success with Calatheas in the past, but have some showing no progress even though the enclosure has better air flow than the 30 gallon aquarium where I used to house such species.

If I was in the US I would go gonzo buying and trading the neat species you folks have access to down there. Safe up, spend more money, but get a better bang.

Hope this helps!


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## jpg (Jan 3, 2009)

I third what epiphytes etc said . Dont use any house plants . I would go with a package from a hobby related business .


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## Smurf (Nov 29, 2014)

Well, it's definitely good to get some input then. When I searched around I saw that a few of those species seem to be fairly common (e.g. pothos, perperomia, ficus).

Is it that houseplants are different than native strains in general, or these aren't great plants to begin with? They look pretty similar to what I see online... just a very small plant, not massive like most houseplants. From my inexperienced position I don't know what I would gain by buying scindapsis online for $6 compared to the nice little $2 plant at Lowe's.


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Those plants just get huge. I know some people put pothos in their vivs, but it's just going to be constant maintenance. The sanseveria and crown of thorns ate succulents, plus the crown of thorns is super thorny and very poisonous. Scindapsis has several forms, one has leaves bigger than my hands, another has half dollar sized leaves. The big difference is that it's good frog karma to support the db sponsors.


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## Pubfiction (Feb 3, 2013)

I think people are over analyzing this. 

1 if you buy a plant package from a number of reputable vendors you might get some of these plants. 2 the OP isn't really that picky if they are asking questions like will any of these work. IMO saying these aren't good is not needed, just hey these might get big or grow a little faster than you like. You also have to be careful of pesticides with commercial plants. 


Croton, "Gold Star", Codiaeum 
I have seen this in vivariums. But its not that common probable not good. 

Ficus, "Fig Bellus", Ficus Pumila
Nearly every time I trade clippings with other froggers I get this plant its in tons of collections. And it seems a reasonable plant to put in a beginners vivarium, yes it can produce a lot of plant but typically it at least hugs the ground.

Pothos, "Golden", Epipremnum aureum
Pothos, "Marble Queen", Epipremnum aureum
Pothos are pretty much the most abused plant both physically and psychologically, but yet most common in the dart frog hobby. They are nearly perfect except they can get big. They have good sized smooth leaves which make frogs feel secure and produce the best understory of ANY plant I have seen in anyone's vivarium. They also serve as great egg deposition leaves. They do not get clumpy, or produce too many leaves like many other plants that might overrun a vivarium. Some big breeders stock tanks with this plant. If you don't care about looks or trimming and you do care about frogs I cannot see any problem with pothos. 


Dracaena, "Lemon Surprise", Dracaena deremensis
Dracaena, "Florida Beauty", Draeaena godseffiana
Dracaena, "Limelight", Dracaena deremensis
Dracaena, "Lemon Lime", Dracaena deremensis
These probably are not good. Too big and probably need airflow.

Sansevieria, Sansevieria trifasciata
probably too wet in a vivarium and the plant is too big. 

Aralia, "Olympia", Dizygotheca elgantissima
Aralia, "Castor", Dizygotheca elgantissima
Know nothing about this. 

Peperomia, "Jelly", Peperomia clusiifolia
It probably would work but its kinda big. 


Crown of thorns, "Plata", Euphorbia milii
Also too wet and thorns 

Philodendron, "Silver", Scindapsus pictus argyraeus
I see them in vivariums but similar to pothos except they have fuzzy leaves. 

Selaginella, "Golden Moss", Selaginella kraussiana "aurea"
I have no experience with this Selaginella but lots of others are perfect in dart frog tanks, they aren't too big and are common. Of all the plants here this one seems perfect even by others standards. 

Purple Waffle, Hemigraphis alternate
Works fine for me doesn't get too tall. And you can even grow it riparian. 

Rex Begonia, Begonia Rex
These will take over a vivarium but if you get the smaller leaved varieties they can stay around 12 inches which is acceptable to some people. People have variable luck but I have grown them fine and vendors sell them. These are probably the best foliage plants available given their leaves can look better than many flowers. The thing is when you move them to a moist vivarium they might drop a lot or all of their leaves but often they will regrow. It is very similar to swapping some aquatic plants between emersed vs submersed. Maybe that is why some people say they survive or do well. 


Ivy, "Pixie Dixie", Hedera helix
Can over grow but should work. 

The main deal here OP is if you pick a lot of these that we say over grow or get big you can probably only have 1 or 2 of that one in your vivarium. If you are worried about having a vivarium that looks like its jammed full of plants you may want to avoid these but the frogs really don't care IME if a vivarium is jammed full of plants.


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