# tepui plants * bromeliads especially* Antone? Harry?



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

So I want to build a tepui tank. Probably won't be any frogs i it as I can't find any endemic frogs from the tepuis that are captive bred. I already know where to get heliamphora species, and can probably track down the cool utricularias, and sundews from there,
What I need info on are bromeliads from the tepuis. Can't seem to get a good species, or even genus list for these. Perhaps the carnivorous bromeliads are from here... anyway any help would be much appreciated. Going to be my 1st rockwall tank, as well as my 1st moving water tank. I want to simulate water flowing over the exposed bare rock past clumps of plantlife like they show in david attenborough's "the private lives of plants"


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

check out these rock formations!
Homepage of Vladimir Dinets - Mount Roraima, Part 4


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Actually I designed a terrarium based on the Tepui habitat awhile back and wrote a "how-to" on it. Maybe it will help out with your design. Here's some info taken out of my report/project:

These “islands in the sky” are one of the most unique habitats in the world. Formed over millions of years of erosion; they are isolated plateaus located primarily in the Gran Sabana region of Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil. Many of these plateaus reach thousands of feet in height, with sheer walls on all sides towering above the rainforest below. This effectively has isolated the habitat on top for so long that many of the species are endemic, found nowhere else on Earth. With the tops in the clouds; the climate is cool and misty with constantly high light levels. The surface is bare rock, with many arches and formations caused by erosion that give it an otherworldly appearance. Rainwater runs through the rock and down the sides, creating caves and sinkholes in the rock as well as an abundance of waterfalls.

These conditions are incredibly demanding on the plant species that live here, with constant temperature extremes and little organic nutrients. Many of the low areas are filled with bogs and marshes, home to a fascinating array of carnivorous plants and orchids. While there are not any animals native to this area in the trade, one could easily design a display solely to showcase these unusual plant species.

For this display you will want an enclosure just like the one described for the waterfall habitat, with ample drainage and a circulating water system. Since all of the featured species grow in full sun, a very bright lighting system will be required. To start with the unique landscape, begin by creating a background and landscape out of gray spray foam. Foam a little at a time, keeping the whole structure open and airy, with lots of holes and tunnels. The goal is to get a surface that is similar to lava or lace rock in texture. Make sure you have lots of planting pockets with the biggest one in the center of the tank. In this case you can either leave the foam bare or coat with epoxy. Then run a few drip lines through the rocks, allowing water to pool in the lower parts of the tank. This display will need a very cool temperature with almost 100 percent humidity, and the use of either an ultrasonic humidifier or mist system will be essential to accurately recreate the conditions found here. A timed misting system should ideally spray the tank at least three times a day at 1-3 minute intervals, using distilled or RO water. Then prepare the planting areas by tucking some course tree fern and live sphagnum moss in the holes and pockets.

Now that you are ready to plant start with the centerpiece; such as a larger clump of Sun Pitcher (Heliamphora ) or Brocchina reducta. This will be the main visual attraction and the dominant feature of this display. Around the base of these plants, add a mix of smaller orchids like Pleurothallis, marsh grasses, and a few clumps of sundews such as Drosera roraimae or montana. If you want to include some larger water holding bromeliads like Aechmea, than you will be able to grow certain bladderworts like Utricularia humboldtii in its vase. Most of these carnivorous plants grow in the same areas of the Tepui, so quite a few could easily be grown in the same tank. The end result should show lots of bare rock with gardens of greenery in the crevices.


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

Brocchinia reducta
Brocchinia hechtioides

These 2 carnivorous species of bromeliads occur in the area around the Tepuis as well as on them. Hope this helps.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Thanks for the quick responses guys, I am going to be giving it good lighting, running water, and doing some crazy rock work for it. Want it to be a big tank so I can do one of the cool mushroom looking rock formations. Going to be a long process, and just in the planning/plant aquisition stages right now. At least I have 10 years exp with carnivorous plant growing. And I have a cooler room in the house, so once the lights go out it will get the temp drops like on the top of the tepui
As far as animals go, only been able to find pics of a couple species of colostethus-beebeiand roraima, as well as pics of the roraima toad. No way I can get these guys cb! I t will most likely be plants only. Especially with all the carnis in there! Want some bigger broms to grow the utricularias in for sure. The option of finding some crazy mini orchids and the like for it willbe most enjoyable. Endemic species might be hard... but that's what I am really going for. My first biotope tank
Looking for info on orectanthe bromeliads as well


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Here's some CP's to use. Some of the Utrics might not be actually on the Tepuis but alot are. Miniture orchids like pleurothallids should be good too, and lots of marsh grasses.

Brocchina reducta and hechtioides
Catopsis berteroniana

Drosera
chrysolepis - Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais)
graminifolia - Brazil
intermedia - Northern South America
montana - Brazil
roraimae - Venezuela (Mt. Roraima and surrounding Tepuis), Guyana, Brazil

Heliamphora
chimantensis - Venezuela (Bolivar, Chimanta Tepui)
elongata - Venezuela (Ilu and Tramen Tepuis)
folliculate - Venezuela (Aparaman, Murosipan, Terke-Yuren, and Kamarkaiwaran Tepuis)
heterodoxa - Venezuela (Ptari Tepui and Gran Sabana)
hispida - Venezuela (Cerro Neblina)
ionasii - Venezuela (Tramen Tepui)
minor - Venezuela (Auyan Tepui)
neblinae - Venezuela (Cerro Neblina)
nutans - Venezuela (Roraima and Tramen Tepuis)
pulchella - Venezuela (Chimanta Tepui group)
tatei - Venezuela (Cerro Huachamacare)

Utricularia
asplundii - Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela
aureomaculata - Venezuela
buntinggiana - N. Venezuela
campbelliana - Venezuela, Guyana
guyanensis - Central and South America
heterochroma - Venezuela
humboldtii - Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil
huntii - Brazil
longifolia - Brazil
meyeri - Brazil
mirabilis - Venezuela
nelumbifolia - Brazil
nephrophylla - Brazil
quelcii - Venezuela, Guyana, N Brazil
steyermarkii - Venezuela
reniformis - Brazil


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

There is one more Brocchinia that occurs on the Tepuis, B. acuminata.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

sweet list josh! Thinking of trying to track down utricularia humboldtii, or quelchii
heliamphora nutans, and one or two of the brocchinia also want to find a source of orectanthe spectrum(gorgeous!) and the lycopodiums endemic... but a similar one will do just fine. Got a few ideas on orchids. really want to go for the real deal and find some endemic ones, but pleurothallids will be my back up. Wanted to do this project for a long time, and want to do it right.


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

Some Brocchinia:

brocchinia, Home Garden items on eBay.com



Mike


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## stitchb (Jan 26, 2009)

JoshH said:


> Actually I designed a terrarium based on the Tepui habitat awhile back and wrote a "how-to" on it. Maybe it will help out with your design.


Hey Josh got any pics of this setup?????


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Thanks for that link Mike!


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

stitchb said:


> Hey Josh got any pics of this setup?????


I don't think I have them anymore..... I was planning on doing another one just like it in a 30g cube tank so that might happen soon. The only thing holding me back is those pesky Heliamphora prices, lol ;-)


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

NO DOUBT! Almost as expensive as frogs


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

This sounds like a very interesting project. Seems to me that good air may be a key to pulling this off. Unfortunately I know nothing about these environments so I may have to do some studying.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Going to be time intensive! Will need to really take the time to get the eroded rock effect I am looking for. Luckily I have a room in the house thats normally quite cool, So I will get a really nice temp change when the lights go out. Gong to have a pump to create little rivulets between the rock formations, as well as a humidifier set up to simulate the clouds rolling through. I MAY end up putting some type of critter in there, so probably won't put any sundews in there, despite the fact that the tepuis have some of the highest densities of them anywhere. Don't hold your breath for pics any time soon, this is going to take some time


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

was this the place from that one show on Discovery channel called "Expedition Borneo" ?

that place is cool!


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## raimeiken (Dec 24, 2006)

sounds like a very interesting project. You better post pics!

EDIT: I just looked through that website you posted and saw this frog! I think I remember posting a thread about it last year after I saw the show on TV. Very cool frog











How big is the tank going to be? because the bromeliads in those pictures look pretty big


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

tepuis are in the guyana/venezuela area. Super awesome habitat. I will probably do a bowfront for this tank, maybe in the 40 gallon range. Gotta start collecting plants, and doing the scaping. The good thing is I can do the rock work modularly piece by piece before I even get the tank going, so I can have a sweet art project to be working on.


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## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

that little guy in the pic is the roraima toad, did you see the pics of that awesome golden frog that lives in the broms?


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Does anyone know if the bromeliad Orectanthe spectrum or any of it's relatives are available? How about Stegolepis? There has got to be more than just carnivores that were collected off those tepuis........


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

I don't think either of those are bromeliads. They are in a completely different family. Maybe they are more closely related to Agaves?


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## Manuran (Aug 28, 2007)

I think Orectanthe isn't a bromeliad. It's related to things like Tradescantia (spiderwort or wandering jew). I think you would have a fairly difficult finding the species from the Tepuis.
Stegolepis is also related to spiderworts and the like. I just read about a species from Kaiteur falls (the same area where frogparty's awesome golden frog, lives) they say its slow and difficult to grow. Apparently, other species are also difficult. Kind of a bummer, but that makes it a challenge worth pursuing!


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## JoshH (Feb 13, 2008)

Yep you two are right. I knew the Stegolepis wasnt a bromo but the Orectanthe looked like one. It does look like an agave but the flowers are not similar at all. That explains how alot of those were growing in ponds and puddles of water.


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