RETF vivarium needs plant ideas!

[tinkgirl77]

Hey guys, I'm new to building a living vivarium. So naturally I'm seeking ideas for plants for our RETF habitat build. We have an 18 x 18 x 24 exo terra tank. I already know about pothos. I am also looking for suggestions on where to purchase them from for a good price! I am also taking suggestions for substrate/floor filtration etc! Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance for any advice you want to share!

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[deranged chipmunk]

pothos is a very common houseplant that you can get almost anywhere that has a garden dept. walmart, Home depot, lowes, ect. they all sell quite a few plants you can use, such as ficus pumila (creeping fig), hoya, diffenbachia, numerous ferns, dracenas and a few others. Ebay is also another good source, if you know what species you are looking for. also, garden centers or plant shops that have terrarium depts. are a gold mine for vivariums. terrarium depts specialize in miniature sized plants. as far as online goes, here are a few links for you, some places i have ordered from in the past, some i have not:
Welcome to Black Jungle Terrarium Supply - The Natural Choice!
Buy Rare and Exotic Tropical Plants Online|Begonias|Episcias|Peperomias|Gesneriads
Tropicals – Jungle Box
Plants for Terrariums and Wardian Cases
Teresa's Plants & More Store
last, but not least, my favorite orchid guy
Andy's Orchids - Orchid Species - Orchid list of miniature orchid plants

that should get you started on plants. as far as the actual build. i highly suggest reading over some of the build journals on here. get some ideas and then go from there. there are so many variables, that it is hard to make recommendations until you have a design and somewhat of a game plan. most important is research. read as much as you can about retf's and their natural habitat, look at pics, ect. first, it will give you much useful knowledge about the frogs and what kind of environment that will make them happy. second, you'll have something pop into your head as far as design goes. keep us posted

[tinkgirl77]

Thanks so much again, you're again, an awesome help!

[tinkgirl77]

Bill, You seem to know your stuff on plants... any specific plants that you would consider easier/beginners? I love the orchids and bursts of color but My full size orchids have not been doing so hot lol.

[deranged chipmunk]

pothos are easy. almost impossible to kill. almost. ferns are pretty much autopilot plants. just remember that most ferns WILL grow huge if you don't keep them under control. i have a soft spot for prayer plants. i forget the species name, but a prayer plant was the first plant my mom gave me to grow when i was but a wee lad. diffenbachia as well. diff's will also grow huge, so trimming will eventually be required. these are all easily purchased at big box stores. depending on your locale, some places still have some nice plants in their garden centers, even at this time of year.

you can also use some bonsai plants. however, do research on these first. very important because some bonsai plants are of the pine family and they would only rot and die in a humid environment. i also believe pine is toxic to some frogs? but there are bonsai plants like ficus benjamina (which grow to 100+ feet in the rainforest) that can be trained to stay within the confines of a vivarium.

remember that orchids are cyclic plants. they bloom in cycles. they flower, then go dormant for a bit, then bloom again. my guess is you are growing phaelenopsis orchids and they are at the end of their bloom. just be patient, water it once a week and it will bloom again

[arielgasca420]

pothos are easy. almost impossible to kill. almost. ferns are pretty much autopilot plants. just remember that most ferns WILL grow huge if you don't keep them under control. i have a soft spot for prayer plants. i forget the species name, but a prayer plant was the first plant my mom gave me to grow when i was but a wee lad. diffenbachia as well. diff's will also grow huge, so trimming will eventually be required. these are all easily purchased at big box stores. depending on your locale, some places still have some nice plants in their garden centers, even at this time of year.

you can also use some bonsai plants. however, do research on these first. very important because some bonsai plants are of the pine family and they would only rot and die in a humid environment. i also believe pine is toxic to some frogs? but there are bonsai plants like ficus benjamina (which grow to 100+ feet in the rainforest) that can be trained to stay within the confines of a vivarium.

remember that orchids are cyclic plants. they bloom in cycles. they flower, then go dormant for a bit, then bloom again. my guess is you are growing phaelenopsis orchids and they are at the end of their bloom. just be patient, water it once a week and it will bloom again

Bill is totally spot on witht he plants and speaks my kind of language.
Maranta Leucoreua is the prayer plant. I may have mispelled it...They are awesome looking tropical plants and more vibrant than pothos. Be careful with Dieffenbachia. If you have sensitive skin like me then it is best to keep away. and by no means should you or any of your pets ever ingest this plant. There is a reason they call it the "Dumb Cane"
The bonsai family is a tough one and requires experience and constant attention and the only problem I could see is that they put off phenols which can cause respiratory problems in animals. Bill is absolutely right about Ficus benjamina. There are a few other types of plants out there that can be bonsai(ed)?

[killerecho]

Lisa, the advice Bill and others have given you is spot on. I would just like to add that, when you go plant shopping, resist the understandable temptation to be overly adventurous and purchase more than you need, because you have lot less space than you think. Even though your tank isn't small (24x18x18 is roughly 34 gallons), by the time you have a false bottom/substrate layer, background, water feature, maybe a place for a feeding bowl and whatever decor you're going to have in there, the actual room available for the frogs to move and plants to grow is probably only half of that. And grow they will. Some of them like the aforementioned pothos can explode and block out the light in no time; others like the creeping fig like to extend themselves all over the place. Even slow growing bromeliads will produce offshoots. Not that that's a bad thing, but without ample space to expand, your vivarium quickly gets overcrowded and your plants will be forced to compete with each other for light and real estate.

The other thing, as Bill has already alluded to, is to prioritize your plant selection and vivarium design based on what your frogs need. Red eyes in the wild like to stay amongst the leaves and dense cover of the rain forest canopies, typically 100 feet above the ground. They rarely venture down to the forest floor, so while having a few terrestrial ferns and shrubs at the bottom of the tank would make for nice decor, they serve little purpose as far as the inhabitants are concerned. A lot of terrarium stores also tend to cater plant selections toward dart frogs, and these plants generally end up much too small and fragile and terrestrial for something the size of red eyed tree frogs - things like peperomias, pileas, etc.

Suitable choices, imo, would be broad leafed vining plants that will climb and fill up airspace all the way to the top of the enclosure. Red eyes also prefer to climb from amongst the foliage rather than hop, and they oftentimes sleep on leaf faces so having leaves and stems that can support their weight is ideal. Pothos and philodendron vareties would do nicely. Hoyas also make good additions, but their leaves tend to be smaller. Bromeliads are great because they don't require soil, allowing you to grow them anywhere in the vivarium. They also collect water, which helps maintain humidity. I generally avoid tillandsias because they tend to prefer lower humidity and greater airflow most of the other plants mentioned. They rot quickly if allowed to contact standing water. Orchids are also hit and miss - some can be really touchy...not to mention expensive.

I guess my suggestion here is to start simple: have a main course of a broad leafed vining plant like pothos and a couple of sides, with maybe a bromeliad or two up top. Then, once the terrarium has had a month or two to grow in properly, you can decide to add more plants if there's room or reason to. And stick to easy, "indestructible" plants. If this is your first vivarium project, there are going to be enough stumbles and missteps that the last thing you want is to lose that rare orchid while figuring out what sized pvc pipe to use. All this is from personal experience - I redid my first tank at least half a dozen times. Plant casualties were high

[UncleChester]

... A lot of terrarium stores also tend to cater plant selections toward dart frogs, and these plants generally end up much too small and fragile and terrestrial for something the size of red eyed tree frogs - things like peperomias, pileas, etc.

I just want to point out that there are suitable peperomias for mid sized tree frogs that are usually available at big box stores but less often at terrarium specialists. Peperomia obtusifolia versions are fantastic upright growing sturdy broad leafed dealies. They do well in high humidity but won't like the roots to be soaking wet all the time. Peperomia clusiifolia doesn't seem to get as high high but also has broad sturdy leaves with the benefit of tolerating relatively very little room for the roots- ideal for small planters on the background.

I'm also not afraid to 'overplant'. I do enjoy pruning when necessary and if I have to actually remove an overly enthusiastic plant then it's just an excuse to make another vivarium to have a spot for it.

[deranged chipmunk]

good point Brian. those do very well in retf vivs. i think brian was making more a generalization. but as with anything, there are exceptions to the rule

as far as overplanting, i only recommend planting light to people who are new to the vivarium world. for those people who have experience with plants in a viv or terrarium setting, i would say go for it. i believe people who are new to the whole frog/viv thing can find it overwhelming when all of a sudden they get a massive growth spurt after the acclimation period and they suddenly have this jungle on their hands, as well as trying to care for their new froggie friends.