Emmersed Plants and Vivariums

[Jozle]

So, I finally got the finishing touches for my Vivarium for the Vampire and Red Devil Crabs.

6cm of Water and that covers about 30% of the Vivarium floor.
Using Black Sand and a 5 shot glass full of Amazonia Soil and that covers the rest of the Vivarium.
Got two big chunks of Volcanic rock with nice sized holes for the crabs to hide and they're on the dry portion of the tank.

It just feels bland, it needs more life in the tank so I was wondering whats some good plants to grow in this wet/humid tank. HC won't do, it will get torn up. I'm planning on stopping by Petsmart tomorrow and checking out their selection.

Driftwood advisable?
Java Ferns and various other ferns emmersable?

Will post pictures soon.

[sunkenmetal]

mondo grass?

[sunkenmetal]

kyoto grass

[mnemenoi]

Another Place in Time has a great selection of high humidity plants locally. Otherwise try some dendroboard sites that cater to dart frog enthusiasts, they have appropriate plants for sale.

[sunkenmetal]

Another Place in Time has a great selection of high humidity plants locally. Otherwise try some dendroboard sites that cater to dart frog enthusiasts, they have appropriate plants for sale.

The beginning of your post sounds like a Dio song

[mnemenoi]

I think I'd prefer Mortiis or Emporer...

[Totenkampf]

java fern can grow emersed but would need high humidity since they live in spray zones naturally. i am a big fan of varigated acorus, many types of crypts, swordplants, dwarf alocasia / colocasia, and other mariginal or bog plants. some of my favorite places:

http://tropiflora.safenetserver.com/

http://www.blackjungleterrariumsupply.com/

http://www.joshsfrogs.com/

http://ripariumsupply.com/

[troy tucker]

I used forest moss on top of wet rock. The rock is about 3" thick with water just about 2". the moss on top is damp but not to wet. I may put a small heater in the water. The little crabs are pretty.photo (100).jpg

[black_knight]

Forest moss is perfect. The java moss and crypts grown emersed are excellent. You'll know your humidity is too low for the crabs if they are not doing well.

[black_knight]

I hope you are keeping the red devil and vampires in seprate terrariums. They will kill one another from my previous experience. The devils were on the winning end. Devils are also more active.

[armthehomeless]

Forest moss is perfect. The java moss and crypts grown emersed are excellent. You'll know your humidity is too low for the crabs if they are not doing well.

Should I worry about the possibility of it getting too humid?

[black_knight]

Should I worry about the possibility of it getting too humid?

Not really. Geosesarma (red devils & vampire crabs) are a genus of terrestrial crabs that need the humidity to keep their gills moist. You'll find them sometimes soaking in a water dish. In the wild some will soak in rain puddles. Sulewasi, Indonesia has rain forrest (native habitat of red devils and vamipres) which have average temps. of mid 70's to mid 80's and 70-100% humidity depending on the time of year. I've treked through the jungle in the Philippines and it's probably similar. You can even see a fog of moisture rise from the ground.
Also another tip: make sure they have places to hide from one another during molting.

[Jozle]

I hope you are keeping the red devil and vampires in seprate terrariums. They will kill one another from my previous experience. The devils were on the winning end. Devils are also more active.

They're in the same tank for right now. I need to clear out another tank for them. So far they're all hiding in the rocks I gave them.

[sunkenmetal]

No wonder it was so hot in tims house lol

[Totenkampf]

sounds like their care may be similar to hermits then. in my terrarium i have a 2" deep bed of baked clay spheres so that water can drain and yet still be wicked up into the substrate. there is an aquarium heater down there but there isnt enough standing water to cover it completely so i need to switch to an undertank heating pad. on top of that i put some vinyl window screen and then a 1 inch layer of coarse coconut fiber since it doesnt foster mold growth. on top of that i have 4 inch deep mixture of construction sand, milled coconut fiber, and oyster shell bits along with a small amount of earthworm castings. hermits will eat their substrate for nutrition, i dont know about these guys. i also bought a couple 'sauna' water dishes from petsmart for fresh and saline water that fit flush down into the soil and so far have decorated with cork rounds. misting with watermill water is provided daily. crabs are supposed to be very sensitive to chlorine so i use aged tap for drinking. the substrate has to be just moist enough to make sand castles so that they can burrow tunnels that will not collapse or else they will eat each other during the month long molt. again, this may not be the exact husbandry of vampires and red devils but it may give some ideas. another note, i seldom use sphagnum these days since it mildews and seems to attract fruitflies, but that might be good since V/RD crabs appear to be more predacious.