Carnivorous Plants

jpappy789

jpappy789

Plants need meat too
Feb 18, 2007
26,364
5
89
35
Gainesville, FL
Real Name
Josh
Thanks to Jb, I'm addicted. Thought I'd make my own thread though and not keep spamming his ;)

Tank size: 10 gallons minimum. I might go with the 15g if I can use the 20L for my sids next year.

Lighting: Right now I only have a cheap incandescent hood for the 10 that's been using the spiral CFLs in the past. Last I checked I could only max out around 40w. I have a T5HO strip for the 15 that is 48w I believe. There isn't a lot on lighting in a terrarium setting so I'm not sure what I should be shooting for. Could use some advise as to how I can cheaply upgrade if needed.

Plants: I have no clue what to look at in terms of specific species. I definitely want to get a couple of Droseras. I'd like a pitcher as well but I'm concerned about potential size. Really, anything hardy and relatively inexpensive will do. Right now I'm looking at cobraplant.com for prices and some general info.

I'm also not sure what to do about temp. I'm assuming the ambient room temp wont drop below 60F but not sure how I could keep it much higher than that w/o pissing off my roommates because of the heating bill. Would lighting alone provide enough direct heat? Humidity doesn't seem like it would be much of an issue, especially if I decide to add some sphagnum. Would peat moss act similarly or does it not hold the moisture as well? I'd probably keep everything in pots for the time being anyways.
 
This is ironic, Pap... I'm an addiction counselor, and at the moment I seem to be enabling yours... :headbang2:.

As far as lighting, I've read a guideline of around 10 wpg for a terrarium. That will depend on what species you get as well... some like full sun conditions, some partial or filtered. I spent about $15 getting a couple 8.5" clip on work lights from home depot with 75w daylight cfl's. The plants seem to be loving it so far. Doing the lighting this way along with glass tops seems to keep the lighting and humidity in acceptable levels. You could also get one of those stick on terrarium heaters if needed.

As far as species... droseras are pretty easy. Really, I think these will be up to what you like as most of the tropical species have similar requirements. Let them sit in 1/2" of water under appropriate lighting, and they'll grow like mad. In terms of pitcher plants... if the temp in your apartment drops that significantly at night, you might want to look at highland species of tropical pitchers. They appreciate and grow much better with a drop in temp at night, and a little less humidity. Lowland species don't need the drop in temp as much, but require higher humidity levels to thrive.

Specifically, I'm a fan of pygmy sundews... they stay pretty small, are very colorful and there are some species that just look alien. :grinyes: So far my favorite pitcher is the N. Ventricosa. It's hardy, has been growing quickly and the upper pitchers have a really cool shape when mature.

So far, I've only really gotten into tropicals, since I don't want to have to deal with the dormancy period that temperate plants need, but that's just a personal preference.

Good luck with your choices!
 
Hm, I read on many websites that many carnivorous plants don't do great in terrariums.

Your best bet is maybe African cape sundews, and maybe SOME species of nepenthes. I dunno, I do remember about carnivorous plant care, but I haven't kept them successfully in 3 years. I haven't even kept them last year, lol.
 
I'll have to check out the clip lights then!

By stick on heater to do you mean something like this? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=6545

Looks like highland plants would be best for me since they can tolerate pretty low nighttime temps. I don't think we'd get lower than 60F since even when we leave we're supposed to set the thermostat at 65F.

cobraplant.com actually has this list given an artificial light/terrarium environment.

http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=56

I'll probably just be ordering an assortment of these plants :D
 
jpappy789 said:
I'll have to check out the clip lights then!

By stick on heater to do you mean something like this? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=6545

Looks like highland plants would be best for me since they can tolerate pretty low nighttime temps. I don't think we'd get lower than 60F since even when we leave we're supposed to set the thermostat at 65F.

cobraplant.com actually has this list given an artificial light/terrarium environment.

http://cobraplant.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=56

I'll probably just be ordering an assortment of these plants :D
Click to expand...
The heater is exactly what I was referring to. I got one, but found that with the lights it wasn't necessary.

As far as the list, I can vouch for the N. Ventricosa, the lance leaf sundew (which they have listed as d. capensis but is actually d. adelae) and the cape sundew (the actual d. capensis). They've all done really well for me so far.
 
For my 10gal, I just have 2x25W CFL with the clip lights. I just have them on a timer and they seem to be doing fine without a heater or anything like that.
So far I have...
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]N. alata
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]N. rafflesiana[/FONT]N. ampullaria
D. spathulata
Sarracenia purpurea ssp.

And im currently in the process or making a 50gal carny bog in the backyard. I know the Sarr. purp. will be going outside.
Something similar to this
http://www.blackjungle.com/outdoorboggarden.html
 
Ooo ya I forgot, I do have 2 venus flytraps, I got them from homedepot...
Pretty cool when they throw up a flower.
 
Flytraps can be grown indoors. Like any of the others, as long as you give them what they need, they'll thrive anywhere. Bo_'s thread shows his set up with some VFTs in it.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212457

I don't know much about them... as I say, I've tried to stay away from varieties that require dormancy, but cobraplant.com and blackjungle both have a lot of good info.
 
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