Terrarium Project Journal

[GoofyGarra]

Ok, I'm super excited! I want to give an update on this project:

On 1/7/2024 at 7:28 AM, GoofyGarra said:

I did a lot of work on this project. I feel that it was hastily done with no real purpose and that is why it failed. I want to try and keep isopods in it kinda display style which im finding i much prefer to the bins.  (Though i might still use some bins while i learn what im doing). In this setup there was my last P.Pruinosus isopod, unfortunately while i tried to remove him during the redoing i could not find him, so im hoping he is still alive and in the setup and that i will see him at some point, otherwise its the mystery of the lost orange isopod and will haunt me forever.

Some changes i made when i redid this project:

1. I added a proper drainage layer using gravel from a friend, before it was just a few rocks and did not suit the purpose.
2. Implemented wet/dry side One the left side of the enclosure is a hill of moss that rests on lots of moist sphagnum moss, this is my wet side of the container, the rest of it with the leaf litter was kept dry.  I also scattered some gravel around to make it look much more natural, often when i collect moss i find little rocks and twigs in it.
3. Hid a cork hide. Beneath the hill of moss on the left side there is a cork hide hidden, the idea is that while the surroundings may be wet, under the bark will stay dry if the isopods want to go there. I borrowed the idea from Serpadesign.
4. Added isopods. I tore down my Vulgare setup and moved them into here, if they do well i will collect more and move them in, if not i will have to keep trying isopods until i find one that works. Im thinking P.Skaber is my best option because it is not picky at all, but ill see how the vulgare do.

And here is a picture:

I did not really try to grow any mushrooms in the setup this time (apart from whatever is on the wood), but i might take some from my backyard and try and "plant" them in the setup, they grow fast and isopods love to eat them so it is a good combination.

However when i comes to mushrooms i setup a culture to try and grow them and learn about them. I used a drainage layer because i figured it couldn't hurt, then added a dirt/wood/leaves/sphagnum substrate mix, then "planted" in the mushroom and te hen filled in on top with bark pieces, and punched a few holes in the lid for ventilation. I did this because the location i found these mushrooms growing is covered in bark, and the mushrooms are "rooted" in the dirt. The goal was to achieve good results by copying the mushroom's native environments. Right now all the mushrooms are hidden under the bark, but they should began to rise up above it soon. They dont need light so i plan to completely ignore them, then come back in a week or two and find something really cool happening:

On 1/9/2024 at 7:32 PM, GoofyGarra said:

Ok, On sunday i collected some isopods and put them in, no clue on the species. So far they appear to be doing well, but i checked the moss and it is dry already. I think i may need to rethink my ventilation situation to accommodate my wet/dry plan as appose to right now where it really fights against it.

I do most of my projects randomly and always forget before pictures. But here is the after picture of lid modification:

Basically i removed the mesh from the two central holes and covered them with plastic instead. I created a new hole on the right, where the wet side is which will hold water better and allow more lights for the mosses. I cut new holes on the left and put mesh over them for ventilation on the dry side. Ill have to see if it eases my maintenance and if the bugs like it.

This is what the setup looks like now, the lighting is not good at this hour, I will get a better picture later

Anyway. This setup used to house my last P.pruinosus isopod, only when i redid the setup, she dissapeared and I assumed she was dead. The setup also housed a few "native" isopods, but i saw a few bodies and didn't see them out anymore. It seemed like this setup was just breeding fungus gnats, in which case i was going to tear it down.

I was wrong, and I'm super excited about it.

Last night when I was rummaging around in the setup, trying to figure out how much is salvagable, i found 2native isopods that seemed to be doing fine, but even more exciting, I found the missing P.pruinosus! This is exciting for me just because i felt like such a failure keeping isopods, but now i have new hopes. There are no good isopod sources around me (i dont think) but when the weather warms up, i think I will get a P.Pruinosus orange culture and try and keep them in this setup because my current one is doing great. I think that ignoring this setup and assuming it's just breeding fungus gnats helped it do well as i wasn't constantly messing with it. I also think that keeping it on the drier side in working better, watering around once every other week to once a month seems to be a recipe for success. Super excited! It's also my dream to own a giant, isopod colony, so just small successes makes me feel really good

Also unrelated, but my fungi experiments were going well, so i decided to try and add some to one of my displays

Edited February 4 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

Put a Xtreme bottom wafer into the isopod setup to see who was living in there.

I spotted my last orange isopod and a few of the native isopods running away as i approached the setup, but i still found a slug and 1native isopod willing to pose for a picture. I have high hopes that in this setup I will be able to get the natives or in the future the powder oranges breeding. It's my big dream to have a big thriving colony of isopods.

 

 

Any ideas on the species of isopod i have here? They cannot curl up into little balls.

 

Edited February 5 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

Better picture of the isopods.

@Biotope Biologist@AnimalNerd98 any ideas on specification?

To be fully honest at this point, if these guys start doing really well, i may have to give up on the powder oranges until i can get them their own setup. I just want a thriving colony of isopods, im not picky on the species, whether its these wild guys, whether its the oranges im not super picky.

Edited February 6 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

Small update, I emailed Wally Kern from Supreme Gecko asking about the wild isopod identification. He said they were probably Trachelipus rathkii which upon further research makes sense.

[Biotope Biologist]

Looks like it! We have that species in Washington fun and easy one to culture

[GoofyGarra]

On 2/6/2024 at 4:20 PM, Biotope Biologist said:

Looks like it! We have that species in Washington fun and easy one to culture

hopefully i can keep them alive long enough to start a colony. If they start breeding i will have to start a new setup for powder oranges.

[GoofyGarra]

Working super hard to enjoy my terrariums more, they are very interesting to mess with and observe.

They are looking super nice right now with natural sunlight, definetly enjoying them. I think if i had some easily visible inhabitants moving around i would enjoy them more, but for now they just look nice.

This mushroomy fungus i found outside still appears alive in the terrarium, i think it might be growing. Im not quite sure considering i dont know what constitutes a dead or alive mushroom, fungi are weird. I often spot springtails crawling around on it. I'm not sure if thats because their white bodies stand out better against the maroon, then they do against the green moss, or if the springtails like to hang out there for some reason. Super interested in the mushroomy side of fungi right now, maybe ill setup some testing to try and grow them.

 

 

Edited February 18 by GoofyGarra

[GoofyGarra]

So... good and bad news. It is the same news.

I discovered that at some point among the Trachelipus rathkii and the P.pruinosus isopods i thought i added to this setup, i must have introduced some A.vulgare at some point, and they are alive too. This setup seems to be pretty good at keeping isopods alive. However, to the best of my knowledge i now have 3 species of isopods in here, and while they might get along for now, once somebody starts reproducing, everyone else is at the risk of out competition, especially my lone orange. At some point i will probably have to start some new setups and isolate out the species in this setup, i want to keep them all, but while the mixed setup is working for now, it is not a good final solution.

[GoofyGarra]

Trachelipus rathkii are alive and eating repashy

While the Trachelipus rathkii appear to be doing well, and are very outgoing which is fun, unfortunately the Fungus Gnats are doing well too and i don't want an infestation to start in my house because of this culture. I've heard springtails can outcompete them, but this setup has a springtail colony and i still have fungus gnats. Im hoping i can find a solution before they become an issue, i just want to keep isopods!

[GoofyGarra]

Despite the foothold of a fungus gnat population, life goes on in the isopod setup:

Little Slug that must have hitched a ride in the mosses. He doesn't seem to be hurting anything and is kinda cute so i dont mind him staying

And the 1 powder orange, who has been kinda elusive for the past few days, nice to know she is still alive

 

 

 

[GoofyGarra]

Little A. Vulgare crawling around

[GoofyGarra]

Collected some new mosses on a hike and did some work on the fallen log terrarium:

Before:

After:

I will admit to possibly going overkill on the moss 🙂, I also found some nice white rot wood for future isopod setups

[GoofyGarra]

Just realized i am doing a lot of terrarium stuff today 🙂 went on a nature hike and was inspired.

Working on a new setup for P.Pruinosus powder oranges. Once it's all set up I will move my remaining one in and get a new starter culture. I just need to get more organic compost for the substrate now, i have rotting wood, leaf litter, mosses, and crushed cuttlebone ready as my substrate mix.

I'm imagining watching bright orange isopods climb up the big branch (i used it in my previous setup), sounds super fun.

Admittedly doesn't look like much so far, but i have lots of work to do, tank is around 5gallons.

 

[GoofyGarra]

So i realized that many of my animal experiments are difficult to track, because for lots of the small bugs i try, its hard to know if they are dead, or i just can't see them. i decided to try a bigger bug this time, but without getting too big for the terrarium. I found this 1in~ centipede and im going to try keeping him in my fallen log terrarium, which is doing best out of my terrariums right now.

I introduced the little guy in and he started exploring and burrowing under moss. I hope he likes it and stays alive.

Any ideas on the species?

 

 

Edited February 22 by GoofyGarra
Its a centipede, not a millpede

[GoofyGarra]

Found my little centipede out and exploring this morning. Had to stop and watch for a few minutes. So far i'm worried he might die, but if i can keep him alive for another few days he will need a name.

Kinda reminds me of this comic:

https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1990/03/17

Edited February 22 by GoofyGarra
Its a centipede, not a millpede

[Biotope Biologist]

Looks like a red-headed centipede they are pretty ubiquitous in the western United States. Great hunters when I kept them they were pretty prolific spider hunters. I believe they will also eat isopods or tiny crickets. 

[GoofyGarra]

On 2/22/2024 at 9:59 AM, Biotope Biologist said:

Looks like a red-headed centipede they are pretty ubiquitous in the western United States. Great hunters when I kept them they were pretty prolific spider hunters. I believe they will also eat isopods or tiny crickets. 

Hopefully it does not disrupt my spingtail population too much. There are no critters in that terrarium i am super attached to (i barely see the jumping spider) so i don't think it will be a problem.

[GoofyGarra]

Life continues to thrive in the isopod setup, unfortunately this includes fungus gnats, i need to get some mosquito bits to kill them. Turns out isopods are pretty easy to keep alive when there is no poisoned charcoal in the setup 🙄.

Resident Yellow Slug (Definitely needs a name):

rathkii:

Vulgare: Also I'm thinking that maybe i want to do a setup for just vulgare at this point. I find them to be super cute, only issue is they don't seem to react well to handling, so moving them into a new setup could be problematic.

I also found 2 of these black and yellow worm like creatures, after watching them move they look to be millipedes of some sort, i love it in this setup there are so many hitchhikers, really lets me observe nature in its true form (random and diverse) as appose to just single species  setups.

[GoofyGarra]

I will say, while it needs a better name, the isopod setup has been a fun learning experience for me, I just get to see the isopods as well as whatever hitchhikers interacting and its very fun to watch. Unforunately i still struggle with a fungus gnat takeover, but i should be able to get Mosquito Bits soon to deal with them

Nature fascination from today: I noticed there was a large population increase in springtails, everywhere i look in the terrarium there is a big group of them moving around. I wonder what triggered this as i have not changed anything in the terrarium?

I am loving this setup because i get to have fun little questions like this, its kinda my mini-ecosystem only in a 2.5 gallon tank. All i need to do is water occasionally and it takes care of itself, its a fun journey to follow.

I also think that I now have 2 slugs living in the terrarium. I'm not sure if i've just never seen both together or if one hatched or made its way in or something, but either way it is very interesting.

[GoofyGarra]

Some expansion hopefully coming soon. Primarily the project i'm talking about is the isopod/mini-ecosystem setup, i'm calling it The Mini-Ecosystem, just because thats what it feels like to me.

Right now not much progress is happening because of the fungus gnats. I will be able to get Mosquito Bits which should stop them from reproducing further, allowing the other critters to use the same resources. An issue right now is I'm afraid to water the setup as i don't want to release hordes of gnats into my  house, so i'm a bit concerned things are drying out too much.

Anyway, i had a used 5gallon tank sitting empty, and while more aquariums was out of the option, i could probably expand the mini-ecosystem project in that setup. My issue right now remains with the fungus gnats, this project will only be able to happen once they are dealt with. My other issue is resources, in order to upgrade to the 5gallon, I would need to tear down the 2.5gallon tank.

My plan at the moment is in a few weeks to get a free weekend and carefully remove everything from the setup and move it into the new setup. I was thinking in a bigger setup i might be able to try more animals like Beetles and Roaches. My LFS usually has Dubia Roaches on hand, and while i don't know anything about them, they might be cool in a ecosystem setup. Right now I'm starting to drift farther away from a isopod setup, and more towards a ecosystem setup with isopods. If i want to do a massive isopod colony setup, I will just use a bin, not really a display.

Any ideas for potential inhabitants @Biotope Biologist

Edited March 5 by GoofyGarra

[Biotope Biologist]

There are definitely some cool roaches and beetles! 
 

I kept turkish roaches and hissing roach cultures for my bearded dragon. One thing roaches are escape artists you need to make sure everything is secure. 
 

There are also some fun harvestmen “spider” species that have made their way and are super easy to take care of. Despite their rather drunken walk they are pretty good ambush hunters and fun to watch. 

[GoofyGarra]

Ok, I'm still rather undecided on this project idea.

While a mini-ecosystem like setup would be super cool, it would be hard to do properly in a small tank, upgrading from 2.5 to 5 gallons does not feel  like enough of an upgrade. I also saw my P. pruinosus Powder Orange and fell back in love with that kind of isopod. In my opinion A. Vulgare are super cute, but P. pruinosus  are much more alien looking, and i'd love to have a setup just full of lots of alien bugs.

I'm thinking at this point just to turn the 2.5 gallon into a P. pruinosus culture once the weather warms up, and maybe if i have extra time and supplies to try and make the 5gallon into something, but right now it feels like too much work for not much benefit.

[GoofyGarra]

Got some mosquito bits today, should help with my fungus gnat problem. My understanding is that they kill the larvae of the gnats, while the adults succumb to old age.

I have been waiting to water the terrarium until i could get the bits, so once i have properly soaked the pellets i will give the terrarium a good mist down (I finally got a mister bottle) to hopefully take care of the fungus gnat problem. I would want to feed more wafers and whatnot to see my critters out and eating, but right now its just growing the fungus gnat population so i've been restraining myself.

[GoofyGarra]

Bin a few days since I dosed the mosquito bits, so far no visible change, but the package says to dose weekly for 3 weeks so i was not expecting anything yet

I'm not so sure how the Trachelipus rathkii are doing. They used to be super outgoing but I haven't seen a lot of them lately. I found one today and got a picture though. I think its apparent in this picture how their patterns and colors help blend in a against the leaf litter forest floor

My Armadilidium vulgare on the other hand seem to be doing pretty well. They are more shy to begin with, but when i've lifted up a few leaves it looks like they are alive and healthy. I've spotted a few smaller ones, but I'm not sure if they were bred in this setup, or if they are just younger specimens that were introduced.

I often see a A. vulgare or two in the front of the setup. The substrate (comprised of compost, leaf litter, rot wood, and sphagnum moss) pretty much stratified so all the dirt is at the bottom with the leaves and sphagnum at the top. This does not  give the setup the best cohesive aesthetic, but it creates little pockets i can see isopods crawling around on occasionally

I spotted an A.vulgare this morning and got a nice picture of why i think they are adorable (they have cute little faces). I love that I can get lots of variety in colors just in my wild (not sure if these are native to my area, possibly introduced) caught isopods. This guy is black with a grey skirt, some of my others are grey with yellow spots, and i found one that is all black, its super cool and fun. I hope i can get a nice colony of A. vulgare going because I'm loving them. I'm honestly thinking now if the vulgare have started breeding already, I'm probably better off just leaving the setup alone, instead of trying to introduce more Powder Oranges, because if they love the setup as is, why change it?

Edited March 10 by GoofyGarra
Italicized scientific names

[GoofyGarra]

Today i was feeling disappointment that my previous centipede attempt had ended so quickly. At the same time I was watching some terrarium youtube videos and got super inspired to do a new project. I noticed one of my closed terrariums was not doing so well, and it probably needed redoing, so i decided to convert that closed terrarium, into a ventilated terrarium for a centipede.

This is what the terrarium looked like to begin with. It was suffering heavily from overwatering (more on that later)

I went into my yard and found a centipede around 1in long, he looks to be the same kind as my previous centipede. That being said, his new home was not ready. I had not yet converted the terrarium when i collected him, and i realized due to the overwatering issue, the terrarium would need some time to dry out before it would be safe for him. Another thing i wanted to address was prey, waiting a month or two would give the springtails time to build up their population before i introduced a predator.

I put together this small temporary container for the centipede. I wasn't quite sure what i was doing so i basically put together an isopod container in hopes it would work

In the process of tearing down the old terrarium, I found a centipede had been living in there and I didn't know. I ended up adding that one to the temporary container as well, I hope the centipedes do not murder each other, the one i found living in the old terrarium is much smaller and most likely would not win the fight.

Anyway after collecting wood from outside and messing around with wood and rocks for around an hour, I came up with a cool scape i was pretty happy with. I present: The Forest Floor Terrarium

While the goal was for the terrarium to not be super wet, i have placed 2 patches of sphagnum moss and covered them with various species of moss to be hydration stations for the centipedes once introduced. I will have to keep up with watering these spots, but not the rest of the terrarium. The lid has a large hole in it covered with mesh to allow for ventilation and for water to escape.

I'm also now realizing using red leaves might not have been the smartest setup for red centipedes. If the centipedes don't work out, i suppose i can always use the setup for isopods.

 

Edited March 10 by GoofyGarra
had an idea, then realized it was bad