Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How do you learn about good orchid species for a terrarium? There are so many and they seem so finnicky.
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Matt

actually dart frog terrariums are perfect for growing orchids they are humid, not to hot , and usually have pretty good light. growing orchids is my other hobby. i have hundreds growing under lights right now and some in my tanks. there are plent of miniatures available. best thing to do is do a search on the web for mini orchids. oncidiums, paphiopedilums,pluerothalis, even some small phalenopsis will do well. dendrobiums usually get to big. point is there are alot but just do some web looking and get ones that will fit your terrarium size.

Are you using computer fans for air movement?
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Yes, I will have one 40mm fan running at 3volt speed.....and Homer, I plan on trying a tillandsia again, and mounting it directly beside the fan towards the top of the background. wish me luck
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Matt

i dont use any fans ,i have a canopy that is slotted to allow air movement. i used a piece of plexi that covers about half the top opening to keep humidity up. it is a very simple set up and it does well. i have differnt mosses growing. i have several mushrooms that just seem to sprout when they want to and my orchids bloom on schedule.

You have a nice setup...I can see a mushroom in your pic. What type of substrate do you use?
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Matt

Matt,

I would recommend some plants from the Pleurothallid family. They do not require strong light as do Oncidiums, Cattelyas, nor do they require warmer temps as do many of the other orchid specie. I have had good results with Pleurothallis cardiostola, Pleuro. truncatus, Pleuro grobyii, Pleuro angustipetela, Masd. murex and Masd. herradurae. I keep all in either treefern pots or mounted. I would highly recommend using treefern over cork as well. Make sure you do your research as well. Many orchids require a cool season or a dry season. All you major dept. store orchids that I have seen fall into this category.

Jon Werner

thanks for the recommendation. I hope to find something that works well on cork.
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Matt

I have found Andysorchids.com and it is great. With the search function I can narrow down what I want. I am unsure of the lighting though. I plan on using 2-13 watt compact fluor. lights in this tank....should I be searching for flowers which like bright light? There are many that I like for which shade is recommended....will my lights be too bright?

Thanks,
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Matt