Terrarium-ecosystem

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BMatvey, 14.06.2017 16:25

Some time ago, I became very interested in "ecosystems in the bank", which are quite popular online. I decided to try to make one myself, but populate it with a variety of animals. The Internet did not give an exhaustive answer as to who can be placed in a bank so that they can have a good life there. The only recommendation was a variety of worms and legtails, which are convenient because of their small size and diet consisting of dead plant remains. But this is not so interesting and I wanted to do something more, with power circuits, etc. By chance, I found myself on this forum in one of the topics that was several years old. This issue was actively discussed there, and one of the users posted a photo of his terra, in which a kind of ecosystem was created, where even amphibians and reptiles could live. There was a desire to do something similar, and along with the desire there was a fear that I would not take something into account and everything would die. So I decided to ask for help.
So, it will be a homemade terr made of plexiglass and plywood 110x50x50cm. It has vetilation, incandescent lamp, daylight lamp and UV lamp. The surface is divided into 6 zones:water zone (essentially a pond), swampy zone, highly humid zone, medium humid zone, low humid zone, and poorly humid zone. The incandescent lamp is located in a zone of high humidity on the shore of a reservoir, and a fan is located on its line. The idea is this: under an incandescent lamp, evaporation occurs from the surface of water. water vapor is carried by air currents to other areas of Terra, where it condenses and moistens the soil. Depending on how far away the zone is from the water, a different amount of water gets into its soil. Therefore, the zones are wetted differently. In general, there is a scheme (I apologize for the quality).
Now about the fauna:
among the large animals are planned:
several frogs (I will determine the type at later stages, can you advise someone who is more likely to survive),
a viviparous lizard (several pieces), and maybe a quick
one among the medium ones:

locust mantises (or maybe not worth it?)
any real grasshoppers

ground beetles barbel beetles (if I find one)
among the small ones:
drupes
bedbugs
various small beetles
dung diggers
woodlice
snails
in the ground:
earthworms
geophiles
in the pond:
water scorpion bedbug
shrimp
small crustaceans, zooplankton
shields (there is a possibility that I will not find it, so most likely you will need a replacement, if you need it at all)
With flora, everything is not so clear. I think there will be moss, ferns, clover, duckweed in the water, some sedge, but this is definitely not enough. Therefore, I really need help on this issue.
Bottom line: it is necessary to evaluate the idea and individual aspects, as well as proposals for changes, and in particular for increasing the species diversity of the flora. Thank you in advance!)

P.S. And maybe there scolopendra settle? Or will it eat them all?

Pictures:

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Comments

14.06.2017 22:20, xoshAmadam

Summer, vacation, boiling indignant minds of schoolchildren...

In general - the whole question is what lifetime of this system to expect.

If for a couple of days, then, in principle, it's fine. Play around and throw it out, everything is nice.

If for a couple of weeks, it will be trash. Mom won't like it, get a cradle.

If it is longer, then the trash will continue, the result will be a smelly garbage can in the house. With all the consequences.

Before presenting your wet fantasies to urbi et orbi, try asking about the amount of food that different organisms need per unit of their own mass, their behavior patterns, and their activity cycles.

Next, you can ask about the bio-productivity of various systems, and, as applied to your fantasies, about the possibilities of processing dead organic matter.

After that, it is quite possible that you will understand why you are" offered " exclusively dull worms and bespontovye nogohvostki.

And then-ah-ah...

No other way, alas or cheers.

15.06.2017 0:21, ИНО

Oh, Nikitin's jar of grasshoppers comes out on an enlarged scale! Something remotely similar to a natural ecosystem with insects and reptiles in such volumes can really be arranged (Pan Hierophis is living proof of this), but no closed cycles, feed, feed and feed. And still, in the process, someone will eat one of the tenants. And most importantly: no swamp in the box made of chipboard, this material is only for dry terra. If you want water bodies, you will have to master cutting and gluing glass. I would still recommend strongly moderating your appetites and starting with small forms. For example, once upon a time I had a liter jar with a piece of rotten wood woodlice and drupe. Mushrooms grew on the wood, woodlice ate them and multiplied, and from time to time the drupe thinned out their herd. And so it went on for a year or two, without any additions from outside. He didn't even pour water, since no more vaporized through the small holes in the lid than was released when wood rotted.

Likes: 1

15.06.2017 9:52, Hierophis

Matvey, this is a good idea, and you need to do it! It was in a similar way that terrarium animals were kept in the classic version, and not as they are now-in a" bank " on sawdust.
But, first of all, of course, no plywood, and even org-glass-because it is difficult to glue, it gets cloudy, you need to use modern achievements-silicate glass+silicone, and stainless steel grids with a cell of no more than 1 mm, that's what will do, and it's better not to make compromises here, so as not to contemplate later rusty galvanizing or poisoned arthropods from copper/bronze mesh oxides.
Such a terrarium is made for decades, and if you pour osmotic water - then for centuries )))
Lighting-LED is enough if there are no lizards. And the colder the better! The difference in T between day and night is especially important. No heating, unless Terra is reptilian.

And of course, the animals from the list together will not be able to keep in such a volume, well, except that the whole apartment is covered with earth, and then... By the way, my first terr is 110X50X50, but this is - alas, the minimum, I would recommend 150X70X70, this is exactly what I did with the second one - I don't regret it

As for live animals, I recommend earthworms, but it is the usual earthworms, woodlice, and legworms that will start up themselves. From ants, I recommend reapers.
For zherlyanok, tree frogs, for adults, I would recommend 30 kv.cm per one, for green toad and adult frogs-100 cm square. for one week at least, this is so as not to feed. Even one lizard after it grows up-you need to feed, well, not necessarily.
From amphibians, I recommend zherlyanok and frogs-they eat little, zherlyanki sing beautifully, I have zherlyanki live with a density of about 30 sq. cm per one and even bred, and I don't really recommend toads - 1 sq. meter even one will be sooo small) But the cubs - easily, but then - let go.

Plants - sedge, birch, yarrow, ferns, plantain, asparagus, sourdough, soleros, chlorophytum, golden mustache, tradescantia, in the pond - aquarium plants with slow growth.

And I would not recommend any nasty things like foam, epoxy, and other GMOs, only bark, driftwood, stones, moss

In general, experiment, you should not get hung up on what someone has already done

But most importantly-only glass and stainless steel for the mesh ) If you have the money, you can buy a ready-made aquarium for 200-300 liters and redo it a little. Store-bought Terra is not suitable for this.

Likes: 1

16.06.2017 20:21, Hierophis

Exactly, exactly, also Convolvulus arvensis. But what is the point of planting a plant in a terrarium that needs a period of rest? Obviously indoor is better.

What makes you think it needs a rest period? In general, I learned a lot about nature in my catwalk, including the fact that many of our plants are "cryptomnogoletniki", which, in the absence of winter, vegetate and bloom continuously for almost any length of time.
"Indoor" plant is better-that's how to say it. First of all, it is somehow simple, you will not learn anything particularly new by growing such plants. Secondly-many of them in the conditions of such a terrarium grow a huge size, just gigantic, you can get scared from the size of the leaves of the same tradescantia or chlorophytum in conditions of essentially a mini-greenhouse with bright light, then you will get tired of throwing out kilograms of phytomass every week))

But for the rest - ideally, you need to have the skill of designing and gluing together not the simplest structures of their glass, or acquire this skill if you don't have it yet )
And they're not afraid. I glued my very first aquarium to 250 liters in 2000, and it still stands today. There are of course unique people here who are afraid to stick together even 50 liters or 20