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Can I satisfy everyone?

So I recently came into possession of some CP's:
Dionaea muscipula
Drosera capensis
Drosera binata
Pinguicula 'John Rizzi'

I wasn't quite prepared (barely at all) and now I'm looking for how to best care for these little guys. I have them all in a 10gal aquarium and it's either that or on my window seal. I've been looking around and it seems that they all have different needs. Is there a way to adapt my tank to make them all happy? Also I'm on a tight budget so the cheaper the better...but I'll still do what I need to do to keep them alive.
Thanks for any advice. :)
 
What direction is the window facing?
 
and is the tank covered?
 
Hi,

I would suggest for the VFT to take it out of the aquarium as they don't appreciate high humdity at all, in a window sill(south facing window reccomended) should do great, try a 6-inch pot or more mix with 50% silica(or perlite) 50% peat and that should do it. If you don't have access to peat nor silica, try LFSM but try avoiding over watering the plant as LFSM keeps moisture high. You can as well use peat by itself and it works great as well!

For drosera Binata, is it temperate or tropical, tropical or not, i think plants appreciate a bit of rest, even with the slightest change that will make them go dormant. you can put drosera binata and capensis together in the same VFT mixture soil, but i would reccomend more peat than silica or perlite because is important for it to keep the dew, therefore it needs more humidity to retain the dew in direct sunlight.

and pinguicula 'john Rizzi' , i don't have any info about it, other than it is a mexican pinguicula, and it appreciates loosely soil, you might want to try researching a bit about pinguicula john rizzi, i would say more silica or perlite than peat to make a perfect loosely soil.

Good luck! :)
 
It is a west facing window I believe and the top is open but I have some gravel and water under them.
Right now they are all in sphagnum peat moss and I don't want to repot them for a while because they had a rough delivery and arrival (they weren't even able to be planted until a week after arriving, turns out the stuff I had has fertilizer in it) and are just now seeming to perk back up a bit. Sadly I live in a small town where it usually costs more for shipping than what the actual item costs so it could be a while before I can get some silica, but I will work on it.
 
They could all live together on the windowsill..but the Flytrap would need to have some kind of consideration made for it's dormancy needs when winter came.
 
Dionaea muscipula - outside
Drosera capensis - window
Drosera binata - window
Pinguicula 'John Rizzi' - window
 
At the risk of being blunt, those should not be planted together - not unless you're up for a challenge, and probably not when you're just starting to learn the ins and outs. Dionaea need entirely different conditions than the others throughout the year. D. capensis and binata are rapid spreaders and in the same container will likely overwhelm the others and eventually one will choke the other out. Mexican Pinguicula do not do well in the media enjoyed by the others, and they are particularly touchy when planted in undrained containers. With cleverness and attention to pruning/pinching sundews trying to overtake the others, you might be able to make any two of these work together in the long term, but it would be a challenege.
None of those plants particularly need the shelter and heat a terrarium provides. All but the most icy, bone-dry homes should be fine for all of them during active growth. (Provided there's plenty of light - insufficient light will make almost any plant touchier and more demanding.) Whereabouts are you? What's the climate like outside, in terms of seasonal high/low temperature and humidity? What are the ranges in your home? What kind of rainfall do you get locally? The best way to answer the question of which plants you can satisfy is to start from the conditions available to you naturally and work outward from there.
Your terrarium could grow alright for the first several months or maybe a year, but if you're insistent on not digging it up, you should start reading about how to clone your plants vegetatively so that you can keep back-ups elsewhere. Fortunately, all the varieties you have listed are relatively tough plants and propagate readily with the right technique.
Best luck,
~Joe

PS - My personal recommendation would be to leave the capensis in the terrarium - once it flowers it'll fill the terrarium to overflowing in remarkably short order, and capensis will probably tolerate an undrained container better than the others. D. binata can use the same potting mix but does best in a tall pot or hanging basket where you can appreciate the drooping foliage (in the terrarium it'll look cool too but it'll turn into a sticky tangled mess if you ever have to prune/cut dead leaves/rescue the others from being smothered, which trust me, you will.) Your flytrap and Ping will be easier to please in their own containers, where you can give them the specific types of potting mix and watering routines they enjoy.

PPS - We're a hard group to satisfy. Don't be surprised if you can't take everyone's advice. XD
 
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Knowing where you are located (State - nearest major city) would help us know your approximate climate. This would matter greatly in the advice when can give you. A tank is probably not necessary but a lot depends on your climate and situation.
 
  • #10
They are all in seperate containers but same medium until I can purchase some more special types (peat ect.).
I live in the upper North-East part of Ks right on the MO line; Topeka KS is an hour away St.JOe MO is 40-45minutes away. I was planning on putting the VFT outside when the summer sets in but it gets really humid over here...
I might just leave the capensis because I'd like something in there(it holds up my little garden but I dont have anything in it)
What would be good watering cycles for the VFT and Pings? I was told to just keep everything moist for the VFT and on the drier side for the Pings...
 
  • #11
You can put the VFT outside, now. I'm near Buffalo, NY, and they have been outside for the past week. VFT's should be watered every couple of days, if there isn't rain, and from the top, so the water drains through.

Mexican pings can be standing in ~1/4" of water, from Aprill through August and drier in the fall. They should be essentially dry in the winter.
 
  • #12
It's 41F right now and we're supposed to expect snow tomorrow (it was 90F last Saturday :mad: ) Until we're fairly deep into summer I'm not going to put anyone outside. Alright so I'll give them a bit more thanks :)
 
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