Pothos and isopods

[Psydeus565]

Anyone have any experience with Pothos plants and isopods? I was planning on adding one into my new isopod enclosure.

Thanks!

 

[Hisserdude]

My guess is over time, they'll eat the pothos. Thriving isopod colonies chew up anything they can reach, so I think they'd eventually chew the pothos to bits.

 

[Psydeus565]

The next concern would be the toxic nature of Pothos and whether it will effect them? I've exhausted Google on this matter...

If anyone has a better plant to house with them with similar care, I'm all ears too.

 

[Manuel_P]

I have Isopods in many of my enclosures. A few of them also contain Pothos plants. All I can say is, they readily eat the dead leaves, but it doesn´t seem like they touch the living ones.

 

[Hisserdude]

The next concern would be the toxic nature of Pothos and whether it will effect them? I've exhausted Google on this matter...

If anyone has a better plant to house with them with similar care, I'm all ears too.

I doubt it would have any long term affects on them, and if it is toxic they wouldn't each much of it.

I'm pretty sure any plant would get chewed up, except for maybe cacti, but there are several reasons why cacti and isopods wouldn't mix well. 

I have Isopods in many of my enclosures. A few of them also contain Pothos plants. All I can say is, they readily eat the dead leaves, but it doesn´t seem like they touch the living ones.

Do you have plants in enclosures with hundreds of isopods in them? 'Cause all of my large colonies chew through anything organic, even hard driftwood over time, I doubt many soft-leafed plants would last long with a thriving colony of isopods, but I could be wrong as I've never tried it myself.

 

[TLinTX]

We have a 125 gallon naturalistic vivariam that we have everything from pathos to ferns to moss growing in. (We have several brookesia stumfii and 2 europlatis phantastiqa housed in it) I have about a hundred isopods in there. The only thing the isopods have eaten are the waste leaves.  And they have multiplied since being in there.  

 

[Psydeus565]

Sounds good, thanks for the replies. I think I feel safer now starting a colony with this plant in the enclosure. I'll have pictures once I have everything set up. 

 

[Manuel_P]

Do you have plants in enclosures with hundreds of isopods in them? 'Cause all of my large colonies chew through anything organic, even hard driftwood over time, I doubt many soft-leafed plants would last long with a thriving colony of isopods, but I could be wrong as I've never tried it myself.

I mean, I have a few hundred Isopods in my hermit crab tank, mostly Trichorhina tomentosa, but they usually just chew up the dead hardwood leaves and rotting wood, the Porcellionides pruinosus often eat a bit of the food the hermit crabs get, but neither of them touched live plants
Only when the hermit crabs destroy a plant, the isopods eat it too
But maybe that´s only because they have more than enough food available at all times
But I never tried it with other Isopod species, because I only use these two species as "clean up crew" in my humid terrariums

 

[Hisserdude]

We have a 125 gallon naturalistic vivariam that we have everything from pathos to ferns to moss growing in. (We have several brookesia stumfii and 2 europlatis phantastiqa housed in it) I have about a hundred isopods in there. The only thing the isopods have eaten are the waste leaves.  And they have multiplied since being in there.  

I mean, I have a few hundred Isopods in my hermit crab tank, mostly Trichorhina tomentosa, but they usually just chew up the dead hardwood leaves and rotting wood, the Porcellionides pruinosus often eat a bit of the food the hermit crabs get, but neither of them touched live plants
Only when the hermit crabs destroy a plant, the isopods eat it too
But maybe that´s only because they have more than enough food available at all times
But I never tried it with other Isopod species, because I only use these two species as "clean up crew" in my humid terrariums

Well I suppose I stand corrected, if you two have kept plants with your isopods without them eating them, then it must be OK. Thanks for the info, good to know isopods can be kept with live plants!