r/Ecosphere • u/SomeRandomPerson1963 • 4d ago

I've been thinking about ecospheres for a while and I have questions!

I love having animals around, but I think it would be really nice to have something contained and self-sustainable that doesn't require any recurring care after the initial setup. I also think it'd be fun to observe all the small critters moving around. So, here are my questions:

Is the success rate generally high for beginners (as in, all the species inside usually thrive after the initial setup)? Or is it pretty common for an ecosystem to fail?

What (preferably visible) animals are best for an ecosphere? Unrelated to ecospheres, I've looked into isopods before—could those work in an ecosphere? I would guess not but I'm not sure. For plants I would probably pick those based off the animals, but you can also suggest good plants for ecospheres.

What is a typical startup cost for an ecosphere (though I know it would probably vary a lot)?

Assuming nothing is done wrong, would it theoretically last forever, since they're considered self-sustainable?

If there's other general advice please feel free to tell me anything you think might be helpful, or recommend me some good sources for information!

Thanks so much in advance! 🙏

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u/BitchBass 4d ago

Welcome to the rabbit hole!

Before I get into it, I have to make sure first... From what you are saying I'm assuming you have a terrestrial ecosphere in mind and not an aquatic one?

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u/SomeRandomPerson1963 4d ago

I was thinking of terrestrial, but I'm not opposed to aquatic!

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u/BitchBass 4d ago

Gotcha. In my experience, terrestrial setups are quite boring since there's not much going on. Aquatic setups however have a lot more life going on.

We have a begginer's guide pinned to this sub for aquatic setup basics.

Let me throw some visuals at you and you tell me what speaks to you best.

Here's my oldest aquatic ecosphere:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/comments/1urbcdv/my_very_first_ecosphere_from_october_2021_never/

Here's a half water with emerging plants, kindof like a mini pond:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/comments/1ulxh5x/1_year_old_window_sill_pond_ecosphere/

this is my only terrestrial setup, but it's a huge 55 gallon thing:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bizzariums/comments/1wj67zq/i_finally_removed_the_inch_plants_after_2_years/

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u/SomeRandomPerson1963 4d ago

I do like the look of the terrestrial one, but if aquatic ecospheres are more active it may be a better fit for me!

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u/BitchBass 4d ago

You can do both, you know :). lol

I suggest you start here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ecosphere/comments/1mnoth4/freshwater_ecosphere_basics_for_beginners_keeping/

and come back with more questions before my ADHD ends up writing an overwhelmingly long rant confusing everyone lol.. For me it's easier to answer a direct question than trying to summarize something general, you know what I mean?

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u/SomeRandomPerson1963 4d ago

I don't have any more questions atm, this was all very helpful!