Venus Fly Traps/Pitcher Plants?

[Konotashi]

I thought it would be neat to have some venus fly traps and/or some pitcher plants.

It wouldn't be any time soon, so I have a lot of time to read up on them and learn about their care.
Can you grow fly traps and pitchers in the same area? Is their care similar?

I'd want to have a fish tank full of them, if possible.

Do they have to eat flies, or can they eat other bugs, like mealworms?

[arycrest]

I haven't had a Venus Flytrap in years, but when I had them, I always did something and killed them.

[Salem]

We learned a little about Venus fly traps in my Botany class last semester and they are very cool plants! They dont have to eat flies. They will almost eat any insect. I have even seen them eat ants.

Pitchers are a bit different. Within their "pitcher" they have a mixture of water and acidic juices that dissolve their food. They have hairs in their pitchers that point downwards, allowing insects to slip and fall in. So for feeding them, you may have to drop some insects inside or let them find their way in.

My boyfriend had a Venus fly trap and fed it peanut butter. However, he and his younger siblings got very excited about the plant and killed it! :P

I can't remember, but I think they go an go about five or six weeks without eating.

[Scarlettsmom]

They are very s l o w growing and finicky about the conditions. Super easy to kill. We grew them from seed and after 4 years, they were the size of my pinky fingernail. Ultimately, we managed to kill them. Definitely take the time to learn about them. They were cool little plants.

I'll stick with my clivia now...it's a pretty cool plant too and WAY more hardy. I haven't managed to kill it in 15 years!

[Melina]

I remember having Venus Fly Traps as a kid. I also remember them being extremely easy to kill. Good luck.

[iBaman]

I have three right now, and they are very picky little plants. The soil has to be VERY nutrient poor, they need oodles of sunlight, soil must be moist but not wet at all times, they need to go dormant in the winter time (for about 10 or 11 weeks...i think you can do shorter though), and they must be fed insects ONLY. Don't feed meat or peanut butter...just insects. Also, the need distilled or reverse osmosis water ONLY. tap water will kill them with all the nutrients it has in it. No fertilizer (obviously). Soil should be a 50/50 mixture of sphagnum peat moss (DO NOT USE MIRACLE GRO BRAND!!!!!!! FOR ANYTHNG!!!!) and silica sand (20-30 grit is recommended). Get a TDS meter, and soak these before use to make sure the TDS is below 50ppm. I'm sure I'm missing something, but if you have any questions at all, you can ask me...I'm sort of the town expert here...(I'm going to be helping our local pet store with biodomes and terrariums with VFT's and other carnivorous plants)