Does anyone know of any starter t's that are communal?? Would prefer if they were friendly!

I have 1 Avicularia avicularia but apparently they're not good for communal!

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It's hard to really recommend species for communal as there is no sure way of knowing until you try it. Sometimes people put a few avics in a tank and end up with a couple huge ones with cannibalism but at the same someone could have a few avics and live happily together for ages. Really just trial and error. I personally have 3 Poecilotheria ornata in a tank and getting on fine after a year and each with 4 inch leg span nearly.

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"Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I will
Remember, involve me and I will understand"-Confucius 450BC


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqTzgNP2BK8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qZX9Dv0AI4

Holothele incei is a communal T. As I know they live in small colonies in the wild. Small sized Ts, but defo not friendly.... and there is always a risk that the neighbors will eat each other.

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Regards,
Imre

Some Poecilotheria species are communal. Hysterocrates are communal. As are Holothele incei

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i kept 6 Avicularia avicularia in a three foot glass terrarium for 18months before i moved house and they got on fine didnt have any luck breeding them but i think that was because they need to be in smaller number to breed and they were all soppy

there is not many true communal spiders only 1 of the poecilotheria speices is good for communal set ups thats poecilotheria subfusca "HIGHLAND" form and even they are known for eating there siblings , holo inc will eat each other not a tre communal speices , some people have good results with raising spiders together where some dont have any luck at all

Maybe your best chance might be to research a spider that naurally occurs close to other members of its species.

I know that a few of the texan tarantulas occur on riverbanks in very high densities - as close as 10 - 15cm or so from other burrows. Perhaps they would be good candidates, as they are naturally associated with other spiders.

I even think lee has one species, but I cannot guess as to how that particular one behaves in captivity, nor if it would be suitable, this is just an idea. You could try the ATS forums, a lot of US native spiders are kept there (i.e you can go outside and just find one).

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"All I know is my gut says maybe"

Brachypelma albopilosum (Charlotte)
100's of Harvestmen
Member of the BAS and AAS.

i haven't heard too many good stories of Avics getting on well with each other.
some reasonable success occurs with Pocilotheria, but again, varying conditions, varying stories...some swear by sac mates, some say sac mates eat each other.
Holothele incei, i'm about to try that, on a very cautious level.
Hysterocrates spp are quite good together, but again with caution (and you don't want them to bite you!!!)
Pterinochiles murinus apparently does well together til juvenile, though perhaps for longer.

there are others...but you should be warned, there is a difference between true social behaviour and semi-tolerance.
Pokies show some interesting behaviour, as do Hysterocrates spp, but alot of the others may just leave each other alone most of the time, or be social as slings til they start to disperse, from what i've heard.
semi-social behaviour is probably a matter of the spiders doing what they normally do, just not bugging each other...with the occasional mating.
cannibalism is a constant risk, and remember it's their lives, not yours that are at stake.

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Black Metal contra mundum