Hello!
I have an eyelash crested gecko I adopted in October of 2025, he was approx. 4 months old at the time I believe. I have him in an 18x18x24 vertical enclosure and have decided I would like to go bioactive. I’m overwhelmed with all the research I’ve done.
My biggest worry is what plants to get and how to plant them. I’ve seen so much conflicting information.
Ok I am tagging @cmsreptiles Christina and @cmills Claire
They will certainly be able to assist you! And we would love to see pictures of your newbie!
My biggest go-to for bioactive plants is Pothos of any variety, Philodendron and Syngonium. All 3 plants love water, humid environments and are tolerant to conditions that would otherwise cause root rot.
Pothos and Philodendron are very easy grow, they grow fast and they grow big enough to support Crested Geckos. Their cuttings also can be replanted.
Here’s a list of other plants that do well 
https://www.serpadesign.com/riparian-plants
There are plants listed as Toxic, just be mindful of them. Your CG should be fine as long as they do not try to eat the plants, which I doubt will happen anyway. Just exercise caution while feeding!
These would have been my suggestions too! Pothos is SO easy, it is basically an infinite plant hack. Any tails that get too long are trimmed, then I put the stems in water to grow roots, and then back into soil they go!
I would also make sure you let your bioactive tank ‘cycle’ for a bit without your crestie if possible (like 2 - 4 weeks) - this lets the plants root, the springtails breed, and the isopods breed without the added predator pressure of the crestie, or added poop load before the clean-up crew is ready
The info online can certainly be overwhelming, but you don’t need to make a complex work of art right away! Keeping it simple and safe and building on it later is always an option.
There are many springtail and isopod breeders here on MM or on other verified sites that can get you started nice and easy