My first encouter with Tarantula was completely coincidental. I was a geek/nerd that loved to read anything about science. So one day I was watching some Youtube videos and accidentally came across a Tarantula video. Curiosity compelled me to go to wikipedia to read up some "background knowledge". Then background knowledge became knowledge obsession which eventually became a hobby as I bought the first T - a Chilean Rose (Grammostola rosea).

From my background as a Hitech geek, I have relative clear criteria for my T's. As a result, I am not a collector - I have no desire to collect every T - rare or not and is very willing to trade away a T I don't want to get a T I really want. Below are my criteria:

• Visible: I keep Tarantula, not dirt so I don't want to see a tank of dirt with a T hiding somewhere inside. I'll try to redesign a tank a few times to make sure the T is visible one way or another. If all effort is to no avail, I don't want it.
• Beauty: More specifically, I like bright color and try to avoid brown and black.
• Size: Tarantula is known for its size so bigger size is a bigger plus.
• Special characteristic: This vague criterium is used to modify the other 3 because sometimes, certain traits make 1 T stand out e.g. a swimming Hysterocrates gigas or a horned baboon Tarantula.
• Ease of care: One strength of keeping a Tarantula as a pet is its ease of care. So I don't want a T that has lots of special requirements - just make it too worrisome to be enjoyable. That's why I don't anticipate having a Theraphosa blondi any time in the future.
• Appetite: I love eating and love watching my T's eat. So it is really frustrating to drop a prey in and the T just ignores it.
  

So I basically give each T a score (the same you way one reviews a hitech toy like MP3 player) and keep the best of them. Some people will frown at the technical, rigid assessment but that stays true to my background - a mathematically-trained science-oriented hitech geek. I have been very happy with the T's I have so I must be doing things right. No worry for the "unwanted" T's, I very much appreicate lives so as long as the T's are in my hands, I will look after them very well, regardless of the preference score. Needless to say, the T's that I love are very pampered.

So here they are, my current Tarantulas:
0.1.0 Acanthoscurria geniculata 6"+
0.1.0 Poecilotheria regalis 6"
0.1.2 Hysterocrates gigas 5", 3", 2"
0.1.0 Grammostola rosea 4"+
0.1.0 Ceratogyrus darlingi 4"+
0.1.0 Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens 3"+

Used to own list:
0.1.0 Aphonopelma sp. flagstaff 5.5"
0.1.0 Avicularia versicolor 5"
1.1.1 Lasiodora difficilis 5.5" 4.5" 3"
0.1.0 Nhandu chromatus 4.5"
0.1.0 Pandinus exitialis 4.5" (scorpion)
0.1.0 Avicularia avicularia 4"
0.0.1 Holothele incei 3"
0.0.1 Pterinochilus murinus 2"
0.0.5 Babycurus jacksoni 4x1" 1x2"
0.0.1 Lasiodora parahybana 1.5"
0.0.1 Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens 1.5"
0.0.1 Phlogius sp. Stents 1.5"
0.0.1 Psalmopoeus cambridgei 0.5"
0.0.1 Citharischius crawshayi 0.5"
0.0.8 Pterinochilus murinus 0.5"

I also keep some non Tarantula pets.
0.2.0 Centruoides sculpuratus 2"+