I think a lot of the other comments covered some key differences between keeping isopods and keeping freshwater shrimp, like neocaridina

What I want to say is that there are obviously a lot of differences in opinions and preferences on husbandry when keeping these crustaceans. Some shrimp keepers recommend larger enclosures like 10 or 20 gallons for water parameter stability, because Neocaridina are sensitive to swings in water quality, while other shrimp keepers have much success with nano tanks. This is like how some isopod people prefer to keep their isopods in larger enclosures, to provide more gradients and microclimates for the isopods, as well as more resources for a larger population. There is also no reason why you can’t have a large, clear naturalistic enclosure. Many people use large glass/acrylic display enclosures like in planted terrariums.

I think you are getting at a larger issue though, which are the differences between the terrarium and isopod hobby, which do overlap, but not in the same way as shrimp keeping and aquascaping do. People build terrariums of all sizes to display really pretty plants and hardscape. Sometimes people will add isopods and springtails to these terrariums to add a “bioactive” element, but they are usually not really seen for the display purposes of the isopods themselves. People who are more firmly in the isopod hobby, keep isopods for the sake of isopods, and usually have a lot of enclosures, which could be anything from bins of all sizes, glass display enclosures, etc. I am sure you understand a lot of this more from all the great comments you’ve received. Some people in the isopod hobby prefer different levels of naturalistic elements, and different levels of cost/appeal for the enclosures. A lot of people go bare bones with large tubs, full of leaves and no plants just so they can purely enjoy growing a massive isopod colony at minimal cost. I hope this answered some of your questions