# 120 gal



## Masurai (Jun 25, 2007)

A friend of mine gave me his old 120 gal tank for my birthday and I'm looking for some advice as to what to get to put in there


----------



## Cirith Ungol (Jun 25, 2007)

Aquarium or terrarium? Tank can be a bit confusing at times


----------



## Masurai (Jun 25, 2007)

Cirith Ungol said:


> Aquarium or terrarium? Tank can be a bit confusing at times


I don't know, how do you tell the different.


----------



## Cirith Ungol (Jun 25, 2007)

Aquarium = 4 walls sans doors
Terrarium = 3 walls + doors

Edit:
Add to the aquarium = Incredibly thick glass (if it's large).

Edit edit... the more I think about it, the more complicated it gets 
If it's a large "tank" with four equally high walls but with thin glas, then it's a top-fed terrarium. It could potentially be filled with a little water but never up to the edge. 

Anyway, a dead giveway for a typical aquarium is as stated thick glass and four equally high walls, no doors to the side.
Obviously an aquarium can be used as a terrarium too, but the reverse is not always true.


----------



## Masurai (Jun 25, 2007)

Cirith Ungol said:


> Aquarium = 4 walls sans doors
> Terrarium = 3 walls + doors


it's a aquarium. but i can easily modify it as needed.


----------



## Cirith Ungol (Jun 25, 2007)

Cool.
I'm currently working on getting my new aquarium going and am excited about it because I'm aiming for some local fish species, namely Perch. If I can get one I'll even include a Pike or whatever else will get trapped in my net when I'm going out catching next weekend.

How could I not suggest the same?  Use local/indiginous fish. But if you like the idea let me recommend you get the youngest fish of the species you can get a hold of. The younger/smaller they are, the more likely it seems that they can adapt to life in an aquarium.


----------



## Masurai (Jun 25, 2007)

Cirith Ungol said:


> Cool.
> I'm currently working on getting my new aquarium going and am excited about it because I'm aiming for some local fish species, namely Perch. If I can get one I'll even include a Pike or whatever else will get trapped in my net when I'm going out catching next weekend.
> 
> How could I not suggest the same?  Use local/indiginous fish. But if you like the idea let me recommend you get the youngest fish of the species you can get a hold of. The younger/smaller they are, the more likely it seems that they can adapt to life in an aquarium.


Actually I already have one like that. Have some small catfish and some bass in there.


----------



## Goomba (Jun 25, 2007)

Wow, congrats! That's a nice sized tank. I say make a huge living vivarium, or get a badass monitor or perhaps a snake or herp of sorts.


----------



## Masurai (Jun 25, 2007)

Goomba said:


> Wow, congrats! That's a nice sized tank. I say make a huge living vivarium, or get a badass monitor or perhaps a snake or herp of sorts.


yep it's a nice tank, I mean it was setting in his basement for several years and was pretty dirty, but it once i cleaned it good it looked brand new.

I was think about a monitor, what would be  a good one that could live in this tank. I have also be thinking about have a community of some kind, do you know of any nice ones i could set up.


----------



## Drachenjager (Jun 25, 2007)

get a big T blondi lol forget the spined wonders lol back bones are over rated...look at our politicians most of them are spinless lol


----------



## Masurai (Jun 25, 2007)

Drachenjager said:


> get a big T blondi lol forget the spined wonders lol back bones are over rated...look at our politicians most of them are spinless lol


I think 120 gal is a bit big for a T. Blondi lol, but thanks anyway. Also i'm not really looking for things with spines, i just posted here cause i figure this is where i would get the most diverse ideas.


----------



## rollinkansas (Jun 25, 2007)

you could get any of the dwarf monitors such as freckled, kimberlies, etc

or a huge dart frog vivarium could possibly work as well.


----------



## Masurai (Jun 26, 2007)

*Bullfrog*

Could a bullfrog be kept in there.


----------



## Goomba (Jun 26, 2007)

Masurai said:


> yep it's a nice tank, I mean it was setting in his basement for several years and was pretty dirty, but it once i cleaned it good it looked brand new.
> 
> I was think about a monitor, what would be  a good one that could live in this tank. I have also be thinking about have a community of some kind, do you know of any nice ones i could set up.



Perhaps an Argus, or a Blackthroat. Maybe a savannah would fit, idk, theres alot of cool species.


----------



## Potemkin (Jun 26, 2007)

Masurai said:


> Could a bullfrog be kept in there.


Probably, although they're known to have problems bruising their noses on glass. The poor little critters leap and smack themselves into the glass. Dart frogs would be an awesome tank, or you could do some monitors.


----------



## ZooRex (Jun 26, 2007)

If your looking for a varanid, (monitor) several of the small to medium sized species could live in such an enclousure. But I think blackthroats get too big. For all your monitor needs, check out proexotics.com, these guys KNOW monitors. ~Rex


----------



## Drachenjager (Jun 26, 2007)

Masurai said:


> I think 120 gal is a bit big for a T. Blondi lol, but thanks anyway. Also i'm not really looking for things with spines, i just posted here cause i figure this is where i would get the most diverse ideas.


oh heck i know, what i have been wanting to do for a while now. Set it pu wiht a pond and lots of rocks stacked up for hides and put 5 Scolopendra heros castaniceps in there. with a few c. vittatus


----------



## Masurai (Jun 29, 2007)

Drachenjager said:


> oh heck i know, what i have been wanting to do for a while now. Set it pu wiht a pond and lots of rocks stacked up for hides and put 5 Scolopendra heros castaniceps in there. with a few c. vittatus


I figured you were just messing around.
I'm i'm pretty sure that Scolopendra heros castaniceps is a centipede (i'm not good with the latin names of stuff yet) and so i'm guessing that so is the other. I don't much care for centipedes, but again thanks for the advice


----------



## Jake85 (Jun 29, 2007)

If I had a 120 gallon aquarium and a few extra bucks I'd pick up a dwarf caiman.  Just saw one for sale at my local petstore last week.  Of course, this one was definitely not mature yet and would probably need a tank upgrade at some point in the future.


----------



## Masurai (Jun 29, 2007)

Jake85 said:


> If I had a 120 gallon aquarium and a few extra bucks I'd pick up a dwarf caiman.  Just saw one for sale at my local petstore last week.  Of course, this one was definitely not mature yet and would probably need a tank upgrade at some point in the future.


Thanks for the idea, but I'm looking for something that can live in a 120 Gal for life.


----------



## AfterTheAsylum (Jun 29, 2007)

Masurai said:


> I think 120 gal is a bit big for a T. Blondi lol, but thanks anyway. Also i'm not really looking for things with spines, i just posted here cause i figure this is where i would get the most diverse ideas.


2 blondis with a divider in the middle.  Hell, I have blondis in 60 gallon tanks right now.  One in 60, so 2 would be good in a 120!


----------



## Masurai (Jun 29, 2007)

AfterTheAsylum said:


> 2 blondis with a divider in the middle.  Hell, I have blondis in 60 gallon tanks right now.  One in 60, so 2 would be good in a 120!


I don't really want to divide it up, i'm looking for something that will use all that space.


----------



## AfterTheAsylum (Jun 29, 2007)

Get a stingray


----------



## Masurai (Jun 29, 2007)

AfterTheAsylum said:


> Get a stingray


I also should of said that i'm not looking for fish or other animals that spend most of their life in the water. Sorry about that. But again thanks for the idea


----------



## Lorgakor (Jun 29, 2007)

How about a snake?


----------



## Masurai (Jun 29, 2007)

Lorgakor said:


> How about a snake?


A snake is fine. i have been thinking about getting this nice looking ghost corn they have at a local pet store (it's actually a good pet store, if you can believe it   )


----------



## rollinkansas (Jun 29, 2007)

A corn snake is fine in a 20 long...a 120 for a corn snake would be a waste of such a big tank and is overkill


----------



## Masurai (Jun 29, 2007)

rollinkansas said:


> A corn snake is fine in a 20 long...a 120 for a corn snake would be a waste of such a big tank and is overkill


I didn't mean I'm going to put the corn snake in there, I was simply that in passing, sorry about that I should of made that more clear. But what kind of snake do you think would go good in a 120 gal. I'm looking for something that would only actually need like 90 or 100 gal, but that would enjoy the extra space. Also a display animal would be nice, but is not a have to have. thanks


----------



## skinheaddave (Jun 29, 2007)

rollinkansas said:


> A corn snake is fine in a 20 long...a 120 for a corn snake would be a waste of such a big tank and is overkill


While they will do fine in a 20 long, I've been keeping several Elaphe rat snakes in custom enclosures of about 90 gallons in size.  I've never found the extra space to be a waste.  It is nice to see them cruising and thermoregulating both horizontally and vertically.   Granted, one of them is a 7'+ yellowish rat snake and so fills his enclosure better than the others -- but my "deckert's" and white oak are both still at corn snake dimensions and seem to use the space well.

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## Galapoheros (Jun 29, 2007)

7+ feet!  That's hard for me to imagine.  I'm really thinking of cutting down on the number of animals and putting more effort into the cages, more tail room.  I tend to take care of the animals a little better and appreciate them more when I have less instead of taking them for granted with having so many, that's just me.  Some people are real good at having a lot of animals.  You could put only one animal in there, really set up a good display tank with cool plants, maybe a pump for a waterfall.  It doesn't really have to be all for an animal but for weird plants too.  The snake could just be part of it.  Maybe that's already been brought up.  Good luck with it!

"Get a stingray"

I know you don't want a stingray but for the sake of trivia, there is a cool small freshwater stingray from Florida.  I'm pretty sure it's protected tho.  That'd be pretty cool.


----------



## ZooRex (Jun 29, 2007)

It really comes down to this: are you looking for one thing or many things, and is a large amount of water involved. In a 120 you could have a giant shoal of piranha, a big snake, or a trio of waterdragons, the choice is yours. ~ Rex


----------



## skinheaddave (Jun 30, 2007)

Galapoheros said:


> 7+ feet!  That's hard for me to imagine.


Perhaps a picture would help: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=44870

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## Galapoheros (Jun 30, 2007)

Weeeeeedogy!!  Yeah, that helps a lot.  My imagination just couldn't do it.  A trophy size and looks pretty healthy, maybe some more growing to do(?)


----------



## skinheaddave (Jun 30, 2007)

Galapoheros said:


> A trophy size and looks pretty healthy, maybe some more growing to do(?)


He has grown a bit since that picture, but the rate has definitely slowed right down.  I figure it was compensatory growth since he wasn't exactly a happy camper when he came into my care in '01 at about 4.5-5' long.  He didn't grow noticeably for the first six months to a year and then he suddenly started shedding on a very regular basis and put on the extra 2'+.

Now, to keep this thread on topic, I think the "what should I put in this tank" question is a very hard one for us to answer since we don't really know your interest or skill level.  Unless you have a solid interest in them, I would stay away from monitors.  They are a bit more specialized than most other herps and require not only a fair amount of work, but a LOT of research.  The same goes for turtles/tortoises to some degree.  Some are easier than others to care for, but to take a really good run at it is most likely going to represent a departure from your current collection.  As mentioned already, crocodilians are completely out if that tank is to be a permanent home.

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## dtknow (Jun 30, 2007)

African bullfrogs if you want to go the frog route?


----------



## Masurai (Jul 5, 2007)

skinheaddave said:


> Now, to keep this thread on topic, I think the "what should I put in this tank" question is a very hard one for us to answer since we don't really know your interest or skill level.
> 
> Cheers,
> Dave


Well as far as skill level goes, i have cared for a little bit of everything. I have pet sitted for my friend's Leo gecko, fat-tailed gecko, crested geckos, corn snakes, ball python, red-tailed boa, anoles, white's tree frog, pacman frog, iguana, bearded dragon, veiled chameleon, water dragon, and a small reticulated python. Plus a few local snakes i have caught from time to time. So as you can skill is not a problem.


----------



## skinheaddave (Jul 5, 2007)

Masurai said:


> So as you can skill is not a problem.


Well that does very little to narrow things down, then.  Obviously you are still limited to some degree (no experience with turtles, for example, meaning you shouldn't consider any of the trickier species) but not nearly enough to make our job of recommendations easier.  Fortunately, the scope of animals you've temporarily cared for should have given you a fairly good idea of what you like and what you don't like.  If it were me then I'd pick a couple candidate taxons (not necessarily species, but groups of animals) and start doing some serious academic research until something clicked.  You will have to decide what decision making method works for you and then use that to figure out what animal works for you.

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## Masurai (Aug 1, 2007)

*Turtle*

I have been thinking about getting a turtle. What kind do you think would go best in this tank and be a good first turtle


----------



## Goomba (Aug 1, 2007)

Get a snapper.


----------



## rollinkansas (Aug 1, 2007)

Masurai said:


> I have been thinking about getting a turtle. What kind do you think would go best in this tank and be a good first turtle


softshells would look really nice


----------



## Rydog (Aug 1, 2007)

Heres what I would do:

Make a half land half water vivarium with fish indigenous to the amazon and with the other half I would put poison dart frogs(many species). I read in a reptile magazine that some guy built a vivarium with many different inverts amphibians reptiles etc. Another thing to add to the list are day geckos (Phelsuma sp.) Thats what I would do if I had money and time.


----------



## Aschamne (Aug 2, 2007)

If you really want turtles I would suggest a small group (3 or 4) red ear sliders or maps and a soft shell.  The soft shells are cool, but they spend a lot of time under the gravel.  If you decide to get a snake get a jungle python, very pretty and docile.

Hope this helps,

Art


----------



## ZooRex (Aug 2, 2007)

If I had a 120g with turtles in mind, I'd eithor get A. an alligator snapping turtle, B. a trio of nicaraguan red eared sliders (an exotic version of the hobbby classic) or C. a mata-mata. All would be great additons to any collection.



> If you really want turtles I would suggest a small group (3 or 4) red ear sliders or maps and a soft shell. The soft shells are cool, but they spend a lot of time under the gravel. If you decide to get a snake get a jungle python, very pretty and docile.


Just to let you know, even though they are the same size, my slider never got along with my softshell, and are now in seprate abodes. But I must agree that JCPs make great pet snakes. ~ Rex


----------



## skinheaddave (Aug 3, 2007)

I would not suggest a snapper or softshell, as they will ultimately outgrow that tank.  Yes, it may take a while, but it will happen.  The Matamata is a far better suggestion if you want an ambush predator of a turtle.

Cheers,
Dave


----------



## rollinkansas (Aug 3, 2007)

skinheaddave said:


> I would not suggest a snapper or softshell, as they will ultimately outgrow that tank.  Yes, it may take a while, but it will happen.  The Matamata is a far better suggestion if you want an ambush predator of a turtle.
> 
> Cheers,
> Dave


 matamatas get huge, some of the softshells stay small enough to live in a 120








This is a lot more suited for a smaller tank:


----------



## ZooRex (Aug 3, 2007)

> matamatas get huge, some of the softshells stay small enough to live in a 120


Well an article about mata-matas in REPTILES gave demensions for housing, I thought it resempled a 120. Now that you mention it, it may have specified something wider, so I could be wrong.

But many softshells would do nicely in a 120. Mine is three years old now and only 4" and in a 30g. The females of most species esspecially those from asia get huge, up to 30". That is something you need to watchout for with these turtles, I'm so glad mind turned out to be a male ~ Rex


----------

