I have an empty 40b tank...

PASTRAMI PARROT

Arachnopeon
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Jan 11, 2017
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It's actually a 50 gallon, but the base footprint is the same.
What would you guys stock one with? I kinda wanna get into dart frogs again, I love planted tanks.
Or maybe another reef tank.. but I don't wanna spend that much.
I've never had a bearded Dragon, and they're $25 near me right now.

I love everything, whether it's creepy or cute or can be handled or cannot.
What would you put in it?
 

schmiggle

Arachnoking
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Nov 3, 2013
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If you're ok with it not being handled, get a pygmy rattlesnake. :p

But seriously, that's a good size for a whole lot of large frogs, like a cane toad or a pacman frog or a number of other species. You could also keep some smaller solitary predatory fish in there--rainbow wolf fish, some bichir species, some pike cichlid...Is it at least four feet long?
 

dragonfire1577

Arachnodemon
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If you're ok with it not being handled, get a pygmy rattlesnake. :p

But seriously, that's a good size for a whole lot of large frogs, like a cane toad or a pacman frog or a number of other species. You could also keep some smaller solitary predatory fish in there--rainbow wolf fish, some bichir species, some pike cichlid...Is it at least four feet long?
that's extremely excessive for a pacman frog, even more than i'd use for an african bullfrog although closer to proper size for that species. Keep in mind these large frogs barely move and just sit still until food shows up staying in one spot for weeks at a time. I'd saya bearded dragons would be fun, so would a blue tongue skink or jeweled lacerta. some medium sized snakes would do fine in there too like a big black rat snake or medium sized python.
 

dragonfire1577

Arachnodemon
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For frogs an american bullfrog would do well and utilize all the space too and be quite an intense eater. A group of crested geckos would also work with one male and 3 or 4 females if you aim to breed or just all females if you don't although they are a solitary species so I don't recommend starting out keeping new caledonian geckos communally, I'd recommend a few years keeping them separate first. Continuing for geckos a Leachianus aka giant gecko would also do great in there although they are quite expensive for someone who isn't super serious into gecko keeping and I still would recommend keeping a single crested before a leachianus.
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
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A bearded dragon and Blue Tongued Skink (BTS) would need a 4x2x2 viv. I'm not sure how big a 50 gallon tank is. What are the measurements in cm/inches?
 

PASTRAMI PARROT

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 11, 2017
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If you're ok with it not being handled, get a pygmy rattlesnake. :p

But seriously, that's a good size for a whole lot of large frogs, like a cane toad or a pacman frog or a number of other species. You could also keep some smaller solitary predatory fish in there--rainbow wolf fish, some bichir species, some pike cichlid...Is it at least four feet long?
I haven't owned anything other than a corn snake I eventually lost in my house so I should probably stay away from venom haha.
Me and my daughter like frogs, but after owning a tomato frog for a couple years I'm hesitant to get another ambush predator for such a large display. I've forgotten about wolf fish, those at interesting. As are piranhas, which can be owned where I live. Thanks for the input.

For frogs an american bullfrog would do well and utilize all the space too and be quite an intense eater. A group of crested geckos would also work with one male and 3 or 4 females if you aim to breed or just all females if you don't although they are a solitary species so I don't recommend starting out keeping new caledonian geckos communally, I'd recommend a few years keeping them separate first. Continuing for geckos a Leachianus aka giant gecko would also do great in there although they are quite expensive for someone who isn't super serious into gecko keeping and I still would recommend keeping a single crested before a leachianus.
Never owned an American bulldog. They are voracious, hadn't thought of that. Giant geckos look cool too. Doing research. I've owned crested geckos and kind of feel the urge to try something new.

A bearded dragon and Blue Tongued Skink (BTS) would need a 4x2x2 viv. I'm not sure how big a 50 gallon tank is. What are the measurements in cm/inches?
It's basically the same as a 40 breeder except it's three inches taller and like half an inch everywhere else. I could be off but if I remember correctly I believe it's 36 7/8 long 18 1/2 deep 19 3/4 inches high.
So do you feel bearded dragons are out of the question? They are on sale locally an I love how interactive they are through the glass.
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
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I haven't owned anything other than a corn snake I eventually lost in my house so I should probably stay away from venom haha.
Me and my daughter like frogs, but after owning a tomato frog for a couple years I'm hesitant to get another ambush predator for such a large display. I've forgotten about wolf fish, those at interesting. As are piranhas, which can be owned where I live. Thanks for the input.


Never owned an American bulldog. They are voracious, hadn't thought of that. Giant geckos look cool too. Doing research. I've owned crested geckos and kind of feel the urge to try something new.


It's basically the same as a 40 breeder except it's three inches taller and like half an inch everywhere else. I could be off but if I remember correctly I believe it's 36 7/8 long 18 1/2 deep 19 3/4 inches high.
So do you feel bearded dragons are out of the question? They are on sale locally an I love how interactive they are through the glass.
I'd say they need a 48x24x24 as they're a decent size as an adult. You'd also need a need a bulb. A thermostat for the bulb. A UV light and unit.
 

PASTRAMI PARROT

Arachnopeon
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I'd say they need a 48x24x24 as they're a decent size as an adult. You'd also need a need a bulb. A thermostat for the bulb. A UV light and unit.
I really appreciate your input. If i end up with a bearded I'll be sure to upgrade the tank as it matures. I've got the necessary equipment.
Whether I'm building a beach themed paludarium or a rainforest viv, I always prefer to use live plants.
For this aquarium I kind of want to go rain-forest planted, those are my favorite to maintain.
If you have the space and the tank, what would you get? Barring snakes.

Also, I know rainforest and bearded dragon are on opposite sides of the spectrum- I'm just tossing ideas around.
 

basin79

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I really appreciate your input. If i end up with a bearded I'll be sure to upgrade the tank as it matures. I've got the necessary equipment.
Whether I'm building a beach themed paludarium or a rainforest viv, I always prefer to use live plants.
For this aquarium I kind of want to go rain-forest planted, those are my favorite to maintain.
If you have the space and the tank, what would you get? Barring snakes.

Also, I know rainforest and bearded dragon are on opposite sides of the spectrum- I'm just tossing ideas around.
I'm honestly not sure what I'd get to be honest.

I'd just start on Google and just start typing small lizards as pets or whatever and from there see what takes your fancy. Then jump on youtube to see what they're like.

If you can keep them cool enough I think Tiger salamanders are absolutely phenomenonal.
 

PASTRAMI PARROT

Arachnopeon
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I'm honestly not sure what I'd get to be honest.

I'd just start on Google and just start typing small lizards as pets or whatever and from there see what takes your fancy. Then jump on youtube to see what they're like.

If you can keep them cool enough I think Tiger salamanders are absolutely phenomenonal.
I agree with tiger salamanders being cool as heck. We have them locally, I had a pair that lived in a viv I built for a couple of years, I ended up rehoming them and they live with my daughter's mom now. I just moved into a new condo and really want a nice planted tank in here I think, my place is quite drab at the moment. Tigers tend to uproot plants constantly and it gets on my nerves
 

basin79

ArachnoGod
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Maybe fire bellied toads? They're bonny little phibs.
 

dragonfire1577

Arachnodemon
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I think if you've kept cresties successfully then id say definitely try the leachianus provided your willing to spend 250 plus on the gecko. Also i'd look for a pine island or one of the other island locales since the larger mainland locale can be more defensive and would be a bigger handful if you get a defensive one. Also you could try a large jungle floor setup and have a Pandinus or Heterometrus communal scorpion enclosure.
 

dragonfire1577

Arachnodemon
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The scorpion setup could come out fantastic that big and it would be awesome to have like 4 or 5 massive jet black scorpions that look super imposing yet are pretty much harmless and won't kill eachother.
 

Arachnomaniac19

Arachnolord
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You could try an axolotl, red eyed tree frogs, Iberian ribbed newts, uromastyx, caecilian, African clawed frog, or a few day geckos.
 

Andee

Arachnobaron
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Depends on what you want, for rainforest if you want to jump into something that will make you research like crazy that size enclosure will happily hold a small colony of pygmy chameleons. 1 males and around 4 females would happily live in there. Their enclosures do great completely planted, they do well with very low basking temps, need mistings every so often, and need very low uvb.

Day geckos, it depends on the species, you have to be careful what you get as many day geckos aren't anywhere near communal. If you did cresties I wouldn't do more than 2-3 geckos. They do badly in my opinion when kept together, too much bullying. Dart frogs would be amazing. There are certain species that are very similar and in the same genus (?) I think is what it is... not sure actually... but look different and can safely be kept together. A single gargoyle gecko in my opinion would do great in there too. Trying to think of everything else o_O, there are several species of skink that are absolutely amazing for planted vivs but are hands off. Crocodile skinks, fire skinks, and a few others. And you can make it pretty elaborate with croc and fire skinks. I would love to do them and just make it crazy natural. Those two skinks are technically hands off, but are safe to hold if you need to do health checks usually.
 

vespers

Arachnodemon
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Dart frogs would be amazing. There are certain species that are very similar and in the same genus (?) I think is what it is... not sure actually... but look different and can safely be kept together.
No, different species within the same genus...or even different morphs/localities within the same species shouldn't be kept together. They should be kept separate, so as to prevent breeding hybrids or mixed morphs. Mixing is highly frowned upon in the dart frog hobby. Also, some frogs will display (sometimes fatal) aggression towards each other depending on the sex ratio, so gender needs to be taken in to account when keeping anything more than a sexed pair of certain species. Such as Dendrobates tinctorius, for example.
 

vespers

Arachnodemon
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Pastrami Parrot, here's an example of a planted dart frog vivarium of mine, that is of similar size to the tank you wish to set something up for:


Dendrobates tinctorius 'Azureus' vivarium
36"W x 18"L x 18"H
 

Andee

Arachnobaron
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No, different species within the same genus...or even different morphs/localities within the same species shouldn't be kept together. They should be kept separate, so as to prevent breeding hybrids or mixed morphs. Mixing is highly frowned upon in the dart frog hobby. Also, some frogs will display (sometimes fatal) aggression towards each other depending on the sex ratio, so gender needs to be taken in to account when keeping anything more than a sexed pair of certain species. Such as Dendrobates tinctorius, for example.
Thanks so much for letting me know, I have yet to actually have a dart frog enclosure, was just researching it for a while with my 110 gallon. Guess some people are a little more lax about that. But I totally understand not wanting to mix them. Especially if they don't "talk" in the same way ^^. I actually was going to eventually do a pygmy chameleon in my 110 gallon. But that never happened. I think it's because I got more interested in insects and breeding would happen with the pygmies and getting into the 110 gallon to look for eggs would be a pain >.<
 
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