JackBinimbul
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hey, all!
I was incredibly lucky and managed to get my hands on an exo terra medium tall today for just 50 bucks. This is perfect for my goal of a paludarium, which I will work on bit by bit over a year or so. I'm currently mulling over how to stock the water portion.
The water area holds about 5 gallons, too small for the majority of fish. That said, it's an 18x18 area, so it will have more horizontal space than most tanks of that volume. I plan to use egg crate on stilts for the upper portion in order to allow as much water as possible. I will be using just a few plants such as anubias nana petite and s.repens.
I will also be doing a stream/waterfall that will aid in oxygenation and slightly increase water volume.
With this in mind, I'm trying to determine what is good to stock in the water section. Here are the current thoughts;
Betta
Viable, as many people keep betta in nano tanks, but I personally feel that 5 gallons is the minimum. I currently keep a betta in a 10 and that seems ideal. I also worry about the pump strength and waterfall agitation for a betta.
Tetras
There are numerous small species like the neons, but I'm not sure if it's acceptable to keep them in this tank size, given their number requirements.
Shrimp
I currently keep RCS and, while they are awesome little guys, I already have a population explosion on my hands in both of my tanks. If I went this route, I would be very careful to select all one sex. That said, I would kind of prefer to branch out.
There are also amano and ghost shrimp that I haven't had before and don't know how much they explode in population.
Snails
I keep nerites and like them, but they like to go roaming out of the water sometimes and this seems like a potential issue with an exo terra.
Dwarf Frogs
I've never kept amphibians before and know very little about how "interesting" they may or may not be, but I'm open to the theory.
White Clouds
I've heard good things about them, but am also concerned about population booms and have seen conflicting opinions on their gallon requirements.
Otos
Only downside here is this tank isn't going to be heavily planted and they can be sensitive. The tank would need quite a bit of time to mature before they could be expected to survive in it. I also have read that they are best to keep in a decently sized group. But I do like that they are algae eaters.
What are you guys' thoughts? Are there other species I should consider? For the record; I'm not a "beginner". I have two stable tanks and, other than quarantine, have only ever lost 2 fish who seemed like runts to begin with. I keep up with my maintenance.
I was incredibly lucky and managed to get my hands on an exo terra medium tall today for just 50 bucks. This is perfect for my goal of a paludarium, which I will work on bit by bit over a year or so. I'm currently mulling over how to stock the water portion.
The water area holds about 5 gallons, too small for the majority of fish. That said, it's an 18x18 area, so it will have more horizontal space than most tanks of that volume. I plan to use egg crate on stilts for the upper portion in order to allow as much water as possible. I will be using just a few plants such as anubias nana petite and s.repens.
I will also be doing a stream/waterfall that will aid in oxygenation and slightly increase water volume.
With this in mind, I'm trying to determine what is good to stock in the water section. Here are the current thoughts;
Betta
Viable, as many people keep betta in nano tanks, but I personally feel that 5 gallons is the minimum. I currently keep a betta in a 10 and that seems ideal. I also worry about the pump strength and waterfall agitation for a betta.
Tetras
There are numerous small species like the neons, but I'm not sure if it's acceptable to keep them in this tank size, given their number requirements.
Shrimp
I currently keep RCS and, while they are awesome little guys, I already have a population explosion on my hands in both of my tanks. If I went this route, I would be very careful to select all one sex. That said, I would kind of prefer to branch out.
There are also amano and ghost shrimp that I haven't had before and don't know how much they explode in population.
Snails
I keep nerites and like them, but they like to go roaming out of the water sometimes and this seems like a potential issue with an exo terra.
Dwarf Frogs
I've never kept amphibians before and know very little about how "interesting" they may or may not be, but I'm open to the theory.
White Clouds
I've heard good things about them, but am also concerned about population booms and have seen conflicting opinions on their gallon requirements.
Otos
Only downside here is this tank isn't going to be heavily planted and they can be sensitive. The tank would need quite a bit of time to mature before they could be expected to survive in it. I also have read that they are best to keep in a decently sized group. But I do like that they are algae eaters.
What are you guys' thoughts? Are there other species I should consider? For the record; I'm not a "beginner". I have two stable tanks and, other than quarantine, have only ever lost 2 fish who seemed like runts to begin with. I keep up with my maintenance.
