Large Paludarium/Vivarium Stocking Ideas Please

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Nora

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Feb 5, 2009
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I purchased a rather large aquarium a few years back - 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall, about 270 gallons. Unfortunately I cannot get it's monster stand down to my basement. So I've thought for a long time I would sell it as my intent was to have it full of water and the main floor of my house isn't reinforced to hold the weight. I've been toying with the idea of turning it into a paludarium/vivarium. If I keep the water down to 20% or less that's only about 55 gallons and about 9 inches water depth max, a weight I'm sure the floors can handle even with the tank, stand and misc.

Here's where I need the help: What could live happily in the system? I've thought of going brackish with mudskippers and red mangroves, I've considered darts - leucs specifically - but I've held back due to needing to breed ff as feeders, Arid popped up as an idea but as a rule most of those animals don't use the vertical space much...and I really like tropical type plants. Emerald tree boas caught our fancy (well mine and the childrens anyway) but I cannot bring myself to invest that much money in a single animal....

And therein lies my predicament. For everything I think of, I seem to find too many cons and then talk myself out of it. It's come to the point where I have to make a decision to do something with the set-up or find it a new place to be, before I can bring myself to let it go for good (I'm certain talking the spouse into another purchase this large won't happen) I thought I'd ask if anyone has ideas on potential inhabitants.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

Many Thanks
 
well, I would say give it to me...
And yes there are always a lot of cons versus pros. I was going to suggest everything you were planning as well... Hopefully I or someone else comes up with something good.
good luck
 
Lol, no give it to me! I'll buy it off you. :D


I don't know, some type of biotope would be pretty cool. I would love to have a brackish tank with mangove trees, mudskippers, archers. A large dart tank would be pretty cool too.
 
Wow, the possibilities are(almost) endless. I think a huge vivarium would make a great centerpiece for a room.
 
ina tank like that with 55 gallons of water, you could easily go tropical and keep crabs, hatchet fish, cories, killies... you'd have room for a lot of small fish that either like the surface or like the substrate.... you could very easily have a great beach like set up for muskippers or crabs, you could do something more like a terrarium with a river and have frogs or turtles...

persoanlly, I'd figure out how you want it to look first, and then see what can live in it.


you could also keep it free form and a little abstracted for a while, fill it up 30% and add potted aquatic plants and a few shrimp... no commitment there, and you can play with arrangements.
 
It would be interesting to recreate a floating marsh or something of the sort using the riparium concept. As mellow said, fish like killies, hatchets, african butterflies, and other surface hugging fish would be great inhabitants, as would bottom dwellers like loaches and various cats. Adding some large driftwood centerpieces would likely allow you to add animals with amphibious tendancies.
 
Thank You

A thank you to everyone. I have started and stopped on this project a few more times since I posted this thread and after struggling with the sheer mechanics of working on a tank I cannot reach the bottom of without just about climbing in I've come to the sad conclusion that while I love the ideas of such a large tank the reality is just too much for me. Lesson learned.

While it seems sad on the surface, the feeling of freedom and lightness as I move on to a simple 55 is really quite nice (and not a bit overwhelming).
 
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