# Lizard/Freshwater tank



## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

ii've has and idea of having both a lizard and freshwater fish in the same tank... mayb even some fiddler crabs. i kno it sounds stupid but the idea sound cool seeing as i am greatly interested in reptiles and fish. first i was wondering if its possible and second what kind of fish would do good.... heres my idea 4 my 30g. im thinkin about a couple anoles.... any idea, suggestions or feed back would be appreciated

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h162/blcknwitecuban/untitled1.jpg


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2006)

That wouldn't give the anole much room and what if the anole decided to go for a swim and eats the fish? Also fiddler crabs are sw I believe.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

You could do aquatics frogs or newts in that sized tank, but keeping reptiles would be quite demanding.


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

ok, well it sounds like a neat idea, so don't give up.

I agree you could try some frogs or newts (newts are awsome!)

I will play with photoshop to help plan the design, maybe we can get something better designed to give more room to the land dweller.


edit: after reading for about 30 seconds I have found that newts are toxic to smaller animals...(correct my if i am wrong) so maybe that isnt such a good idea. I would have to say go frog!


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

Ok personally I thought this was a pretty good attempt with ms paint in 20 mins. I think this could work


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

lol. thanx very much. i kinda camee up with the idea in like 20 minutes and drew the pic in like 5 (not including puting it on photobucket and such). but yea. thanx alot bear. i was just thinking that because i was at petsmart getting sum feeders and saw the fire bellyed toads bangin. im not sure how i would get the floating area 4 the frogs tho. i used 2 have fire salamanders and those were cool...they escaped and never saw them again tho...


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## k-dawg- (Feb 2, 2006)

that sounds like a pretty good idea as long as the tank is big enough for the anoles. fiddler crabs may not do too well in the freshwater and lizards over time. Also for a lot of background information apc has a whole section devoted to the vivarium/paludariums.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/paludariums/


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

what do u mean u are not sure how u would get the floating area 4 the frogs?

it could be a clear piece of glass or acrylic cut to a specific size, and then either cemented or siliconed in some way to the 3 sides of the tank...

did i understand ur question?


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

o yea... very nice job for only 20min


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

hmm, if u would be interested you could pm me and we could figure this out. It cant be that hard

the 20 mins was for the painting and pretending to be working


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2006)

Here is a forum thats about the salamanders you were talking about http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Salamander-Newts/index.html


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

lol. ty durb
i wil do that bear... but mayb later or 2marro. im eating burger king ryte now


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

...i wish i had burger king...

just get ahold of me, I most likely wont be by a comp again until late tonight, but then I will have time to sit, research, and seriously think about this


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

vivarium what? big words. but yea u understood my "?" bear.


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

me2. i'll b on late 2. im eating there new burger. its called the quad or something. 4 patties, bacon and orange sauce. SOOOO good!


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## msdolittle (Mar 4, 2006)

Just make sure you are careful what reptiles or amphibians you put in......lots of them will eat anything that is smaller than them.  AND, if you get this up and running, I hope you'll share pics! I have a sortof similar setup for my frogs. Half of the tank is water and half is land. I just siliconed a piece of plexiglass in the middle. I did a waterfall with a cheap little aquatic filter. The frogs love it but there is no way fish would fit in there. The tank is only a 20 high and half is water but its only filled halfway.........so probably its less than 5 gallons of water (because of the waterfall, it takes up much of it). I considered putting a newt in there, but I'm afraid my piggy frogs would eat him. :-/


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

ms dolittle, lets see a pic of this tank. It will come in very handy I am sure, plus the waterfall idea sounds pretty cool


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

that sounds cool. if i did it it would probably b a 30g or 20g long. i'd die if it was lizards but it will probably only b anmphibians . frogs n stuff r cool but the egg 2 tadpole 2 frog thing got old. id rather have eggs and little babies.


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2006)

You could get a 40g long and fill it half way up and put fish in one half and the frogs on the other end, or some red bellied salamanders as they go on land and water and at the lps I've seen them with platys and they go on the land part as well.


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

hmmm. that wouldnt work. im probably upgrading my main tank(30g) 2 a 55g or something and mayb move my 20g long cichlids tank 2 the 30g or probably keep it trhe same. im kinda on a budget and i dont really want 2 buy a bunch of tanks


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

im going 2 make sketches on paper and mayb on the computer so u can see what im thinking.
(does any1 know what size tank archers need?)-random!!!

ALSO!!! im thinking of having a glas wall or something so the land part can b higher so i can have more water space


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2006)

Ok, it was just a suggestion.


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

ik. ty. im thinking 4 fish... sone platys or guppies


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## Mari (Jan 24, 2005)

If you are going to do any reptile, I must ask if you could please not put a heat rock in there...a heat lamp works much better...

Heat rocks cause serious burns on reptiles 

As for the idea...I think it could be done, but it would be a lot of work, and you may have to go through a lot of hardships if you do get it up and running. I would recommend you do the frogs if you want a non fish animal...newts and salamanders are good choices as well. Anoles are not such a good choice because they need a taller tank as opposed to a wider one because they are climbers. Also, chances are that if an anole fell in the water it would drown...they are not reptiles accustomed to large bodies of water. 

Do try to get the largest tank you can afford to get...the more room each individual animal has the better it is for your mini ecosystem... 

Good luck


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## Vermifugert (Jun 15, 2006)

Durbkat said:


> That wouldn't give the anole much room and what if the anole decided to go for a swim and eats the fish? Also fiddler crabs are sw I believe.


The fiddler crabs found in pet stores are most likely semi-terrestrial brackish crabs


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

You don't want archers in with anoles, salamanders, etc. Not only do they get big, need brackish water (not good for lizards, etc), but they are also highly predatory and might take a snap at the lizards or whatever. They'll need a pretty big tank also.

Also skip the heat rock and the heat lamp, both are almost useless as stand alone sources. Not only do heat rocks cause burns, but overtime they'll ruin the organs, and all that good stuff. Heat lamps are just well..heat lamps. They are only needed if your bulbs you already have don't produce much heat, or you want a small basking area. Usually with anoles they aren't needed.

If you want salamanders you don't need that big of a area for them to get out of the water, just buy a floating turtle dock. You don't want a large land area covering over half of the water for obvious reasons.

There are so many ideas to make one, but it all depends on what type of animals you keep, both on land and in the water. If you keep anoles i've seen awesome set-ups with large bark and tree roots heading towards the top of the tank with overhanging grape vine and stuff like that. Anoles don't have to have tall tanks, they do just fine in tanks 12 inches or more high. You want animals that at they're fully grown size won't go after eachother. Small guppies will probably become prey sooner or later, trust me, and fiddler crabs WILL probaby go after the anoles at night.

Just keep planning on read up on basic reptile upkeep first. They aren't something you can just stick a light bulb on and say walla. They need certain foods and minerals, right uvb and uva lighting, and similar requirements. Making a mixed set up like this is a little more complicated, it's mixing the two in one environment but also making sure they both ignore eachother and are cared for properly.


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

crud...i never got around to working on this with ya...sorry bout that I've just been really busy with work and college stuff now...in a couple weeks try and to me if ur still interested, I'll help as much as I can


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

i wasnt gonna put the archers with them. it was just a random "?". take ur time. im in no rush. i still have 2 move and get situated in the new apmt which mit take a while... and then theres school


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

yay illinoisians!!


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## Andy_Dufresne (Mar 19, 2006)

I may have thought of an idea. What you could do is get some acrilic pieces and cut supports that would line the sides of the tank and give you a small lip to set the acrilic on the top of that for the land animals to live. Then you could just simply set up a tank divider at the end of the acrilic that has holes in it, so water can get through but none of the animals on the land side of the tank. Just form a small area for water to gather and fall into the water of the tank. It would be pretty strong and able to hold up what ever you put on top and would stop the land animals from getting into the water eating all they want hehe. If you need a picture i could prolly toss one together real quick hopefully.

Nick


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

um please do. i think i know what your saying tho.


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## windchill (Aug 2, 2006)

*links with some pics*

This sites forums (look under aquariums and terrariums) for paldurium ideas. There are some excellent examples but they are hard to find. 
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/

Heres one outstanding example:
http://community.webshots.com/album/269965173ZAvmIn

I had to reload this one a couple times to get it to show. If you look closely, there are four different fish areas.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/269965173/1270633143065535866tjFQip#

Heres someone asking about DIY:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/terrarium/msg0121131632208.html?19

Most of these use the back of the aquarium for the lizard/frog habitat by building up walls and/or corners and front for fish display. 

Anoles like to climb. Height is going to be important. If I remember right recommendations is 20 inchs high. It may be 24. Mine was 32 inches high and they spent most of their time above 20. Anoles need running around space which can be partially compesated for via hanging climbing sticks. I used fishing leader lines to hang one end of a stick and the Vs in the branch to lay/intertwine other sticks.

As others have said lizards require different light than fish or you will get health problems. There are several reptile forums out there.


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## windchill (Aug 2, 2006)

*Suggestions*

Suggestions I would make on your design is this (if your not going to switch to links type method). Use a wide aquarium if possible then build your lizard housing above. Make side entry doors in addition to top access. You could then hang your filter from the side rather than the back as an option. Use something like the 5/8" plexiglass for the base of the lizard housing (say 1/2 tank length). You may have to figure out a bit of support if using half tank size. Plexi will warp some with time and weight. Hang those underwater lights from the bottom of the lizard housing to light the aquarium under the shadowed part. Check out some of the newer rep/herp enclosures with front access doors too for potential ideas. Many newer terrariums are built this way.

You could also use 2 or 3 smaller strips equal to 1/2 tank length and you might be able to avoid the underwater lighting. They could be decorated such as some of the diy caves posted. Shadows also provide cave like hiding for some types of fish. Some plants do well with roots hanging in water and no substrate. I used hanging plants (english or swedish ivy if I remember right) in my anole cage but I didnt have fish under them. Plants have to be strong enough to support any creatures in cage. They will climb/leap on them.

Other thoughts:
Create screened windows in case you need to cool the cage in the summer when lights are on or sun is heating cage (depending on habitat location). Make sure you can cover them to reduce heat loss if needed. Your reptile lighting may need cooling. If planning roof access you must be able to lift the lighting off without allowing reptile escape. Anoles are fast! 

Make the back, sides and top of the reptile area from wood. Helps for heat retention plus you can attach things or drill wire access easier. Pine gives off toxins that affect reptiles/amphibians so you will want it sealed if using pine. Maybe stain and then coat with aquarium sealant (research this as it is an assumption by me). I didnt use pine because the whole thing was glass and plexi. Heating during the winter was an issue. Next one will have more wood. If your front is more than 20" long I would suggest some kind of support for the middle of the front. I used a 1" wide strip of plexi glued to the glass front (viewing side) and plexi back (window side). 

Your lizard food may end up in the water more than you expect. There must be some way for both the food and the reptiles/amphibians to escape if they fall in the tank. You cannot count on these animals to know what to do in the water. I read somewhere that poison dart frogs can and will drown (as an example).

Plan for a complete teardown and cleaning of this cage during construction. How do you intend to capture your fast moving lizards?

Spend ALOT of time roaming around home improvment stores before purchace imagining the structure and measuring items to make sure it will fit together. 

Good luck and I look forward to the pics!


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

thanx. it probably wont b soon though but if ur still on the forums when i do it i'll b sure 2 send u a PM. i think im just going 2 do newts and frogs tho.... but i often change my mind >.<


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## Andy_Dufresne (Mar 19, 2006)

Hopefully this helps lol.


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## comedykicks (Aug 26, 2005)

Bear said:


> Ok personally I thought this was a pretty good attempt with ms paint in 20 mins. I think this could work



I have a similar temporary set up like that right now in my 10gallon aquarium. Except, I have 2 water turtles w/ a log on top of their landing area. There's hanging plants along the side of the tank and a few floating ones as well (all plastic). I have ghost shrimp and 4 black molly fry in the water and a little castle in which both the turtles and fish hide at times. 

I used a regular filter which kinda creates a waterfall (the turtles love it!), an underwater heater (for both fish & turtles) and a heat lamp. So far, the turtles haven't eaten any of the fish or shrimp, they seem to only like both turtle pellets and sheets of algae (which I clip to the side of the aquarium underwater)

Here's a few pics (these are before I added the fish, shrimp and castle):

front view:









back view:









top view:









sunbathing:









hanging out:


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