# 55 gallon vivarium?



## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

I have a 55 that isn't being used and won't be for a while but I love salamandars and frogs and so does my wife. If I was to set this up as a vivarium, how would I go about it? 1/2 land and 1/2 water? A land platform for the critters to climb up on? 

What kind of plants could I put in that would grow well and make a "lawn" for them to feel secure? 

Do the salamandars need land hiding places? Do the frogs need aquatic plants? I wouldn't go with anything like an African clawed because I like the dwarf frogs. What kind of plants are needed for all of them to lay their eggs and make their clusters? 

How much lighting is needed or does that depend on how many plants? 

Will these critters tolorate the standard dosing that comes with a planted tank? 

If I make a raft type land structure, what kind of substrate would be best?


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

i have a web site for this hold up while i find it


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

well i couldnt find it and its pretty hard to explain  ill keep looking for u and see what i  can find


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

heres a pretty good site that might help http://images.google.com/imgres?img...v=/images?q=+vivarium&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&sa=N


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

That link was good for keeping the frogs, but if working with dwarf frogs, you need to know they are fully aquatic and don't come out of the water. Also, you can't mix dwarf frogs with salamanders or newts, they'll get eaten quick.
Salamanders need an entirely different type of setup than frogs and newts. Salamanders like to dig, they spend more time out of the water, and they get BIG, so eat whatever they can catch and fits into their mouths. Most salamanders will try to eat something if it moves, even if they find it too big, which will injure other animals. Salamanders are also canabilistic, so you should only keep 1 or 2 together, and if more than 1, keep them VERY CLOSE in size. If one outgrows the other, the larger one will eventually eat the smaller one.
There are a lot of types of salamanders out there, I'd suggest doing some heavy research on the species you are considering keeping, their environments and habitats will vary a bit, as will their diets. Knowing if it's wild caught or captive bred will also help when it comes to feeding. Make sure to find out if it is FOR SURE eating before you buy it, and what they are feeding it. They can be quite fussy if stressed or ill.
The same thing goes for the frogs... research the species thoroughly before deciding on what to buy, the environments will be completely different, compatibility with other frogs will be different, foods will be different. Some frogs will excrete a toxin in their skin, so if another animal eats it, it gets sick and dies. Some of these it is diet dependent for the toxin, some it's not.
As for breeding of the frogs in your tank... if dwarf frogs, don't expect it, it's not easily done and you need a lot of frogs for it, and only the one kind of frog. As for salamanders, provide the proper environment, keep them close in size, make sure you have both male and female, and you have probably about a 50/50 chance of it ever happening, but surely not until they are mature. This again will depend on species.
Sorry it took so long for me to get here...
If you have more questions, feel free to ask.


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

Well that's why I am asking now. I do very little with fish now that is not intended to provide fish back to my LFS although breeding BN has proven to be more difficult than expected but they are very different in size. 

As for the vivarium, good point on the dwarf frogs being totally aquatic, didn't think about it but also didn't know most frogs would eat others. 

Dart frogs are just too picky so they are pretty much out unless I decide to gow tih a custom made shorter and smaller tank. I know someone who breeds them here in Washington so they are covered. As for salamandars and newts, probably jst local species, and although I knew they would eat live creatures, I have enver seen a local species get larger than 3 inches in body length without tail. 

This is a future, very future endeavor but my wife is more into reptiles so if I ever have the room, I wil do it then. Have a lot of learning to do before that unless I just go with a dwarf frog planted tank or some other aquatic reptile tank. I don't know the name of it but we have one in a local lake that is aquatic and never leaves the water, could be a salamandar but I am not sure. 

I am going to draw a rough sketch of what I am thinking about doing in the 55 if I ever do this. Will post it when it is done.


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## otis07 (Feb 16, 2007)

*suggestions*

don't mix frogs and caudates, it 's bad news, and sure some people will claim they have them in the same tank, but it's not worth it. if you want to put one species per tank i would be glad to help, i have around 30 herps and can't imagine putting any of them in with eachother.


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