Need help planning a swamp-type paludarium

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rudukai13

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 29, 2010
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Colorado
Alright everyone. I'm finally getting in a position where I'd be able to start this project that I've been wanting to do for a while and I'm looking for some advice on how to go about it. I want to build a type of paludarium modeled after a swamp-type terrain. For an idea of what I'm thinking, here's a picture:

swamp.jpg


What I'd like to do is fill a tank partially with water, and then use driftwood pieces that emerge out of the water. So I guess what I'm asking here is what inhabitants would you suggest for this type of enclosure? I'd like to either do some kind of lizard or amphibian that would use both the branches and aquatic portions of the enclosure, or have fish for the water and some type of arboreal animal in the branches. Please, no snakes or turtles. Otherwise I'm all ears. Thanks in advance!
 
How big are you thinking? That could be a major factor in what people recommend
 
I like this a lot. I'd say 55 gallon minimum for this to work, taking into account that if I was doing this, I'd want a lot of wood and also have a lot of space. I would do some newts and mudskippers, maybe an axolotl, idk about compatibility (just throwing out ideas) also some small community fish, probably tetras. I'd also add lots of plants on top of the drift wood. Good luck with your tank, post pics if you eventually get it running :)
 
Well as for size I was thinking the exo-terra setups would lend well to this type of setup, and the largest enclosure they make is 36 long, 24 tall and 18 wide, which is just about as large as I'd want to go. I've actually been doing a little bit of searching and I think a decent sized grouping of fire belly toads and maybe a few white cloud minnows would work fairly well - thoughts?

As for planting it, I'd like to keep it relatively simple. Some kind of floating cover like duckweed to get the green-water swamp look, and maybe some java moss underneath. I thought I would make it so that the substrate had a lot of leaf litter mixed in though, to give it a bit of a messy look...
 
Tom LoFaro;4839244; said:
I like this a lot. I'd say 55 gallon minimum for this to work, taking into account that if I was doing this, I'd want a lot of wood and also have a lot of space. I would do some newts and mudskippers, maybe an axolotl, idk about compatibility (just throwing out ideas) also some small community fish, probably tetras. I'd also add lots of plants on top of the drift wood. Good luck with your tank, post pics if you eventually get it running :)
Click to expand...
If you are going to make something that you want to last, do not include wood. It will only decompose over time and there is no stopping that. You can make everything you need with fiberglass. I would read up on the subject, there is a lot of information on the web that gives you step by step instructions for this sort of thing.

Good luck, I'm sure it'll be great!
 
something like zebra danios, neon tetras, and catfish (maybe striped raphiels?) in the water would look cool,maybe anoles for in the branches? dunno
 
This would be a great setup for various newts, as long as you can control the temperature. Otherwise, FBTs or Hyla sp. would work well.
 
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