What to Do With a 40 gallon?

[mommycurzon]

Hi there, I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with our 40 gallon aquarium.

To be honest, I'm totally bored with community freshwater. Cichlids all seem to need larger tanks except a few dwarfs and they don't really meet my fancy. I left saltwater (temporarily) due to our toddler stressing them out and I was worried he could get into the chemicals and really hurt himself.

SO, all to say I'd like to do something interesting with the tank. I was thinking of frogs or toads, but being in the living room their vocalizations could be annoying. I need the critter to be tolerant to a fair bit of noise (toddler and a beagle) but I'd like it to be active and interesting during the day for our little guy to watch.

Any thoughts?

 

[chameleon97]

Hi there, I'm looking for suggestions on what to do with our 40 gallon aquarium.

To be honest, I'm totally bored with community freshwater. Cichlids all seem to need larger tanks except a few dwarfs and they don't really meet my fancy. I left saltwater (temporarily) due to our toddler stressing them out and I was worried he could get into the chemicals and really hurt himself.

SO, all to say I'd like to do something interesting with the tank. I was thinking of frogs or toads, but being in the living room their vocalizations could be annoying. I need the critter to be tolerant to a fair bit of noise (toddler and a beagle) but I'd like it to be active and interesting during the day for our little guy to watch.

Any thoughts?

Beardie
Leo
Ocelot gecko
Fat tailed gecko
Pygmy Cham
PDF
Ball Python
Corn Snake
Kingsnake
Garter Snake
Uromastyx
Desert Agama

-Steve

 

[blackbetty]

Awesome Idea..How about a water dragon!? We had one a few years back that we got in poor condition at a pet store..i Loved that lizard so much. He was fast but he was tame and the water action in the tank will really keep your little guy intrigued. They have really cool setups that can get as simple or as intricate as youd like..and they are bright green creatures with little spikes so you could tell your little man he has his own little dinosaur!


Ps Garter snakes STINK. My sons brings in at least 4 a day.. UGh!
Althought my daughter has a cornsnake and loves it..and they are handleable and she loves to watch it eat.

 

[chameleon97]

Awesome Idea..How about a water dragon!? We had one a few years back that we got in poor condition at a pet store..i Loved that lizard so much. He was fast but he was tame and the water action in the tank will really keep your little guy intrigued. They have really cool setups that can get as simple or as intricate as youd like..and they are bright green creatures with little spikes so you could tell your little man he has his own little dinosaur!


Ps Garter snakes STINK. My sons brings in at least 4 a day.. UGh!
Althought my daughter has a cornsnake and loves it..and they are handleable and she loves to watch it eat.

LOL i found my first Garter Snake yesterday and i loved it lol

 

[Pure]

Is this a 40 long or a 40 tall? Different tanks have different stocking choices.

There are a whole bunch of new world cichlids that stay small enough to live in a 40 L or T.

A couple of my favorites
Discus

Red Hero Efaciatus, This is sort of a dwarf severum. They stay under 8 inches.

Rainbow Cichlid

Fire Mouth

There really are many many more. Research Jeff Rapps' website (google Jeff Rapps) and you will see what I'm talking about.

Hmm some others for a 40..

Any Shelly colony would be very entertaining. They have one of the most dynamic social structures of any fish. Some are kinda pretty.
neolamprologus multifasciatus, Multi

Dwarf Comp

You could also go brackish
These are neat, but eventually...say in about 5 or more yrs would outgrow your tank. They are really slow growers. They can also be housed in a tank that is small relative to his size. They are very sedimentary animals and don't require a whole lot of room. They are happy to just sit there and let you hand feed them. Just watch your fingers. This one was only 7 inches or so but could bite a pencil in half.
Fresh Water Lion Fish (yes it's brackish)

Some puffers would also do well in a 40.
Green Spots in particular would love your tank and get to a nice size but not too big.

Research The puffer list dot com for more. There are a few other that would work but a lot of them get huge.

I could go on...

All the fish pictured are mine. So feel free to ask me any questions about them.

 

[veiledchameleonyoshi]

Awesome Idea..How about a water dragon!? We had one a few years back that we got in poor condition at a pet store..i Loved that lizard so much. He was fast but he was tame and the water action in the tank will really keep your little guy intrigued. They have really cool setups that can get as simple or as intricate as youd like..and they are bright green creatures with little spikes so you could tell your little man he has his own little dinosaur!


Ps Garter snakes STINK. My sons brings in at least 4 a day.. UGh!
Althought my daughter has a cornsnake and loves it..and they are handleable and she loves to watch it eat.

A baby water dragon could live in a 40 gallon for a while, but when it gets bigger, it's going to need a much larger and taller enclosure. Unless you have room for a cage with a minimum size of 5 ft tall by 3 ft wide by 3 ft deep, I don't think a water dragon is a good idea. The males get to be about 3-4 feet long full grown and the females are just slightly smaller.

 

[blackbetty]

Really? Ours wasnt that large.. We had him in a 40 tall from Petsmart for well over 2 years..waterfall and all.. he was maybe 12 inches total..Are you think of a Basilisk? I know they are similar..

 

[Syn]

Rhacodactylus are your frieeeeend!

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Dendrobates tinctorius would be a great choice.

Dart frogs are awesome, only thing to worry about is breeding the fruit flies
every week.

Edit: Oh I see you're in Canada. You can get a LOT of stuff where you are,
http://www.portcreditpets.com/ always has great selection, and so does http://globalexoticpets.com/

Personally, I'd go with some dart frogs, tinctorius are great and quiet too, www.understoryenterprises.com
and http://www.rainforestdesigns.ca/

If you have questions about dart frogs, come see us at www.canadart.org and we can help ya out.

 

[chameleon97]

A Pirahna would be cool.

 

[chameleon guy]

what about some newts or salamanders? Or maybe a turtle. There is this web site that sells quarter sized water turtles.
.http://www.turtlesale.com/home/index.php?page=home&gclid=COGz-ci4jZsCFR7yDAodoGO8qg

 

[Lizardlover]

no go with puffers, way worth it, they are euryhaline meaning they can undergoe fresh-saltwater, you can see mine in my photo album.

 

[veiledchameleonyoshi]

Really? Ours wasnt that large.. We had him in a 40 tall from Petsmart for well over 2 years..waterfall and all.. he was maybe 12 inches total..Are you think of a Basilisk? I know they are similar..

Nope, not thinking of a basilisk. Water dragons can definitely get really large. Maybe you just had an unusually small one....or maybe he didn't get proper nutrition or something. Most babies are 12 inches or more.

 

[sandrachameleon]

mantellas or dart frogs - some are hardly noticable sound wise, and many are daytime active.
Praying mantis
Stick or leaf insects
a pet hissing roach or two

 

[Redeye]

Exodons, crazy like pihrana, but not stupid like them
Small soft coral reef
walk around ant farm

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Day geckos are also very rewarding. Go for a pair of grandis if you can,
but you'll like them because they are diurnal and you get to enjoy them in the day.

 

[blackbetty]

Well could be as he was very sickly when we bought him from the petstore..so maybe he was just stunted.. Either way they are awesome.

I agree Brock. I LOVE day geckos.. Ive wnted one for along time now but just dont have the space to house it nor can I find a healthy one around here..