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Small tank animals

jacketherington

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I have a 6 gallon fluval edge that I was thinking about converting into a terrarium. Are there any salamanders, or possibly poison dart frogs that could live happily in a tank that size?
 

JoshBA

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I doubt there are any salamanders that could live in a tank that size as adults. But I think you could keep a few terrestrial juvenile newts in there (temporarily, until they become adults).
I think the same case is with dart frogs: you could keep juveniles in there but most people recommend at least 10gal tank size. I could be wrong, so you could check out Dendroboard for better info.
Have you heard of geosesarma sp. crabs? They're these small (1-2in) terrestrial jungle crabs that can be kept just like dart frogs. They also breed with freshwater and give birth to live young. I've never kept them, but I'm certain you could keep a small group in that size tank.
 

stanleyc

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Salamanders in the genus Batrachoseps are very small, some may be only 1.5-2 inches long. I still don't know if it'd be a good idea to keep one in such a small tank though. May be other users have more information.
 

onetwentysix

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I don't like small tanks for animals, really. A ten gallon tank usually costs around $10, another ten for a lid (or have some glass cut), and that'll work pretty well for most terrestrial species.

I suppose some smaller terrestrial Ambystoma might do okay in the six gallon tank - I used to keep them in plastic shoe boxes, which are smaller, but the problem with small tanks is that there's less room for error. If it gets too hot, the animal can't burrow in deeper, and if you miss a misting, the whole thing can go dry before you notice what happened. There's less room for microhabitats in the enclosure too; places that would be more or less humid or hot, etc., that would allow the animal to regulate itself.

Instead of buying an animal for the tank, why not buy the tank for the animal? That way you can look at the species you want, and then pick the right size and type of tank that would be best for it.
 
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