Dicamptodon tenebrosus possible tank

[sde]

Hi everybody,

So I am asking for feedback on this idea I have for a Dicamptodon tenebrosus tank. I want to know if anybody has/sees any ideas, tips, concerns, improvements, or potential problems with this tank. Top left corner is viewing from the water side, top right is viewing from the land side, and bottom left is viewing from above. First view: Grey dots are gravel, light blue is water, dark blue is main water flow area, black box is water pump/filter ( which is going to be very powerful ), brown in water area is silt, light grey with darker grey inside is larger rocks, double black lined or thick black lined areas are glass.
Second view: Grey dots are gravel ( larger and smaller ), light brown is sand, brown is soil, dark brown with light spots is a log with woodpecker holes, light green is moss, darker green is fern, reddish brown is slightly decomposed wood ( a certain kind ), white areas under log are tunnels ( PVC pipe probably ), double black lines is glass.
Third view: Meshed black lines are wire screen. The rest is mentioned in the first two views.

So, the idea is that this will be a 50 gallon glass divider and false bottom tank. The water will flow from the filter down or through the rocks, and then fall into the pool area, under the rocks that lead into the pool area there will be a small area ( constructed of glass ) to allow for females to lay eggs ( if I breed them, heh heh ). Then, the water will overflow the glass and go through the wire screen, down into the false bottom area, where it will get re-circulated. The reason for this is so that any silt that gets stirred up by animals wont clog the filter, it will settle ( I assume ) before it gets to the filter intake. Hopefully the water will be decently fast flowing.​

The land area will mainly consist of a large piece of log, not sure what species yet. There will be pre-made tunnels under the log. There will also be some slightly rotting wood ( as certain species, I don't know which though ), ferns for shade, and moss. There will be gravel, then smaller gravel, then sand, then soil for the substrate. I will probably have a PVC pipe going down into the bottom of the substrate to allow siphon drainage.

Any feedback?

Thanks, -Seth

 

[Chinadog]

I don't have any experience with Dicamptodon, but the tank looks like it will work. I don't know how you'll get on with silt in there, though. I know it can work in still water, but maybe the current will stir it up all the time?

 

[Azhael]

Well, yes, i have one criticism to make, i would encourage you not to take an animal from the wild to satisfy a personal whim. Even populations that are doing well are not going to be helped by having individuals removed from them and "i just want one" seems like a very poor reason to do it.
If you choose to do it anyway, provided it is legal for you to do so, i would at the very least encourage you to collect eggs or young larvae rather than adults.

As for the tank, it sounds like it would be visually stunning, but also very impractical and difficult to fix if something went wrong. Elaborate set-ups like that are a looooot of trouble...and a lot can go wrong with them.
I completely understand the desire for such a display, don't get me wrong..i understand it very well O_O I just think focusing on the visual aspects rather than practicality and safety for the inhabitants is a bad strategy...
Sorry for raining on your parade, but i honestly feel it's not the smartest choice, i think it would pay off to go with a simpler option. Also, having tried something more or less similar in the past i can tell you that it's one thing to imagine and design the tank, it's quite another to obtain the results you dream of....

 

[sde]

Well, yes, i have one criticism to make, i would encourage you not to take an animal from the wild to satisfy a personal whim. Even populations that are doing well are not going to be helped by having individuals removed from them and "i just want one" seems like a very poor reason to do it.
If you choose to do it anyway, provided it is legal for you to do so, i would at the very least encourage you to collect eggs or young larvae rather than adults.

As for the tank, it sounds like it would be visually stunning, but also very impractical and difficult to fix if something went wrong. Elaborate set-ups like that are a looooot of trouble...and a lot can go wrong with them.
I completely understand the desire for such a display, don't get me wrong..i understand it very well O_O I just think focusing on the visual aspects rather than practicality and safety for the inhabitants is a bad strategy...
Sorry for raining on your parade, but i honestly feel it's not the smartest choice, i think it would pay off to go with a simpler option. Also, having tried something more or less similar in the past i can tell you that it's one thing to imagine and design the tank, it's quite another to obtain the results you dream of....

I understand you not wanting me to take some from the wild, I too would much rather get CB ones, but that is impossible at this point.
One of the reasons I want to get these guys is to give my best shot at breeding them, so if I did I could record the whole thing, because as far as I know their courtship and breeding and oviposition hasn't been recorded many times.
Having access to their natural habitat ( a three minute walk to a decent stream ) I can literally look at their habitat and copy it as much as I can. Because of this I can easily provide the correct photoperiods, temperatures, water fluctuations, and possibly even things like seasonal food changes. If I do decide to get some, I will be doing it legally, and will collect larvae, as adults aren't easily found and eggs are extremely rare to find.

Actually, I wasn't trying to make it pleasing to the eye, I was trying to make it as close to their natural habitat as possible. I can understand that it would be very difficult to fix. And that does make a problem. The silt ( like Chinadog says ) might just get stirred up all the time, and the only reason I decided to do false bottom is so that the silt hopefully wouldn't clog the pump. But it might not matter, and the fuss of making a false bottom might not be worth it, and it would be hard to maintain as you say. The only reason I decided to have silt in the first place was because it seems like larvae and neotenic adults like to hang around plunge pools that have silt in them, maybe because of the camouflage advantages it brings.

I just think focusing on the visual aspects rather than practicality and safety for the inhabitants is a bad strategy...

I agree. But I don't see any safety issues? Please point them out as obviously I don't want any inhabitants safety to be at risk.

You are not raining on my parade at all Azhael! You are helping me, and I thank you for that. This is just what I wanted, a more experienced keeper to chime in and give advice or concerns.
Indeed, it might pay off with a simpler option, but I don't really know how I could do so other than just having the glass divider and ditch the false bottom ( that would be a lot easier! ), and have the rest of the tank close to the same? I am not sure if they would breed in a fully or mostly aquatic tank with shallow water and a strong filter, and that's the only other tanks I can think of that might be an option.

Thanks again for sharing your concerns Azhael, I really appreciate it.