Hey everyone. I'm new here, as I just recently renewed my desire to have common mudpuppies again, as I used to when I caught them fishing years ago. This will be a long thread, so please bear with me.
I have found a place to order several larger ones, since the place I had lined up for juveniles only had 2 available, and I was ideally looking for 3-4. I really wanted them slightly larger as well, so I should be getting 3 or 4 ten to twelve inch ones in a few days. Before I get them, I would like to get some input from the people who have more experience than me in these things.
First of all, I live in upstate NY, so temps were initially an area of concern for me, since we have been having pretty frequent spikes in temperature recently. However, the temperature in my underground, concrete-walled basement hovers around 60 year round, and never higher than 65 or lower than 50. That's where the tank will be, so I should be good there.
I will be setting these guys up in one of my old 125 gallon aquariums. The dimensions off the top of my head are something like 72"x18"x22". I really don't know what to do for substrate. I'm a into large fish, so I generally use nothing or a course grain pool filter sand, which is silica based for ease of maintenance. I flat out refuse to use gravel for fish, but if you guys think it will be better, I suppose I can try it. I am slightly worried about the sand. It works great and is nearly maintenance free, plus its cheap and impaction risks are minimal, but it is kinda rough, so I don't know how it will work for mudpuppies and their skin. What do you think?
The tank will have several hiding spots, made out of large diameter PVC pipe and some larger rocks, enough to avoid any territorial aggression. The only current provided will be from the two hang on filters, and an external homemade filter known as a wet/dry filter, that I swear by for fish. The turnover rate should be in the area of about 10x per hour, but current will be minimal.
Being a fish guy, I totally understand the nitrogen cycle and will be seeding these tanks with colonized biomedia from my existing fish tanks to avoid any ammonia/nitrite issues. The tank will also be securely covered with glass/acrylic covers, and will be well aerated by a large air pump and several air stones. I remember the 2 I used to have escaping, so I know what they are capable of. I won't have that happening again.
The other aspect is food. I have many turtles and a few snakes right now, plus a bunch of pixie frogs and pacman frogs. I always have a large amount of nightcrawlers on hand, and I frequently trap/buy crayfish for my turtles. I avoid feeder fish entirely,. especially for my fish, so that wont happen too often. My plans are a main diet of earthworms, crayfish, and pre-packaged frozen, and then of course thawed talaipia fillets, that my turtles and fish love. What do you think about this diet?
And I think that's it. Long, I know, but a helluva first post, huh?
Any input is appreciated, especially if I forgot to mention something, and I look forward to your responses.
Thanks, Joe
I have found a place to order several larger ones, since the place I had lined up for juveniles only had 2 available, and I was ideally looking for 3-4. I really wanted them slightly larger as well, so I should be getting 3 or 4 ten to twelve inch ones in a few days. Before I get them, I would like to get some input from the people who have more experience than me in these things.
First of all, I live in upstate NY, so temps were initially an area of concern for me, since we have been having pretty frequent spikes in temperature recently. However, the temperature in my underground, concrete-walled basement hovers around 60 year round, and never higher than 65 or lower than 50. That's where the tank will be, so I should be good there.
I will be setting these guys up in one of my old 125 gallon aquariums. The dimensions off the top of my head are something like 72"x18"x22". I really don't know what to do for substrate. I'm a into large fish, so I generally use nothing or a course grain pool filter sand, which is silica based for ease of maintenance. I flat out refuse to use gravel for fish, but if you guys think it will be better, I suppose I can try it. I am slightly worried about the sand. It works great and is nearly maintenance free, plus its cheap and impaction risks are minimal, but it is kinda rough, so I don't know how it will work for mudpuppies and their skin. What do you think?
The tank will have several hiding spots, made out of large diameter PVC pipe and some larger rocks, enough to avoid any territorial aggression. The only current provided will be from the two hang on filters, and an external homemade filter known as a wet/dry filter, that I swear by for fish. The turnover rate should be in the area of about 10x per hour, but current will be minimal.
Being a fish guy, I totally understand the nitrogen cycle and will be seeding these tanks with colonized biomedia from my existing fish tanks to avoid any ammonia/nitrite issues. The tank will also be securely covered with glass/acrylic covers, and will be well aerated by a large air pump and several air stones. I remember the 2 I used to have escaping, so I know what they are capable of. I won't have that happening again.
The other aspect is food. I have many turtles and a few snakes right now, plus a bunch of pixie frogs and pacman frogs. I always have a large amount of nightcrawlers on hand, and I frequently trap/buy crayfish for my turtles. I avoid feeder fish entirely,. especially for my fish, so that wont happen too often. My plans are a main diet of earthworms, crayfish, and pre-packaged frozen, and then of course thawed talaipia fillets, that my turtles and fish love. What do you think about this diet?
And I think that's it. Long, I know, but a helluva first post, huh?
Any input is appreciated, especially if I forgot to mention something, and I look forward to your responses.Thanks, Joe
