Paludarium For young P.labiatus journal [ warning : Tons of pics ]

[eFaN]

Currently setting up a tank for young Pachytriton labiatus ( 6cm )..

i want it to be cheap and have a paludarium feel to it..

here's the tank

50cmx35cmx35cm..

siliconed the styrofoam background and used the leftovers to make the fake land area..

to be conT ...

 

[eFaN]

pieces of the "land"..

figuring out where to put it..

finaal..

sand and wo0d added... next would be the filter and how to kinda hide it abit..

to be cont..

 

[eFaN]

again we decided to use what we already have (styrofoam leftovers) to conceal the filter intake..

its less visible now..

land siliconed..

to be cont..

 

[eFaN]

we start to add cycled water to the tank..

we start the filter and wanna make sure that the water flows to every part of the "land"..

in case u guys are wondering , we used java thai moss for the wet land area...

to be cont.. :happy:

 

[eFaN]

here's the view of the land area...

wana make sure that the water touches all the moss..

water drips from all the mossss.. awesome..

to be cont..

 

[John]

Lovely work. It's a shame the images are on photobucket, because when you move them or delete them in the future we'll be left with an empty thread.

 

[Azhael]

Very nice. Not the best set-up for P.labiatus though.
If your animals are WC it means they are most likely fully aquatic. Therefore the land area is of little use(and even if they were to use it, it looks kind of hard to reach), although it looks great. They are also stream creatures, and they like a rather strong current. With the water dripping from the land area the current is minimal.
Keep in mind that you will need a secure lid for that tank too.

 

[eFaN]

Lovely work. It's a shame the images are on photobucket, because when you move them or delete them in the future we'll be left with an empty thread.

hi Thanks! no worries i have no plans to dlete any of my pics esp those posted in forums dated years back haha. is there any other better image hosting web? maybe i'll switch =)..

cont..

a fewww more minor adjustments...

here it is for now...

spacious swimming area..

another angle...

its still work in progress though.. newt is still not transfered in.. gonna add more hiding place for those critters, wire mesh top and a few floating plants like giant duckweeds..

will update again..

cheers.

 

[eFaN]

Very nice. Not the best set-up for P.labiatus though.
If your animals are WC it means they are most likely fully aquatic. Therefore the land area is of little use(and even if they were to use it, it looks kind of hard to reach), although it looks great. They are also stream creatures, and they like a rather strong current. With the water dripping from the land area the current is minimal.
Keep in mind that you will need a secure lid for that tank too.

hmmm.. i'll heed ur advice . i'll increase the water till the land is aliiiil bit underwater and see how i can increase the current flow.. probably place the output of the filter on the surface of the water.

thanks!

cheers.

 

[Otterwoman]

HI Efan,
you can put those pics HERE in your personal photo album or in our gallery! Then John won't lose any sleep over losing the pics.

Now I want to ask: is that background (that you painted black) just styrofoam that you carved, or what? You have done a great job, and it's beautiful!

It's making me wonder if it would be an option to make a big glob of Great Stuff and then just carve it the way you want.

Oh, and what were you doing with the flame? and what's in the container with the chinese writing?

 

[eFaN]

HI Efan,
you can put those pics HERE in your personal photo album or in our gallery! Then John won't lose any sleep over losing the pics.

Now I want to ask: is that background (that you painted black) just styrofoam that you carved, or what? You have done a great job, and it's beautiful!

It's making me wonder if it would be an option to make a big glob of Great Stuff and then just carve it the way you want.

Oh, and what were you doing with the flame? and what's in the container with the chinese writing?

hellooo haha,

alright will just use that in the future

As for the background, its a fake rock styrofoam aquarium safe background by ocean free.. i got it over at my lfs for 10 singapore bucks haha but there's tons of people (esp those into vivarium and stuff) that make it themselves.

eg)

credits to / taken from .. http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15173

for the flame part, we use it to mould the styrofoam to our desired shape.. touching up here and there.. and the bag with chinese writing is beach sand i got from my local pet shop..

cheers!

 

[Greewok]

I wouldn't change a thing, it has plenty of water and looks great. If they do or do not use the land that's fine. I also wouldn't get hung up on the whole current thing. The Labiatus will do fine in there as is.

 

[eFaN]

I wouldn't change a thing, it has plenty of water and looks great. If they do or do not use the land that's fine. I also wouldn't get hung up on the whole current thing. The Labiatus will do fine in there as is.

alright thanks! =)

here's a little update.. giant duckweeds added.. duct tape to create wide rim (not shown)..

shrimps are doing great so i decided to add my newt in..

here's my baby..

feeding video..

YouTube - Feeding Pachytriton labiatus

cheers.

 

[xMIDNIGHTx]

Beautiful job again, I think it looks amazing! Now give the that buddy a fat earthworm! lol

Mitch

 

[Aimee]

Looks amazing! What did you use to attach the landpiece to the background?

 

[Salmonella]

Lovely - could live there myself! I had a similar set-up for my P. labiatus and they did just fine. Lot of work, awesome job - one that will bring your many hours of viewing pleasure.:happy:

 

[Jennewt]

Beautiful work. But perhaps you can put my worries to rest... please tell me that this tank has a Houdini-secure lid.

 

[oregon newt]

The pictures with your newt in there are beautiful.

 

[eFaN]

Thanks pple!!

Beautiful work. But perhaps you can put my worries to rest... please tell me that this tank has a Houdini-secure lid.

sorry for the long update.. here's the picture of the prison gate..

gave him more hiding place to play around with..

 

[eFaN]

here's a little update on the land..

and the inhabitant..

i chose vampire crab cause this thing just wont go into the water.. and very pretty!

YouTube - Vampire Crab

thats all for now..
cheers.