What critters are suitable for the AquaStart 320?

[noirist]

Hi all.

I went ahead and bought a second hand (but in good condition) AquaStart 320 fish tank. I had intended it for my (future) Axolotl but when I got it, even though I knew the measurements, I thought "Oh, that is gonna be way too small!" and yup, I was right. Just having a stupid moment/impulse buy there... ^_^;;;;

So, instead of wasting the £40 I paid for it, I was thinking of *possibly* keeping it and having some other smaller critter/s living in it. I'm not terribly fond of fish, but am open to all suggestions. I was thinking newts or very small frogs, perhaps? I'll be honest, I'm not familiar with amphibians/reptiles/insects and have just joined this site so to be honest, I'm mainly leaning towards trying to re-sell this tank and geeting my money back for the bigger, more suitable Axy tank, but I was also just curious as to what other things could live in this size of tank, even though it is meant for fish.

So, thanks for any suggestions. :happy:

 

[AeonMapa]

That tank is a 28 litre one right? So maybe about 8 gallons. You can actually house a Chinese Fire Bellied Newt in there. The recommended minimum is 10g but he should be happy enough in your tank, just provide him with lots of plants

 

[Jennewt]

Is it possible to run that tank properly with less than full volume of water? If not, then you are probably limited to fish, or maybe the small aquatic frogs. Not sure if the frogs would be Ok with the current. Freshwater shrimp might be another option that would work.

 

[AeonMapa]

Yeah about the filter, you could house a Fire Bellied newt in there but you wouldnt want to keep that filter running all the time because the current will stress them out. I keep my newts in a similar tank, full up to the filter minimum water line. They do appreciate the full depth of the water, however they hate the filter. I only run the filter an hour or two a day, and they retreat to the cork bark island. You could house a newt in there but it wouldn't be using the tank to it's full potential.

Another possible species to keep there would be one single paddle tail newt! Ive never owned one but it seems Without tank mates he'd be happiest, and paddle tail newts also require a current and constant water flow which the aquastart would provide. As with the CFBN, you should supply many plants and ample hides for the newt.

That being said that sort of tank is really built with fish in mind.

 

[noirist]

.

.

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'm sure you will both be relieved to know that I have given up on the idea of housing anything other than fish in the tank. X) I figured it wouldn't be fair.

But, from researching these newts, leading to frogs and others, I have become more and more interested and certainly would consider having them in the future, with the proper tanks/set-ups of course.

Still got the bloomin tank!...

 

[Leukloki]

Hey Noirist,
If you aren't to keen on fish why not start raising food for your ax in there instead a fun mixture of live plants, small krill and of course the odd smatting of water bugs or even fish eggs/spawn and you can run that filter while the plants keep the food safe. It might make your "waste" of money a little bit easier to bare.
I just keep my plant substitutes in a small 10 gal with good lighting, but if I am remembering my tanks correctly, the bulb on that AquaStart 320 is PL-11 lighting which should be replaceable with any number of salt water/bulb grow lights. it would make a great little side project,while in the interim being a leave it to grow sort of project (for those of us who have enough on our plates)
Just a thought