What to put in a 2.5 gallon glass aquarium? (1 Viewer)

[Jay H]

I recently moved my two juvenile tarantulas (Itsy, a Mexican redknee (brachypelma smithi) and Bitsy, a larger male Mexican redleg (brachypelma boehmei)) into a 10 gallon tank with divider. Now I have two leftover spidey tanks that I'm not sure what to do with. a 2.5 gallon glass aquarium and a ~2 gal plastic critter cage. Any good idea as to something that I could put in it that does't grow and is fairly easy to take care of, like tarantulas? I'm thinking I could get some true spiders, perhaps some jumping spiders, I've even seen some in the wild over here in the NE, they're cute as a button too and they don't get as big, except they also don't live as long and most likely don't eat large crickets or superworms that I buy for the tarantulas.

I was also king of thinking about hermit crabs. I already have 2 fishtanks and I think I already spend enough time with them keeping my fish happy, plus I don't really have another filter to use, although perhaps a snail tank would be cool, if I could find one that isn't as dirty as the apply snail.

Any recommendations, salamanders, scorpions, spiders, snakes, frogs???

Would be required to be living in air, eats crickets, doesn't need to much heat, 70-75° which might exclude alot of reptiles.

Thanks and I'll try to get a picture of my new larger tarantulas sooner or later...

Jay

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

When i saw the topic i immediately thought frogs.

They're really interesting and will always put on a show. Easy maintenance and it won't cost much to feed them. just go on down to a fish store and ask which are the easiest to maintain.

 

[MikeH1]

Jay you want a really neat pet? I don't know how easy they are to care for but I suggest Mudskippers. Their a type of fish (maybe an amphibian, I'm not sure). I have seen them on National Geographic Specials and always wanted a couple. They live in the mangroves of SE Asia and when the tide goes out they cling to the foliage and breathe air. Its pretty cool. But I'm warning you, they're ugly as sin.
Here is a link of 2 of these fish, um... swapping spit
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~thebobo/mud.htm

 

[Chad Isaacs]

Your fish eat shrimp?You could get a small ugf and some brine shrimp eggs,that should be a perfect size.

 

[Julie K]

But I'm warning you, they're ugly as sin.

Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. I've always thought mudskippers were adorably cute. (They are true fish, BTW. Fish are amazing creatures and just because some spend a lot of time out of water running around and climbing trees doesn't mean it's an amphibian). Mudskippers require a lot of care and 2 1/2 gallons is most definitely way too small a tank.

(That photo is surely of two males fighting!)

As to what to put in the tank, I like the jumping spider idea. Or how about one of those giant millipedes?

 

[Jay H]

Yeah, I've seen mudskippers before (on TV, not in any aquarium store) and yeah, a 2.5 gal is way to small for anything more than like 1-2 small fish, Now what would be cool is to network the tanks together and connect them to some piece of land for them to live in, but even then, the surface area of a 2.5 gal aquarium is fairly small and that would be too complex for me to take care of. But yeah, those mudskippers are cool. I thought they were also a little bit brackish too? Well, I checked that website, says you need to maintain a fairly warm enviroment and also the humidity due to it's life in a mangrove climate.

Anyway, that would be really cool as I like strange pets but the tanks are too small for their needs...

Chad, nope, I'll feed the angels brine shrimp flakes but I don't culture my own shrimp. I used to feed my platies live bloodworms but I don't have them anymore.

Mark, I was thinking of the same thing too, the couple places I've seen frogs, poisonous and otherwise, they're usually in a huge corner tank or so but they are fairly small in size, at least the ones I've seen and don't grow too big.

Julie, what's the staple diet of a millipede and how long do they grow? I'll have to check that out. Most likely I'll have to Airborne Express one over since nobody around me carries any kind of herp/reptile/arachnid worth a damm, either that or wait around for the next herp show.

Jay

 

[Julie K]

Jay,
I was a bit wrong in suggesting the giant millipede - I re-read a care sheet which says the adults should live in a 5 to 10 gallon aquarium, although a baby could certainly live in the 2.5gal one. I'm seriously considering one of these guys. The diet looks simple - bananas, tomatoes, melons, etc.
Here's the whole scoop.
It's also got a nice picture for those out there who don't know just how big millipedes can get
EDIT: I just had another thought - how about a black widow spider? That would be quite an attraction.

 

[MikeH1]

Too small a tank and all. Thats too bad. :frowning:

 

[Julie K]

Jay, decide on anything yet?
When you do, be sure to let us all know what your next creepy crawly will be

 

[Jay H]

No, not yet, might not be til a bit. A tarantula friend (not an actual tarantula, but another person who keeps ts) mentioned that there are dwarf tarantulas that don't get to be that big which seem interesting, except they're harder to find than the usual. But I'm going to try to take a picture of my new T abode tonight and get some pictures up. It's hard to get them in the photographic mood, but fortunately, almost every day is a good hair day for them
Jay