With the plants doing well and the tank now cycled with the Zebra danios I decided it was time for some other types of inhabitants. I Am new to this and will choose common easy to care for species to start. I also will have a mix match of biotopes. In the future as I gain experience I hope to make a true to nature cross section of an environment. For now it will be a learning curve for me. These are my starter animals and I’m sure I will be adding and deleting some. I will start with a copy of my planting scheme to show the general layout of the setup and why I hope each particular animal will do well.

Terrestrial Animals

 

Green Anole

Scientific Name: Anoles carolinensis

 

Copyright January 02, 1997, Texas Parks and Wildlife

Common name:Anole, Green AnoleAverage Size:Five to eight inchesTemperature:Daytime temperature 75º – 90º. Nighttime temperature 60º – 70º.Origin:Common in the southeastern U.S.Habitat:Requires greenery, occassional shade and a moist environment.Temperament:Males rarely tolerate other males within their visual rangeFood:

• A diet consisting of a variety of vitamin/calcium dusted insects such as:
• Crickets
• Mealworms
• Waxworms

Other worms that may be included in their diet include:
Earthworms, Red wigglers and Butterworms

Zebra danio

Scientific Name: Brachydanio rerio

Common name:Zebra danioAverage Size:up to 2 1/2 inchesFood:Flake, frozen or live.Origin:Asia: India to BangladeshWater:

Betta

Scientific Name: Betta Splendens

Common name:Betta, Siamese fighting fishAverage Size:up to3 inchesFood:Flake, frozen or live.Origin:India, particularly the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, ThailandWater:

ROUGHSKIN NEWT

Scientific Name: Taricha granulosa

photos by: Dr. Robert Thomas and Margaret Orr, Jens V. Vindum
California Academy of Sciences.

Common name:roughskin newt, Oregon newt.Average Size:six to seven inches long.Temperature:lower 70s.Origin:American Pacific NorthwestTemperament:Oregon Newts will eat smaller newts, but can be safely housed with other newts their own size.

Habitat:Semi-terrestrial, with land area and several inches of water.
For a large part of the year, they live in burrows at the edge of ponds or stream preferring slow-moving water with a lot of vegetation.
the land area should be lined with moss or leaf litter, and should misted daily to keep it damp.Food:worms, small fish, frog eggs, tadpole, tubifex worms, insects, small earthworms, small fish and sinking fish food pellets.

FIRE BELLY TOAD

Scientific Name: Bombina orientalis

Being new to all of this I purchased these toads because I thought they were really nice looking. I ask the person at the pet store if these were good for my set up. Of course I was told they were. What was not mentioned was that they secrete a toxin into the areas they inhabit that will make other frog species ill. I did not wish to limit myself to this species or have toxins in my water. I have moved them into another set up I made with spare parts. You can Click here for frogs to see pictures and what I used for their set up

photo by: Boris I. Timofeev

Common name:Fire belly toadAverage Size:Two to two and a half inchesTemperature:Between 72 and 78 degrees. The humidity for these toads should be kept at or near 80 percent.Origin:North-eastern China and KoreaTemperament:Generally get along well with each other and other frogs. They may eat smaller frogs, newts, or fish.Habitat:Three to four inches of water and a couple of rocks or floating things to rest on. Must have a lid because they can climb out.

Substrate: Gravel is fine on the bottom. If there is a lot of land area, moss woks well.

Food:Crickets, earthworms, waxworms, fish, and mealworms.