# Hydroponic paludarium



## seosetsfire (Mar 9, 2007)

Ello!

I wanted to make a very easy to maintain vivarium, so i decided to do away with soil. Substrate is all either a neutral clay aquatic planting media or gravel. I use a phosphorus-less pond fertilizer in very dilluted doses, once a month or so. There are fish in the water area, at the time of the photo there were 5 guppies (who multiply and change numbers frequently) and two dwarf freshwater puffers, who i had to move out because they are the MEANEST litttle snotty naughties on the face of the earth! Now a Colisia lalia 'powder blue' has taken their place, but the paludarium has some leucs (who werent out during the picture taking), reed frogs, a little stump tailed chameleon, and shrimp/snails/decomposers. I was worried that the little leucs would fall into the water, but the water is constantly moving and i havent had an incident in a few months with four of them in the tank. Must be okay.


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## jojopotato25 (Jan 7, 2007)

pics dont work


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## seosetsfire (Mar 9, 2007)

got them working... that took me a while


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## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

that tank sounds ridiculously stocked.


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## titan501x (Dec 7, 2006)

wow! how big is the tank?


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## seosetsfire (Mar 9, 2007)

the tank is a twenty gallon. The leucs have pretty distinct little territories, and and chameleon doest bother anyone. WHile those guys sleep at night, the reed frogs are out, so it all works out I suppose. Thus far one female reed frog is swollen with eggs, I think the leucs are a little young to reproduce.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

No offense, but 4 leucs by themselves would be pushing it in a 20g. Id really consider splitting some of the animals up. Id be concerned about their long-term well being. Nice looking viv.


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## seosetsfire (Mar 9, 2007)

I would think so too, but it seems usable surface area is a bit more important than arbitrary gallon-age. Even with the abundance of caves and hiding areas, it seems the whole group has decided to only inhabit the bromeliad, and they rarely leave each others company. I would have thought they would prefer the planted areas, but frog is frog is frog and frogs love those broms... so with a "20 gallon" dense area, porous and full of choices, apartment living on the leaves of the bromeliad is where you will find the leucs, any time of day.


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, I like the idea that you made that tank from. How much neutral clay aquatic planting media did you use and how much did it cost? Could you post how you made your viv? It looks great and I would much rather not have to mess with substrate or eggcrate.


Thanks, Curt.


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## zBrinks (Jul 16, 2006)

My leucs are constantly hopping around their viv, exploring every level, and utilizing every available surface (and even trying to utilize the surfaces that arnt!). If they're just staying in one spot, its very odd. The only time my leucs remain in one spot for more than half an hour is at bedtime.


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## salvoz (May 10, 2004)

I have kept leucs in numbers for several years; four leucs in a 20 gal that possesses good biofiltration and sufficient 3-D habitat is perfectly fine, in my opinion.


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