Community Tanks

[madness]

could i keep small crabs crayfish newts dwarf frogs with certain fish. if so what fish would be suitable?

 

[GoldLenny]

You might want to be more specific about the crabs, crawfish and newts. ADF's (African Dwarf Frogs)can be kept in some community tanks but you would need to know the exact species of the other things and check out compatibility then. There are simply too many different types of crabs, crawfish and newts.

 

[smooth_bourbon]

What size of a tank are you thinking of using?

With a large enough tank you could try something like Red Claw crabs in a tank with Mollys. Set up the tank slightly brackish, with large rocks, or bogwood so the crabs can get to the surface, but well sealed tank so they dont escape.

 

[The_Dude]

Newts aren't good for communities as they're technically coldwater. They also require land, but Axolotls are a different story. They can stand high temperatures because they're native to Mexico and are technically tropical. But any other newt, salamander, or newt/salamander thing is probably out. ADFs are cool, they are good for a community. Crayfish probably aren't a good Idea unless your tank is MASSIVE and then you have to get herbivorous fish like silver dollars, which require special food, and need at least 3 to a group to do well, and one silver dollar needs at least 20 gallons for comfort. And considering how big the more commonly seen crayfish get, you'd need at least a 75 gallon to avoid any problems. And even then your crayfish could go postal on your fish and spear them with his/her claw if underfed. So I'd keep crayfish in a species tank. I think unless you can provide a semi terrestrial, or brackish/marine environment crabs are out. You could get shrimp as they're not predatory towards your fish, and they're freshies. You can keep ADFs with a betta so they're game for anything that won't eat them or they won't eat it.(i.e. fry) It is a bad idea to keep a ADF with an Oscar, but a Shrimp won't take out an ADF. You can put them in with livebearers, that is, if you don't want fry. You can put them in with PEACEFUL tetras like glowlights or neons. You can put them in with danios, minnows, corys, and about any other small adorable peaceful fish. Hope I helped!

 

[madness]

that was a great help thanx!!!

 

[The_Dude]

no problem, it's why we're here. Because we're the CIA (cool internet aquarists, not the other guys)

 

[Kevin_D]

According to http/www.axolotl.org/requirements.htm#heat

Axolotl's prefer temperatures around 16-18c, and temperatures above 24c can be very bad for them, so they wouldnt be tropical.

 

[The_Dude]

Oh, My bad.

 

[raptorrex]

Newts aren't good for communities as they're technically coldwater. They also require land, but Axolotls are a different story. They can stand high temperatures because they're native to Mexico and are technically tropical. But any other newt, salamander, or newt/salamander thing is probably out. ADFs are cool, they are good for a community. Crayfish probably aren't a good Idea unless your tank is MASSIVE and then you have to get herbivorous fish like silver dollars, which require special food, and need at least 3 to a group to do well, and one silver dollar needs at least 20 gallons for comfort. And considering how big the more commonly seen crayfish get, you'd need at least a 75 gallon to avoid any problems. And even then your crayfish could go postal on your fish and spear them with his/her claw if underfed. So I'd keep crayfish in a species tank. I think unless you can provide a semi terrestrial, or brackish/marine environment crabs are out. You could get shrimp as they're not predatory towards your fish, and they're freshies. You can keep ADFs with a betta so they're game for anything that won't eat them or they won't eat it.(i.e. fry) It is a bad idea to keep a ADF with an Oscar, but a Shrimp won't take out an ADF. You can put them in with livebearers, that is, if you don't want fry. You can put them in with PEACEFUL tetras like glowlights or neons. You can put them in with danios, minnows, corys, and about any other small adorable peaceful fish. Hope I helped!

humm most Cray fish will require a tank of at least 40ukg, 75 gallons would be enough for two or more Crayfish, though that may not be a good idea, to keep in a community, and you can keep both herbivorous and carnivorous fish with them, you need to use sense on this large hunting fish are not a good idea. i've never heard of silver dollars needing special food. the are basically herbivorous true, but as with most fish the will eat most things, and the size and health of my dollars indicates that they are doing quite well. that said you need to choose the type of cray carefully. most American breeds are very aggressive, and if wild caught will carry the Crayfish plague!!! but that's academic anyway, as there is only one truly tropical Cray. The Australian Redclaw or Blue Lobster, kinda narrows the field a bit!
Crabs are brackish and need land, but apart from that, they often go well in a community tank. hiding places are the key here, and for Crayfish too.

I cant speak on the ADF or newts, as i have never had any dealing with them.

Shrimp however can do well in a community. till the Cray arrived i had two wood shrimp, and they dealt with angel fish, gurami with no problems.

 

[The_Dude]

My shrimp was devour by my evil betta, I can't stay mad at him forever though.