Multi-habitat?!?

[Guyb93]

Ok I’m bored and when bored my brain starting thinking of stupid diy projects normally in the house or garden but this time Iv set sights on my tank
Saw some really cool multi-habitats is the best way I can describe them where a lizard or tortoise is kept with fish ... I’m intrigued, I think my tank is large enough , would have to rehome a lot of fish though but they look so cool my personal favourite iv saw was a set up with a Chinese water dragon and a pleco , reading more online it seems a real nightmare to achieve something like this , anybody attempted something like this before ?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

That sounds interesting, but I’m not really sure it would work.

If the lizard decided it wanted a bath, and gets in the water fish the fish, it may try to eat the fish or poop a ton, causing a huge ammonia spike.

The spike in water parameters due to the reptile pooping in the water would be my #1 concern.

I’m not sure, but maybe @Herpin Man has done something like this?

 

[Guyb93]

That sounds interesting, but I’m not really sure it would work.

If the lizard decided it wanted a bath, and gets in the water fish the fish, it may try to eat the fish or poop a ton, causing a huge ammonia spike.

The spike in water parameters due to the reptile pooping in the water would be my #1 concern.

I’m not sure, but maybe @Herpin Man has done something like this?

Good point about the lizard waste , iv been reading and nobody has mentioned the waste so far but I agree tht seems like a vital thing to master , the main concern Iv read online is humidity, most lizards can’t cope with the humidity levels and them temp apparently it’s really difficult to keep air temp up without over heating the water

 

[nik_n]

I know that MD did something similar with his turtle and white cloud mountain minnows. You might want to check that out. Just type in MD in youtube, he has some great videos.

 

[Herpin Man]

A few years ago, I built a large paludarium for the purpose of creating a mixed species environment. It’s eight feet long, four feet deep, and six feet high.
The lower section has a pond liner, which was initially filled with water. I added zebra danios, white clouds, and various small tetras. I also added two pairs of Nigerian clawed frogs, which is a warm water species. I also added mourning geckos, to climb around in the vegetation above.
It worked pretty well, initially. Several of the fish species reproduced, and the frogs left them alone. The fish were able to easily avoid the frogs due to the large water area.
However I had a difficult time with plants. I had shelves for shallow planters, and built platforms out of clay bricks. Despite having four UVB lights, floating plants didn’t survive.
Dissatisfied, I removed the water and replaced it with soil. The frogs were removed, and the fish were limited to a much smaller pond. I added lots of plants, some of which lived, mostly pothos. I also added another species of gecko, Paroedura, a ground dweller.
I’m still not satisfied. The geckos are thriving, but continually escape. All of the fish have died. It takes up valuable space, which could be used for other species. Simply put, it isn’t meeting the expectations that I originally had during the hours and hours I spent building it, and I will be dismantling it soon.
I don’t really regret the loss of the money I spent on it; gecko sales have more than made up for that. However I do regret the waste of time and expectations.
My advice to anyone considering a mixed species enclosure is to focus on small species in a large space, and to research and plan very thoroughly.

 

[Guyb93]

A few years ago, I built a large paludarium for the purpose of creating a mixed species environment. It’s eight feet long, four feet deep, and six feet high.
The lower section has a pond liner, which was initially filled with water. I added zebra danios, white clouds, and various small tetras. I also added two pairs of Nigerian clawed frogs, which is a warm water species. I also added mourning geckos, to climb around in the vegetation above.
It worked pretty well, initially. Several of the fish species reproduced, and the frogs left them alone. The fish were able to easily avoid the frogs due to the large water area.
However I had a difficult time with plants. I had shelves for shallow planters, and built platforms out of clay bricks. Despite having four UVB lights, floating plants didn’t survive.
Dissatisfied, I removed the water and replaced it with soil. The frogs were removed, and the fish were limited to a much smaller pond. I added lots of plants, some of which lived, mostly pothos. I also added another species of gecko, Paroedura, a ground dweller.
I’m still not satisfied. The geckos are thriving, but continually escape. All of the fish have died. It takes up valuable space, which could be used for other species. Simply put, it isn’t meeting the expectations that I originally had during the hours and hours I spent building it, and I will be dismantling it soon.
I don’t really regret the loss of the money I spent on it; gecko sales have more than made up for that. However I do regret the waste of time and expectations.
My advice to anyone considering a mixed species enclosure is to focus on small species in a large space, and to research and plan very thoroughly.

I’d love to see a photo of you have one ? And I would be starting it with a 500l 5ft fish tank and from looking around I don’t think I’d have the height to achieve anything worth while lol honestly I saw some really aesthetic looking set ups and thought yeah that looks amazing but I guess I don’t actually need a lizard to have it look that way , then I thought about a tortoise having owned one before but I imagine tht would need even more space as the a ground animals and can’t climb