Have a 80 gallon tank, need ideas!!

cactuscraze · 09-03-18, 06:58 PM

I have a 80 gallon long aquarium, which was formerly a reef tank. I love the idea of creating a tropical rain forest vivarium with live plants. The tank also has a nice large cabinet, where I plan on breeding insects, mostly dubia roaches and mealworms, not crickets since they are loud and smelly (but I can raise them in the garage if necessary!) When it comes to what kind of reptile/amphibian to house, I'm not sure. I'm thinking maybe day geckos, or red eyed tree frogs. Those are only two I can think of at the moment. It would be nice if the animal could be handled occasionally, isn't too expensive, can eat roaches and mealworms, and overall isn't too demanding. Any ideas?

phenyx · 09-03-18, 09:27 PM

I've got a pair of Red Eyed Tree Frogs. The female is 3 inches from nose to butt and the male is about half that and they're full grown. They eat medium crickets but not large ones; the dubia roaches I've seen would be too big for them.

DJC Reptiles · 09-04-18, 10:02 AM

Amphibians really shouldn’t be handled, with maybe a few exceptions. I would love to see some green anoles in a fantastic forest-decorated enclosure. You would have to get some special lighting but, once you get a male, and some females, you could start breeding your own captive bred anoles! Green anoles make really great pets and are really handeable. Lots of people make the mistake of putting them in to small of enclosures but an 80 gallon could probably House 10 of them, 1 male, 9 females. That being said, if anyone else is curious, a single anole (or a pair) should have at least a 20 gallon tank because of how active they are.

DJC Reptiles · 09-04-18, 10:58 AM

Another quick thing I forgot to mention is green anoles appreciate taller enclosures, so how tall is your 80 gallon? If it is 2ft, or more, it would be okay for them.

cactuscraze · 09-04-18, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJC Reptiles

Another quick thing I forgot to mention is green anoles appreciate taller enclosures, so how tall is your 80 gallon? If it is 2ft, or more, it would be okay for them.

An anole enclosure would be cool! It also sounds fun to watch them all interact with each other. I actually had a green anole a long time ago when I was little. The 80 gallon is slightly taller than 2 ft tall and 1 ft wide, I'm pretty sure they would do fine. Thanks for the idea!

DJC Reptiles · 09-04-18, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cactuscraze

An anole enclosure would be cool! It also sounds fun to watch them all interact with each other. I actually had a green anole a long time ago when I was little. The 80 gallon is slightly taller than 2 ft tall and 1 ft wide, I'm pretty sure they would do fine. Thanks for the idea!

No problem! I’d love to see it when your done!