Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am itching for a cool new pet, and I'm trying to decide what makes the most sense for me in my life right now. I love learning about animals (I am a zoology student), and I have a lot of experience with a lot of animals. I currently keep only two cats, and I'm ready to bring something new and exciting into my life, and I would love some help deciding.

Here are my thoughts so far:

I've ruled out birds and rodents because I have two cats and I live in an apartment.

I would like something that I can keep in a 10 or 20L gallon tank (not only because I don't have a lot of space, but also because I already own 10 and 20L gallon tanks). Obviously, that narrows down my options quite a bit as well.

Here are some animals that I've thought of:

A snake. I have always wanted a snake. If I go this route, I would like something that is small and tamable (if not friendly). Preferably something that eats fish or insects. Fish would be ideal, because I would love to breed fish in a separate tank to feed my snake.

Fish. I consider myself an intermediate fish owner. I have kept many freshwater aquariums, most of them successful, and I have learned from my mistakes. I have never tried saltwater, though. If I decide on fish, I would want to do something much more interesting than the basic schooling tetra tank. For example, breeding, cichlids, saltwater, etc. I love the idea of keeping a live culture of brine shrimp, daphnia, moina, or other suitable live foods to feed my fish.

Other aquarium-type critters: animals other than fish, such as turtles, frogs, newts, salamanders, crabs, lizards, or anything else you can think of. Please feel free to make suggestions!

Thanks in advance,
Amanda

I'm a marine bio major, and I keep fish, a firebellied newt, 7 leopard geckos (need homes for babies), and 7 parakeets. My next fish tank I plan to get for graduation is a saltwater tank and a cichlid tank. Fish are just awesome to watch, especially if you get aggressive fish (or saltwater fish are just pretty). Neither can be feeder fish. Fish need fed everyday, and you need to change their water every 2 weeks, so if that is considered low maintenance for you, then those could work. With a 20 gallon you could house quite a few cichlids, but considerably less saltwater fish (depends on species). Plus, saltwater fish do better in bigger tanks, not to mention the bigger the tank the less fluctuations you get.
Newts- I keep mine one firebellied newt in a 5 gallon, and she is just fine. I don't have to do very much for her, she's very low maintenance.
Lizards- I have leopard geckos, and they are also low maintenance, and 2 females or a male and a female can live quiet happily in a 20 gallon. 1 would be happy in a 10 gallon. They can eat crickets, wax worms, super worms, and meal worms (I only feed mine crickets and the occasional meal worms).

So I saw you can get whatever you would like the best. All are pretty low maintenance.
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."