Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have 2 tentacled snakes that iv had for a while now and are doing terrific. they are in a 35 gallon tank and eat about 10 rosey reds through a 2 week period. i have a large aquarium that leaks but im going to attempt to fix it. its 4 feet long, 2 feet high and 1 foot wide. if i can fix it i would love to put my tentacleds in it and put some fish in there too large for the snakes to eat but not too large that the fish might hurt my snakes. is this an idea i should probably forget about cause it wont work out or is there possibly some fish that would work? thanks for any help

Any large fish are going to add to waste in the tank. I would recommend that you get small community fish that are cheap and don't mind if they get eaten. It would be good idea to get the tank started and established with the tropical fish for a month or so before moving them in. These snakes are hard to keep, if you could, the following information will be help for the rest of us.
1. How long have you had them?

2. What PH, and was it a consideration when setting them up?

3. How are heating the tank and what is the temperature?

4. Any special consideration given to water quality etc?

5. What Type of filter system do you have?

6. Any sign of white spots or skin infections since you've had them?

hey thanks for the advice. actually this girl i know is moving and is going to give me all of her fish, most of them are semi agressive fish like small sharks and barbs. and at my work i sometimes get free fish and all baby fish are free (even before reading your post i got a bunch of free baby mollies) im going to try and get most of my fish cheap or free so i wont care if the snakes eat them, just a little more worried about my snakes geting hurt because if any thing hurt them id go phsyco. heres answers to your questions...
1. iv had them for about 6 months now, got them at a reptile show from some great guys who gave me a pretty good deal on them.

2. the pH is around 6.8 when i got them i had to set the tank up that day. iv never had to put any thing in the water other than a conditioner to take the chlorine out, i have fake plants, some real plants, lots of branchs and gravel in the tank. also a fluval filter but will upgrade to something bigger when i get a bigger tank.

3. the tank does not have a heater, i read they dont like very warm water and again, mine seem fine in the water there in, i dont have a thermometer either but i will get one soon to know exactly what it is.

4. i recently took a water sample to work to test it. i used the freshwater test kit and you follow it by the colors. basicaly it told me my water was ideal. no nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ideal hardness and alkalinity.

5. there are about 5 or so sizes of fluval filers, im currently using the medium sized one, it really does a great job for the 35 gallon tank, the water movement is slow and iv heard thats good for algae growth.

6. no white or any thing on them. the one has shed once and is sheding again. the other has not shed at all but does seem more active. they are quite different from each other but im very sure they are both healthy, they eat great and skin looks fine. i try to grow algae because its good for them, i put extra fish food in the water for the rosey reds and for algea, they have a uvb light on them 12 hours of the day and i do water changes just like for any fish tank.

any more questions and i would be glad to answer them. i hope i dont jynx my luck but these are much more easier to care for than people make them seem to be

That's a 55 gallon tank, by the way.

Try mollies. They can handle quick water changes, salt, higher temperatures than most fish, ackward Ph levels, and just about anything you can throw at them. Plus they drop babies like Gremlins dumped in a pool.

this girl from work has given me a bunch of fish so far and is giving me more, im sticking with trying to get as many free fish as i can because i know the snakes are going to eat some of them. so far i have a tiny dinosaur eel, big orange platty, albino rainbow shark, medium sized angel fish, a ton of baby mollies and im geting some more barbs and things from her. they are all soon moving into a 55 gallon so i can have more fish. im really glad i tried this out, the fish make my tank much prettier.

Christ, get that dino eel away from your tentacleds! I keep both Polypterus spp (the eel) and tentacleds, and there's no way that will work out well. Dino eels have quite hard scales, which means it may be able to resist envenomation by the tentacleds, and Dino eels have fantastic teeth. Mine are far less than the 16" they'll eventually grow, but already when they JUMP AND BITE MY FINGERS AS I'M DROPPING FOOD IN THE WATER, it's a significant bite! They could tail nip or otherwise bite your tentacled snakes and induce fungal growth that way, or a bacterial infection. They really firmly believe the world is edible.

Polypterus are really fun to keep, just in their own tank!

My tentacleds look smaller than yours but eat more like a fish or two a day. I guess they have nothing else to do...

Alex

thanks for the advise, i had no idea they were so agressive. i rarely even see mine. hes almost 3 inches and when he does swim around hes VERY fast so i figured too fast for the snakes to catch. but if he is a threat to the snakes i will take him out right away. i do believe he is eating my baby mollies though, oh well. cute little thing but he'll be outa there in no time, thanks again.

Send the rainbow shark to live with the Polypterus. The three common lower-water-column species commonly found in the aquarium trade - red-taileds, rainbows, and blacks, can be quite territorial, particularly around the lower reaches of the tank. As the fish grows, it could easily turn your tentacled snakes into tencacless snakes. Also caution the angelfish as they grow, as they are cichlids, and even the delicate pretty ones will act like cichlids.

These are very fascinating, uncommon snakes you have. Consider stocking your tank with more fish that are too small to fit any part of your snakes in their mouths. Granted, these kinds of fish may be eaten by your snakes, but when you start experimenting with fish too large to be hurt by the snakes, a little reverse action could very well follow.