Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm playing with a new digital camera--beats reading the directions first, but I am going to have to learn how to cut off the automatic flash. In any event, I thought I'd share a few shots of the 180 gallon paludarium that has just recently been set up. It has two land areas separated by a pond in the middle and water also runs across the front side about 6" wide. Water is circulated from the aquarium section into an external canister filter, then over a fern bark panel in the center back in the central pond. This water also splashes the bromeliads a bit.

The background is mostly slabs of cork bark. The white stuff around the edges of the land portions is Great stuff, just allowed to flow and expand. It is gradually being colonized by algae, and overgrown with creeping plants. Hopefully it will one day not look quite so much like Great Stuff. The fern bark is being overgrown by Java moss and Ricca toward the bottom and under the water.

The lighting is 2 dual Satellite hoods each with 96 W dual bulbs, both Sun-paq (6700 K) The water is tan from a lot of tannins, but I'm gradually doing partial changes to lighten this, as the fish are hard to see.

The fish include small schools of various tetras, some algae eaters and dwarf cat fish. I plan to add a Yo-yo or clown loch for some snail control.

I had originally planned to put D. auratus Ancon Hill on one side and some galactonotus, yellow form on the other. Now I'm not so sure, as the auratus have turned out to be extremely shy, and I would like to see them occasionally.

I'd like your suggestions. It's not too late to change some of the plantings.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

Dendrobates: auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, tinctorius azureus, leucomelas. Phyllobates: vittatus, terribilis, lugubris. Epipedobates: anthonyi tricolor pasaje. Ranitomeya fantastica, imitator, reticulata. Adelphobates castaneoticus, galactonotus. Oophagia pumilio Bastimentos. (updated systematic nomenclature)

You should put D. leucomelas with galactonotus and yah upload a view of the entire tank it looks sweet so far

Thanks for the idea. I have a bunch of leucs in an 80 g. bow now that really needs to be taken down and revised. The back walls were pressed cocoanut fiber panels, and the big bromes eventually collapsed the walls. The leucs are still happy enough, and so are the plants, but it really looks like a bomb hit it. I know yellow galacts would do well in the paludarium situation, as I have my orange ones in one now, and they even swim and hop around on the floating leaves. Then I could get some chocolate leucs for the revised tank--an excuse to buy something else.

This is what the leuc tank looked like originally. I haven't photographed it since.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

Dendrobates: auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, tinctorius azureus, leucomelas. Phyllobates: vittatus, terribilis, lugubris. Epipedobates: anthonyi tricolor pasaje. Ranitomeya fantastica, imitator, reticulata. Adelphobates castaneoticus, galactonotus. Oophagia pumilio Bastimentos. (updated systematic nomenclature)

Patty my dear, what camera do you have?

There should either be a button with a lightning bolt, or, if it's a camera which has different modes, try shooting in "P", or some other Primary function. That should do everything but want to use the flash.
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2.2 Corn Snakes
1.2 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Crested Geckos
1.2 Green Anoles
1.0 Russian Tortoise
3.2 House Cats
0.0.1 African Millipede

RIP
Alice, Bruno, Lars

Thanks, Andrew. I have found how to turn the flash off now. It's a Canon Powershot SD950 IS digital with so many features, it's probably wasted on me. I spent my life with a 35mm, then my first digital was totally simple and automatic, but poor quality pictures over all. When I decided I wanted something better, I may have over-stepped the ability of this old dog to learn new tricks. I haven't even tried the movie modes. Then of course, when my computer crashed, I lost the Pictureit! photoshop program that I knew how to use, and am having to learn the new Adobe stuff. I'll figure it all out eventually, especially if I force myself to read the directions instead of just fooling around and guessing.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

Dendrobates: auratus blue, auratus Ancon Hill, tinctorius azureus, leucomelas. Phyllobates: vittatus, terribilis, lugubris. Epipedobates: anthonyi tricolor pasaje. Ranitomeya fantastica, imitator, reticulata. Adelphobates castaneoticus, galactonotus. Oophagia pumilio Bastimentos. (updated systematic nomenclature)