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Re: Amphibians and Plants



I keep a paludarium, which I redid about a month ago.  It's a 44 pent, and I
turned a five 1/2 gallon tank on its side to support a platform of lace
rock, which slopes up slightly from the water level, with rocks and branches
in the back for the anoles to climb on.  The substrate is flourite and sand
(I layered it, as a compromise with myself on the flourite toxicity question
I asked Greg a few days ago), although the only aquatic plant rooted in it
right now is an A. crispus.  I've got a lot of pothos in the tank (which the
anoles love to sit on), some sandy which is still recovering from the poor
substrate they had earlier, and a canna lily, which I just brought inside
but will need a new home soon, since it's already shoving against the lid.
I've also got a carpet of java moss on the lace rock, and a smaller-leaved
ivy, a smallish reddish purplish lily of some sort, and a bromeliad planted
in soil on top of the lace rock.

Inhabitants include an african butterfly fish, an archer fish, an Oregon
newt, a dwarf floating frog, a red-bellied toad, a green anole and a florida
anole.  The Oregon newt appears to spend most of his time underwater, and
although I've had him for roughly nine months, I've only ever watched him
eat once, and that was about a week ago (the newer tank design makes it
easier to find him).

I'm struggling with lighting on the tank right now -- I've got the
rectangular section of the glass lid for the tank replaced with a reptile
screen.  So right now, there's only one flourescent on the tank, and I'm
experimenting with a reptile dome, which has a GE plant grow bulb in it.
The problem is, it's really hot (I cracked one glass lid soon after I bought
the incandescent bulb, and had to buy another), so I'm playing with ways to
keep the incandescent bulb, but clip it above the actual lid, and angle it.

Alysoun McLaughlin