Are snakes easier than fish?

[Kanchii]

Quote:
LOL
nah I'm good with my simple snake rack, don't have any snakes that get big enough for a 55! The biggest I've got is a 20L ontop of my snake rack. Here's a pic:

There's something out of place on my rack, though... Can't put my finger on it...

 

[ranchhand]

AHA! The extremely rare Lion Head Snake!

I remember when you were setting all that up. Turned out very nicely!

 

[Skyesrocket]

Any kind of neat "lizard" type things that are docile and neat to watch?

I have always had snakes. Recently I got some Geckos and I really love them. They are cute. And they come in all kinds of colors. I have three that are a lemon color and two others that are hard to describe. I will get pics of them. They eat mealworms and crickets. And it's fun watching them hunt and eat. They are easy to keep clean. They live in sand and poop in the corners of the aquarium.
I have read that they don't like living in huge tanks. They are nocturnal and sleep in hide caves during the day. I have 4 hide places for them to sleep in and a corner waterer and a big branch. I think if you work it right you could make your big tank feel "homey" for them. You can use a couple of undertank heaters for a tank that size. They are like small heating pads that attach to the outside bottom of the tank.
They don't need any of the spectrum lights because they are nocturnal. I feed mine every other night. One mealworm per 1 inch of body length.
They are easy keepers and two of mine come right to the sliding door and will climb onto my hand.
Another cool one to have are the carpet chameleons. Those are out during the day and are a lot of fun to watch. They do that eqyptian walk.​

 

[SarahFair]

I talked to the SO about it last night and he said he wasnt keen on a snake. I dont care..
Personally Im not a big fan of them lizard types


Anyone know much about boas? They seem to be abundant around here.

How much should I pay for a snake?
Im not looking to start out with some 3 foot snake either...

Corn snakes vs. boas vs. ...

Could I just use the rock I have in the tank if I clean them?
Or would I have to replace with sand?


and what do I do with the fish I have now?!
They are the fresh water parrot fish. They sell for $10 at walmart and are about the size of a silver dollar.
One Ive had for about 2.5 years and hes about 5-6 inches long, one is about 4", and the smallest is about 3"
Should I just ask $10 for them?

I just dont want to sell fish and someone bring them back saying "These fish died on me!"

 

[monita]

if your SO isn't willing to get a snake.... Bearded Dragons are pretty cool. I had one and they are very gentle my kids even played with him. couldn't even force him to bite. you would have to use sand in the bottom though. they eat crickets and meal worms. They are easyand fairly cheap to care for and to clean up after them all you have to do is strain the sand with a kitty litter scoop and change it out every few months. They do have to have a heat source. and they get fairly large..... not huge but pretty big for a lizard. they cost around $50-$60 at pet stores but well worth it for the entertainment and at least you can handle them. For more info just google Bearded Dragon. Let us know what you end up getting. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Andi]

Well, as you can see from my sig, I'm into aquariums. I also love snakes, although I've found they get boring pretty fast. I guess I like the interaction.

Anyway. Maybe what you've been doing in your 55, fish wise, needs a change. There's an endless variety of options out there. If changing filters and cleaning gravel turn you off, do a planted tank. You don't need filters with a planted tank because the plants use those nutrients. Same with the stuff on the substrate. Let the plants have it. As far as algae and plecos go, not all species of plecos eat all types of algae, no matter how hungry they get. With careful species selection and stocking levels you can even reduce the partial water changes, too. Too many people make fish keeping harder than it has to be. I have many aquariums and most don't have filters and I rarely need to siphon more than just across the top of the gravel in the very front of the tank (for visual appeal).

Just another option.

About selling your fish. You could give them away on Craigslist or FreeCycle or sell them on eBay. What ever you choose to do you should state that all transactions are final. As I'm sure you know, there's a lot of people out there that don't understand how to acclimate fish, and probably more that don't understand how the nitrogen cycle works and what they would have to do in order to get the fish through their tank's cycling. You could offer your knowledge. One place that's likely to have more fish experienced people that would buy them is Aquabid. Because you're not a breeder you likely wouldn't get a huge amount for them. No matter where you sell them, you're likely not going to get even 1/2 of what you paid for them. That's because the fish aren't young anymore and there's more of a risk of spreading disease when the fish are coming from someone who's not a breeder. The fact that they originated from Walmart, or any fish store that has fish coming in from various places that can't quarantine them is risky.

If you need advise on shipping fish, drop me a PM and I'll walk you through it.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[SarahFair]

Quote:
Well I knew that about plecos but the only fish store around here is walmart.
....unless I want to travel about 45 miles away.
Plus the fish I have now are big rock movers. There is no way plants would last in there. You should see what they can do with rocks in just one day!
Currently the rocks look like an ocean bed that gets large waves through it

 

[Andi]

I edited my previous post while you were posting.

 

[Andi]

Quote:
I buy my fish directly from breeders and have them shipped (USPS) right to my house. The closest fish store or Walmart is an hour from my house. Buying from breeders (with a little research) might be a little more expensive, but the fish are healthier and the breeders know what the fish need to be happy and healthy. An awful lot of fish stores are luck if they can just get someone willing to do the netting for what they pay in wages, knowledge is just a bonus.