Question about corns and fish

[severity]

Hello all i have a question that nobody seems to have a good answer too.. This being can you house fish with a corn? I ask this because i live in a very dry climate so i built my corns 40 gal terrarium with a jungle/temple theme complete with waterfall..
Now the waterfall feature i have added is hand built with a very large pond, this pond is filtered with a 90GPH triple biofoam and charcoal filter pump. Now i know that "goldfish" are bad for snakes so i wasnt thinking those, but there are tiny guppies and other fish you can purchase.
So im wondering if 1: i purchase 2-3 tiny fish and place them in the pond will my corn try to eat them, and 2: would those tiny of fish with the good filter i have, will they harm the water in any way considering its his drinking/bathing water?
So if anyone has any suggestions/info it would be greatly appreciated

 

[The Cat]

I wouldn't put fish in its water. That is just disgusting.

I don't know if it's a health hazard or anything, but I personally wouldn't.

Cool idea, though.

 

[Chip]

One issue is, you are going to have to treat that water reservoir like an aquarium. Partial water changes, feed the fish, keep filters clean, heat if the species requires it, etc. The "pond" will have to cycle also, meaning build up the good bacteria that break down ammonia and nitrites. It could be done, but would be substantially more work. And then, if any fish die, you will have contaminated water also. I have kept a paludarium before -basically an aquarium with a land mass and emerging plants, but that would be far too wet for a corn. I fear your set up would be too. It would sure require a ton of air flow.

 

[severity]

One issue is, you are going to have to treat that water reservoir like an aquarium. Partial water changes, feed the fish, keep filters clean, heat if the species requires it, etc. The "pond" will have to cycle also, meaning build up the good bacteria that break down ammonia and nitrites. It could be done, but would be substantially more work. And then, if any fish die, you will have contaminated water also. I have kept a paludarium before -basically an aquarium with a land mass and emerging plants, but that would be far too wet for a corn. I fear your set up would be too. It would sure require a ton of air flow.

well his terrarium is a 40 gallon screen top I have posted a video of it in the diy section under the show off your viv thread.. my filter/pump im using for the waterfall says it eliminates amonia and nitrates .. im all good with doing more work im always doing something with his tank anyway lol..

 

[Chip]

Your filter may contain zeolite or another nitrogen removing resin, but it does not "eliminate" NH4 & NO3. It will be between 30 and 90 days on average before the bacteria that DO eliminate them populate to the point the reservoir will be cycled.

 

[severity]

If keep up properly what are the health risks.. humidity aside. I have been montoring it closly since I added the waterfall.. was actually hoping for a bit more as its so dry here he has problems shedding sometimes

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

[Chip]

Just watched your Youtube video. That's an awfully small body of water for fish to live in. You'd need something tiny like eyestrain rasboras. What is the water temperature? Do bear in mind that they will be pooping and peeing in your corn's drinking water, and that's not a lot of water to dilute it...

 

[severity]

Just watched your Youtube video. That's an awfully small body of water for fish to live in. You'd need something tiny like eyestrain rasboras. What is the water temperature? Do bear in mind that they will be pooping and peeing in your corn's drinking water, and that's not a lot of water to dilute it...

Water temp is roughly 78 degrees.. its a lot bigger than it looks in the vid I suppose.. took it with my phone its 14'x14' and 4' deep I was thinking tiny fish as well and only between 1-3 fish. And if maintained well would the fish waste be harmful to my corn?

 

[severity]

Water temp is roughly 78 degrees.. its a lot bigger than it looks in the vid I suppose.. took it with my phone its 14'x14' and 4' deep I was thinking tiny fish as well and only between 1-3 fish. And if maintained well would the fish waste be harmful to my corn?

14"x14" 4" deep lol not feet

 

[Chip]

That's about 3 gallons of volume. Just use the flawed inch of fish per gallon of water rule of thumb. A 3 inch fish probably isn't living there overnight, 2 or 3 sub 1" fish might, though. Look into eyestrain rasboras or maybe neon tetras or zebra danios. Also be very mindful to keep it clean if it's your corn's only drinking reservoir.

 

[crackerhead]

From another angle: I have corns that poop in their drinking bowls.....poor fish.

Terri

 

[Chip]

Good point, one big poop could wipe them out!

 

[AshWolFF]

I'm a aquatic veterinary trainee, in college you see! I own currently my own corn snake, a 10, 30, and 55 gallon aquariums.

I saw your very lovely habitat for your corn but that water pond would be too small for most fish considering guppies, rasboras, ember tetras and others need the minimum of 10 to 15 gallons to be absolutely happy. It doesn't matter much about a filter size its about what space they can run around in and something that shallow won't be much fun seeing that they are middle dwellers.

My Corn Snake, 6 month's old, has his own pond and he loves to soak in it while shedding. I would imagine if he gets to be as large as yours he would squash the fish. Often times I'll be at my desk and he'll come out to the lip of the pond just to rub himself madly on the corner edges.

The other problems are my corn poops in his pond which is not easily taken care of by a filter due to its density and such a atrocious piece of waste can abolish a "cycled" tank and create a large amount of ammonia; basically meaning you'd have to consistently restock your pond.

I've always loved the idea of having a corn in a terrarium set up but I don't think it would work to well for the fish or the corn.

 

[cguarino30]

Fish in the water, especially small fish, will not harm the water's potability in any way. I have kept small fish (usually guppies or similar fish) in vivs with snakes as well as other animals with never any ill effects, however, I do want to warn you about devoting too much of the vivarium to water space.

When i was younger, I tried to keep a corn snake in what was essentially an aquarium with lots of platforms and islands. It does not work. Your snake will be fine, and quite happy with the arrangement for a few weeks, then he/she will start regurging regularly until they go off feed altogether. My male amel, who was always a terrific feeder, took over a month to go back onto feed after I changed his cage back, and even then I had to start him (an adult) on live pinkies just to get him to start eating again. He eventually recovered, but I definitely never tried it again.

My best theory as to why it does not work is that when there is a lot of water in the bottom of the vivarium like that, it evens out the temperature gradient, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, to properly thermoregulate.

That said, as long as you are careful to make sure there are plenty of proper temperature zones outside of the water, you should be fine, and adding guppies won't do much of anything. I doubt your snake will even try to eat them, as they are much too small to be considered viable food.