Mixed species exhibit ideas

Osedax said:
I don't know if they would cause a problem, I have just never seen them in a mixed-species exhibit before.
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I don't see an issue with the mudskippers other than them occasionally getting eaten by the turtles, yabby, and possibly even the archerfish.
 
Could a mixed species savannah for Grevy's Zebra, Nubian Soemmerring's Gazelle, Speke's Gazelle, Besia oryx, Nile Lechwe, and Nubian giraffes that is 24 acres in size work, for would the Grevy's be to problematic.
 
Milwaukee mixed mudskippers with archerfish (and scat) for many years.

Newport Aquarium mixed yabby with Zebra Nerite, a variety of Australasian rainbowfishes, and Giant Freshwater Prawn.
 
Mr.Ivory said:
Could a mixed species savannah for Grevy's Zebra, Nubian Soemmerring's Gazelle, Speke's Gazelle, Besia oryx, Nile Lechwe, and Nubian giraffes that is 24 acres in size work, for would the Grevy's be to problematic.
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There would be multiple issues with that mix. Grevy’s are almost always a problem — especially with neonates of other species. I have previously touched on why Speke’s gazelles are not kept in safari-type and mixed-species exhibits. Soemmerring’s are much calmer than Speke’s, but they are still gazelles and are still flighty. It would be extremely difficult to manage them properly/get hands on them ever again in an exhibit or that size. With an animal that rare, that’s not exactly something you’d want to risk. There’s a reason the San Diego Zoo Safari Park has always had their Soemmerring’s herd separate. The beisa, lechwe, and giraffe should all be fine. That doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t ever be issues, but that’s unavoidable in such a setup.
 
I know Komodo Dragons have been kept with small finches. But would other tree-dwelling birds such as woodswallows, honeyeaters, fruit doves and imperial pigeons also work? Specifically Black-faced Woodswallow, White-breasted Woodswallow, Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Superb Fruit Dove and Brown Honeyeater, along with Java Sparrow, Zebra Finch, Blue-faced Parrotfinch and Scaly-breasted Mannikin.

Would small fish also be able to be mixed with Komodos? The species I was thinking of are Striped Panchax, Tinfoil Barb, Denison Barb, Mascara Barb, Tiger Barb, Rosy Barb, Cherry Barb, Dwarf Gourami, Sparkling Gourami, Pearl Gourami, White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Wrestling Halfbeak, Striped Kuhli Loach, Chocolate Kuhli Loach, Silver Sharkminnow, Red-tailed Black Shark, Black Sharkminnow, Bumblebee Goby, Siamese Algae-eater and Harlequin Rasbora.
 
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Osedax said:
New I know Komodo Dragons have been kept with small finches. But would other tree-dwelling birds such as woodswallows, honeyeaters, fruit doves and imperial pigeons also work? Specifically Black-faced Woodswallow, White-breasted Woodswallow, Torresian Imperial Pigeon, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Superb Fruit Dove and Brown Honeyeater, along with Java Sparrow, Zebra Finch, Blue-faced Parrotfinch and Scaly-breasted Mannikin.
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In theory, yes - but there is risk of the bigger species especially getting eaten. Chances are probably low but it's certainly not risk free.

Osedax said:
Would small fish also be able to be mixed with Komodos? The species I was thinking of are Striped Panchax, Tinfoil Barb, Denison Barb, Mascara Barb, Tiger Barb, Rosy Barb, Cherry Barb, Dwarf Gourami, Sparkling Gourami, Pearl Gourami, White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Wrestling Halfbeak, Striped Kuhli Loach, Chocolate Kuhli Loach, Silver Sharkminnow, Red-tailed Black Shark, Black Sharkminnow, Bumblebee Goby and Harlequin Rasbora.
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Asking about all these species together in one tank or from an individual perspective?
 
Osedax said:
All together in one tank with Komodo Dragons and, if possible, the birds as well.
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The birds would probably all be fine, bar some possible aggression among the finch species. Personally I don't think cohabiting them with Komodos is a great idea, from both a predation risk and the added upkeep for the habitat.

The fish are terribly mis-matched to be all together in one tank honestly. All of the particularly small species (panchax, Cherry Barb, Sparkling Gourami, minnow, halfbeak, goby, and rasbora) would likely all quickly die off due to the numerous large aggressive species. Several of the barb species listed will nip at the finnage of gouramis, both larger gourami species would not last long either. The Bumblebee Goby and the halfbeak often do best with some salt added. Rosy Barb and the mountain minnow are more cold water species, they can be kept in more tropical temperatures but often are kept on the lower side. The Red-tailed Black Shark, Black Sharkminnow, and Tinfoil Barb are all aggressive species that will harass both each other and the other species on the list. The two sharkminnows and the Tinfoil reach large enough sizes to potentially tempt the Komodo to try and catch them, if the lizard had access to the tank.
 
Great Argus said:
The birds would probably all be fine, bar some possible aggression among the finch species. Personally I don't think cohabiting them with Komodos is a great idea, from both a predation risk and the added upkeep for the habitat.

The fish are terribly mis-matched to be all together in one tank honestly. All of the particularly small species (panchax, Cherry Barb, Sparkling Gourami, minnow, halfbeak, goby, and rasbora) would likely all quickly die off due to the numerous large aggressive species. Several of the barb species listed will nip at the finnage of gouramis, both larger gourami species would not last long either. The Bumblebee Goby and the halfbeak often do best with some salt added. Rosy Barb and the mountain minnow are more cold water species, they can be kept in more tropical temperatures but often are kept on the lower side. The Red-tailed Black Shark, Black Sharkminnow, and Tinfoil Barb are all aggressive species that will harass both each other and the other species on the list. The two sharkminnows and the Tinfoil reach large enough sizes to potentially tempt the Komodo to try and catch them, if the lizard had access to the tank.
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Thanks for the info, I don't know much about fish. Which of these fish species would you recommend mixing?
 
Great Argus said:
The birds would probably all be fine, bar some possible aggression among the finch species. Personally I don't think cohabiting them with Komodos is a great idea, from both a predation risk and the added upkeep for the habitat.

The fish are terribly mis-matched to be all together in one tank honestly. All of the particularly small species (panchax, Cherry Barb, Sparkling Gourami, minnow, halfbeak, goby, and rasbora) would likely all quickly die off due to the numerous large aggressive species. Several of the barb species listed will nip at the finnage of gouramis, both larger gourami species would not last long either. The Bumblebee Goby and the halfbeak often do best with some salt added. Rosy Barb and the mountain minnow are more cold water species, they can be kept in more tropical temperatures but often are kept on the lower side. The Red-tailed Black Shark, Black Sharkminnow, and Tinfoil Barb are all aggressive species that will harass both each other and the other species on the list. The two sharkminnows and the Tinfoil reach large enough sizes to potentially tempt the Komodo to try and catch them, if the lizard had access to the tank.
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Komodo Dragons are good swimmers, so I would avoid fish in their tank, except maybe common species of carp with low value (as a food enrichment ?). I add that the public would barely see the fish in these pools, their presence make generally poor exhibits unless there's a glass window along the pool.
 
Haliaeetus said:
Komodo Dragons are good swimmers, so I would avoid fish in their tank, except maybe common species of carp with low value (as a food enrichment ?). I add that the public would barely see the fish in these pools, their presence make generally poor exhibits unless there's a glass window along the pool.
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Seconding this opinion that it's not worth it, again. If the Komodo is using the pool routinely it will constantly drag in dirt that would not be beneficial to fish and make the pool dirty fairly quickly. Most Komodo pools are shallow and easily drained for this reason.

Osedax said:
The species I was thinking of are Striped Panchax, Tinfoil Barb, Denison Barb, Mascara Barb, Tiger Barb, Rosy Barb, Cherry Barb, Dwarf Gourami, Sparkling Gourami, Pearl Gourami, White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Wrestling Halfbeak, Striped Kuhli Loach, Chocolate Kuhli Loach, Silver Sharkminnow, Red-tailed Black Shark, Black Sharkminnow, Bumblebee Goby, Siamese Algae-eater and Harlequin Rasbora.
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Just going by what's here, there's some options. Cherry Barb, the gouramis, Khuli Loaches, and Harlequin Rasbora can be mix and matched for a peaceful tank. Denison and Tiger Barbs should be okay together in decent sized groups, along with the loaches and maybe the algae-eater. The Mountain Minnow and Rosy Barb are a nice cooler water tank. You might be able to pull off Tinfoil, the Sharkminnows, and the Algae-eater in a very large tank, but aggression could be an issue. The Halfbeak, Bumblebee Goby, and probably the panchax are generally best kept solo or with certain carefully selected tankmates. Adult Red-tailed Black Sharks are terrors and shouldn't be mixed with anything smaller than them or that can't solidly stand up for themselves.
 
Would you be able to keep African fish eagles with South African shelduck or would that pose too big of a danger to the ducks?
 
Great Argus said:
The Halfbeak, Bumblebee Goby, and probably the panchax are generally best kept solo or with certain carefully selected tankmates.
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Interesting, as Sydney Zoo keeps Panchax with several tetras (Neon, Rummynose, Glowlight, Emperor, Cardinal, and Black Tetras), Freshwater Angelfish and a Ram Cichlid.
Great Argus said:
Seconding this opinion that it's not worth it, again. If the Komodo is using the pool routinely it will constantly drag in dirt that would not be beneficial to fish and make the pool dirty fairly quickly. Most Komodo pools are shallow and easily drained for this reason.
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Ok, sounds like it's quite a bad idea to put fish in their pool. I'll keep them seperate.
 
Would a mix of Galah, Gouldian Finch, and Koala work in any format? Specifically looking at a walkthrough but wasn’t sure if the species could mix so I thought I’d make sure it would work at all.
 
Great Argus said:
I don't see an issue with the mudskippers other than them occasionally getting eaten by the turtles, yabby, and possibly even the archerfish.
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So what you’re saying is that the mudskippers would really just be food enrichment for everything else in the habitat?
 
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