Mixed species exhibit ideas

ElephasMaximus said:
I was mostly curious about the wildebeest. They're relatively uncommon in zoos - I've never seen one personally, although admittedly I've only ever travelled to two countries - but I understand they can have a bit of a temper, so I was wondering if either a larger paddock size or separating the species into two different paddocks might be necessary.
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Both Wildlands and Burgers' zoo have Wildebeest mixed with White rhino, giraffes and antelopes
 
ElephasMaximus said:
I was mostly curious about the wildebeest. They're relatively uncommon in zoos - I've never seen one personally, although admittedly I've only ever travelled to two countries - but I understand they can have a bit of a temper, so I was wondering if either a larger paddock size or separating the species into two different paddocks might be necessary.
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No problem with Wildebeest in mixed exhibits.
Both species are present in European zoos, the Blue being more common.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
Can dart frogs be mixed with red eyed tree frogs? Also, what can be mixed with red eyed tree frogs?
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  • Dart frogs typically need more humidity and slightly cooler temperatures than the tree frogs and might stress them. Additionally, the dart frogs might get outcompeted with disease risks somewhat high
  • Dyeing Poison dart frogs, golfo dulce poison dart frogs, and green & black Poison dart frogs have been successful but I just wouldn't risk it.
  • Red-eyed tree frogs have been successfully housed with Panamanian golden frog, emerald tree boa, tropical fish, Amazon milk frog, aquatic caecilian, orange-legged monkey frog, etc.
 
Got a few more mixes, all using Southeast Asian species:
  • Burmese Archerfish, Cherry Barb, Flying Fox Carp, and Giant Gourami
  • Malayan Tapir and Visayan Spotted Deer
  • Bornean Orangutan and Moloch Gibbon/Javan Langur/Long-tailed Macaque (one of three)
  • Moloch Gibbon/Javan Langur/Long-tailed Macaque and Reeves' Muntjac
  • Giant Red-tailed Gourami, Bala Shark, Tinfoil Barb, Barramundi, Bighead and Grass Carps, and Mekong or Chao Phraya Giant Catfish
  • Moloch Gibbon/Javan Langur/Long-tailed Macaque and North Sulawesi Babirusa
  • False Gharial, Malaysian Giant Turtle, Painted Terrapin, Sulawesi Forest Turtle, and McCord's Box Turtle (unsure of how aquatic they are compared to the other turtle species)
There are other mixes I want to ask about, but I'll save those for when I'm not fighting to stay awake later than I should.
 
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A mix-species idea inspired by the Bronx Zoo (with 2 additional species)
  • Von der Decken’s hornbill (Tockus deckeni)
  • Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula)
  • Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)
  • Bat-eared Fox (Otocyon megalotis)
An aviary like design and breeding pairs and infants will be off display if necessary.
 
Van Beal said:
Got a few more mixes, all using Southeast Asian species:
  • Burmese Archerfish, Cherry Barb, Flying Fox Carp, and Giant Gourami
  • Malayan Tapir and Visayan Spotted Deer
  • Bornean Orangutan and Moloch Gibbon/Javan Langur/Long-tailed Macaque (one of three)
  • Moloch Gibbon/Javan Langur/Long-tailed Macaque and Reeves' Muntjac
  • Giant Red-tailed Gourami, Bala Shark, Tinfoil Barb, Barramundi, Bighead and Grass Carps, and Mekong or Chao Phraya Giant Catfish
  • Moloch Gibbon/Javan Langur/Long-tailed Macaque and North Sulawesi Babirusa
  • False Gharial, Malaysian Giant Turtle, Painted Terrapin, Sulawesi Forest Turtle, and McCord's Box Turtle (unsure of how aquatic they are compared to the other turtle species)
There are other mixes I want to ask about, but I'll save those for when I'm not fighting to stay awake later than I should.
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  • Archerfish and gourami are semi-aggressive but it would work if there is enough space. The cherry barbs might get harassed or eaten by them. It would work though
  • The tapir and deer would only work if there is enough room and clear “territories”
  • Gibbons would work. Langurs are risky. Macaques wouldn’t work. It’s still risky either way
  • The langur/gibbon would work but again , macaques are too aggressive
  • The aquatic giant mix would work if there is sufficient space. The catfish will eat the smaller species. Barramundis can bully and be territorial.
  • Gibbons and langurs in my opinion would be the only ones that would work. The macaques are too aggressive
  • The box turtle and Forest turtle might get eaten. Everything else works

peruvianbirdie said:
A mix-species idea inspired by the Bronx Zoo (with 2 additional species)
  • Von der Decken’s hornbill (Tockus deckeni)
  • Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula)
  • Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)
  • Bat-eared Fox (Otocyon megalotis)
An aviary like design and breeding pairs and infants will be off display if necessary.
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It should be female warthogs as they are less aggressive. It would work if there is space
 
MOG2012 said:
  • The aquatic giant mix would work if there is sufficient space. The catfish will eat the smaller species. Barramundis can bully and be territorial.
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So would two tanks work, one with the catfish species and barramundi, and another with the other species?

MOG2012 said:
Archerfish and gourami are semi-aggressive but it would work if there is enough space. The cherry barbs might get harassed or eaten by them. It would work though
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Assuming I provided enough of the cherry barbs and flying fox carps and bred each species, would it be good or would it be better to remove the smaller fish if I want to sustain their populations? And could I include clown loach alongside the other smaller fish?

Now, I have a few plans for aviaries in this Southeast Asian area, but I was unsure of how I should structure the mixes. Any assistance with the below list would be great.
  • Great Argus
  • White-breasted Wood-swallow
  • Storm's Stork
  • Javan Pond-heron
  • Mandarin Duck
  • Chestnut-naped Imperial Pigeon
  • Luzon Bleeding-heart
  • Asian Fairy-Bluebird
  • Red-billed Leiothrix
  • Bali Myna
  • Maleo
  • Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
  • Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
  • Palawan Peacock-Pheasant
  • Barred Buttonquail
  • Beautiful Fruit Dove
  • Red-necked Flying Fox
  • Crested Wood-Partridge
  • Pink-necked Green Pigeon
  • Bruce's Green Pigeon
I had an idea of combining Mandarin Duck and Javan Pond-heron, maybe including the stork in there as well. Again, any advice would be appreciated.
One last thing... would it be possible to include Northern Treeshrew in a mix with any of the smaller birds? I was thinking either the buttonquail or wood-partridge.
 
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Van Beal said:
Now, I have a few plans for aviaries in this Southeast Asian area, but I was unsure of how I should structure the mixes. Any assistance with the below list would be great.
  • Great Argus
  • White-breasted Wood-swallow
  • Storm's Stork
  • Javan Pond-heron
  • Mandarin Duck
  • Chestnut-naped Imperial Pigeon
  • Luzon Bleeding-heart
  • Asian Fairy-Bluebird
  • Red-billed Leiothrix
  • Bali Myna
  • Maleo
  • Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
  • Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
  • Palawan Peacock-Pheasant
  • Barred Buttonquail
  • Beautiful Fruit Dove
  • Red-necked Flying Fox
  • Crested Wood-Partridge
  • Pink-necked Green Pigeon
  • Bruce's Green Pigeon
I had an idea of combining Mandarin Duck and Javan Pond-heron, maybe including the stork in there as well. Again, any advice would be appreciated.
One last thing... would it be possible to include Northern Treeshrew in a mix with any of the smaller birds? I was thinking either the buttonquail or wood-partridge.
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• Great Argus + Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
• Storm's Stork + Mandarin Duck + Javan Pond Heron
• Luzon Bleeding-heart + Bali Myna
• Barred Button Quail + Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
• Maleo + Chestnut-naped Imperial Pigeon + Asian Fairy-bluebird
• Palawan Peacock-pheasant + Crowned Wood Partridge + Beautiful Fruit Dove + Pink-neeked Green Dove + White-breasted Woodswallow + Red-billed Leiothrix + Red-necked Flying Fox

Threeshrews could be mixed with pheasants
 
Van Beal said:
So would two tanks work, one with the catfish species and barramundi, and another with the other species?


Assuming I provided enough of the cherry barbs and flying fox carps and bred each species, would it be good or would it be better to remove the smaller fish if I want to sustain their populations? And could I include clown loach alongside the other smaller fish?
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  • Cherry barbs will still be at risk for snacks unless you have a school of 15+, I think it wouldn't be best long-term unless there is heavy planting and hardscapes. Only mature, big clown loaches would work
  • Splitting the two tanks would work. It would be very big though. If the catfish and barramundi were together, they would have to be in a massive fish pond with a massive bio-load (in my opinion, they take up too much space)
 
MOG2012 said:
  • Cherry barbs will still be at risk for snacks unless you have a school of 15+, I think it wouldn't be best long-term unless there is heavy planting and hardscapes. Only mature, big clown loaches would work
  • Splitting the two tanks would work. It would be very big though. If the catfish and barramundi were together, they would have to be in a massive fish pond with a massive bio-load (in my opinion, they take up too much space)
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New proposition for these tanks:

First Tank - Burmese Archerfish and Giant Gourami
Second Tank - Cherry Barbs, Flying Fox Carps, and Clown Loach
Third Tank - Grass and Bighead Carps, Giant Red-tailed Gourami, Tinfoil Barb, and Bala Shark (essentially the exact mix kept in Toronto's 'Big, Bad, and Ugly' tank, though subtracting Black Carp and Mekong Barb)
Fourth Tank - totally revamp the species, probably a few smaller Asiatic fish (open to suggestions for a communal tank), removing the catfishes and the barramundi

Any notable flaws or suggestions here @MOG2012 ?
 
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Van Beal said:
New proposition for these tanks:

First Tank - Burmese Archerfish and Giant Gourami
Second Tank - Cherry Barbs, Flying Fox Carps, and Clown Loach
Third Tank - Grass and Bighead Carps, Giant Red-tailed Gourami, Tinfoil Barb, and Bala Shark (essentially the exact mix kept in Toronto's 'Big, Bad, and Ugly' tank, though subtracting Black Carp and Mekong Barb)
Fourth Tank - totally revamp the species, probably a few smaller Asiatic fish (open to suggestions for a communal tank), removing the catfishes and the barramundi

Any notable flaws or suggestions here @MOG2012 ?
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  • Giant Gouramis get huge so it would have to be in large tank
  • Cherry barbs might get stressed so larger barbs would work
  • The third tank is massive with a huge bioload but it wouldn't be that colorful
  • Maybe have rasboras, snails, danios, etc.
 
Van Beal said:
Burmese Archerfish, Cherry Barb, Flying Fox Carp, and Giant Gourami
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Seem to have missed this one yesterday. Blijdorp has Cherry barbs with Giant gourami, Clown loach, Tricolour sharkminnows and Banded archerfish, among others. Wildlands has Rosy barbs with Tricolour sharkminnows, Clown loach and Banded archerfish, among others. So I really think it should be fine.
 
Would ring-tailed coatis work out with lesser grison, southern tamandua or any of the agouti species?
 
MOG2012 said:
The third tank is massive with a huge bioload but it wouldn't be that colorful
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Just thought I'd upload an image of the exact tank I was using as my reference for both size and species count. All I know is that according to one of the zoo's sources, it hold 58,800 litres and houses the fish species previously mentioned. In all likelihood, I'd end up with a much larger tank so as to have decent numbers of all the species.
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(Source: Toronto Zoo Facebook page)
 

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What would be a good mix for a Central Asian steppe exhibit? I'm thinking something like the typical mixed-species African savanna, but with species from the Himalayas, Mongolia and the surrounding regions of mountain and steppe. Species I'd have access to in my country are yaks, Himalayan tahr, Pere David's deer, and Przewalski's horses (no camels, sadly :oops:).
 
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