Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am thinking of getting into dart frogs but am a little hesitant because I am very confused by the names. I like the yellow and black, blue and black, and green and black. Which are the best for a begginer? I have a few differnt tank options i could use, I have a 25g hex, a 30g a 6g bow, and a 5g, which would be the best for a pair or small group? I want ot set up a tank with a water feature but am not a 100% sure how to do it. I have experince with many reptiles, but not many anphibians. Any help will greatly be appriciated.

You might start by exploring some of the dealers' web sites, such as Black Jungle and Saurian, although there are others that are reliable dealers. These are simply the only two I've dealt with so far. They have photos, care sheets, species names, etc. You can also do a search under "Dendrobates," that will get you to a lot of sites where you can look at photos and care sheets.

There are many different dart frog species with the color combinations you have mentioned, so it is hard to give you information based on color alone. Blue and black can be either D. auratus or D. azureus, which require somewhat different conditions. D. auratus get along in groups, while D. azureus get along best in mated pairs. The yellow and black could be a number of frogs, but the most popular is D. leucomelas, which are great in groups as beginner frogs. If you get familiar with them generally by a search of this sort, then ask more specific questions, we can probably help you better. I really hate telling new people to the hobby to do a search, because what you want is some personal help, but it really needs to be narrowed down a bit with some initial exploration, or we'd be going on forever, virtually writing a book.

There are some good books, by the way. For starters, I would recommend "Poison Frogs," Professional Breeders Series--W. Schmidt and F.W. Henkel for a start. It is somewhere in between a pet store "how-to" book and a tome of detail, and is still affordable. It's probably available through Saurian or Black Jungle. The link to a dircect online source is:
Link

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

I looked up the nsmes of the Frogs i like, Dendrobates Azureus, Dendrobates Tinctorius-Alanis, Dendriobates Auratus (green and black), & (blue and black. which are best starters

i forget leucomelus.

Leucs are great for beginners.. relatively inexpensive, do well in groups, they are pretty hardy.. and fairly bold frogs. Aratus will do well too and offer (depending on colors) probably the cheapest price tag.. The Tincs (including Azureus) are great frogs, pretty bold and active but they don't do well in groups, the females will fight, and they are a bit more costly.
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

what is the best tank for me to set them up in,a 25g hex, 30g, 6g bow, 5 gal, 20g high

For tincs, leucs, aratus etc.. I usually give them atleast 5gallons per frog.. but I also feel that you can go to big. SO.. I would use the biggest tank that you can considering resources and space (but no smaller than 5gal/frog).
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

Sorry.. don't know how to edit post.. I meant to say you CAN'T go to big.. those frogs will utilize as much space as you give them..
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com

The bigger the better, as long as you can keep track of them fairly easily. Although 5 gallons per frog is the accepted minimum, I wouldn't keep a single frog in a 5 gallon except for froglets, or to use as a nursery/quarantine tank for sick frogs, and two of the larger azureus in a pair might find a 10 gallon confining, though a couple of auratus might do O.K. in this size. With larger tanks you have a lot more space to work with creating your miniature rainforest and back grounds, which are about half of the delight in keeping dart frogs. It's easier to set up a better biologically recycling vivarium with a larger tank.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus