Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am having problems with both my tanks. The bottom seems to have become a marsh. I know that the frogs don't care, but it looks very soggy. I have a false bottom (river rocks on the bottom, an a/c filter separation, dirt or bed-a-beast, then moss on the top) in there, with a waterfall that recirculates the water. How can I make it drier in there, without lowering the humidity to an unacceptable level?

I have one other question. I currently have one azures in with my three terribilis. I don't know if the frog is a male or female. Is it harmful to the azures to just have the one frog in the tank or does the azures need a friend? I want to separate the azures from the other frogs, due to the mixing of species. I do not have another azures to put in with the azures. The azures is an adult and we have had him/her since he/she was a froglet.

Thanks for any help.
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sue

Lower the water level in your false bottom so it's not touching the substrate from underneath. This should allow the substrate to drain off better.

Your Dendrobates azureus doesn't need a friend, but would be more interesting if you could acquire one of the opposite sex if you can manage to sex it. The males have broader front toe pads than females, so you'd need to study a lot of pictures and do some comparisons. While it won't cross breed with the Phylobates terribilis, since they are not only just different species, but of different genera, it might be better to separate it into it's own tank. This isn't a very good photo for toe pad comparisons, but the male is on the right. He is also somewhat more slender. I believe if you do a search, and visit other Dendro forums and do a search, you will find some better photos of side by side comparisons.

One of the people from Ed's Fly Meat demonstrated a way of sexing tinctorius (which D. azureus actually are) by putting it in a deli cup with some wet sphaghum, then rolling the cup onto its side and around a bit. The males, he claims will lift their heads, while the females will duck theirs. I saw him do this with a known male, but not with a female, so I didn't see both actions personally. The male did lift his head. You may be able to try this out when you move your frog.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

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

That's an interesting way of sexing frogs. I've got some azureus that I think I may know the sex but I'm not sure. I'll have to try that sometime and see what happens. Thanks for the info Patty! I read awhile back that gravel is good in the tanks and you don't have to worry about them getting mushy. That's what I use in my one tank and the plants seem to like it.
Russ