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i dont have dart frogs but i have a treefrog- lizard planted tank. i read yalls forum because dart frog tanks are the most beautifull iv seen, and i like to steel your ideas lol.
here in virginia on streambanks we have real small, pretty brightly colored mushrooms called chanterells (i think) that are nontoxic and edible. i was wondering if i collected some spores and added them to my tank if it would be okay.
i always thought best to avoid fungus if atall possible, but read in some of your posts about mushrooms popping up with no ill effects, and i think it would be neat as long as it wasnt nasty, some little bright orange mushrooms popping up underneath the philodendrons.
anyway thnks in advance for any advice, experiences.

Chanterelles (Cantharellus sp) won't work in your vivarium because they are what is known as mycorrhizal fungi and require a specific plant host in order to survive and fruit. The genus Cantharellus has many species, and each species has a different host tree. In the NW, it is usually a conifer, but in other areas it may be an oak. We aren't likely to be growing these hosts in our vivariums. No one has yet figured out how to grow these delicious, edible mushrooms on an agricultural basis, but they are still trying.

See the link below if you want to read more about Chanterelles than any sane person would ever want to know. Warning: It's a big 1.8 MB download that you can't read off the screen, so there are 90 pages of print if you print it all. You can select from the menu and avoid many pages of cited literature.
Link

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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

does the host plant have to be living? a host stump or branch won't do, even if fresh?

Ian

Yes it does need to be a living plant. Chanterelles have a symbiotic relationship to the live roots of sereral species of trees--a micorrhizal association. They may live as mycelium around the tree and in association with the roots for many years before fruiting. The link above will give you all the details, but they will often not fruit until the trees are 10 to 40 years old. This doesn't make it likely that one will have a chance in hell of having them fruit in a vivarium.

That doesn't mean that other mushrooms won't crop up in your vivarium, especially if you don't "over-sanitize" your substrates and the wood you use. Forest soils are full of other mycelium and spores.
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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