Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am in the midsts of possibly aquiring a tank that is 36" wide, 32" tall, and 15" deep. it has a stand, with a fluval 203 pump/filter incorporated into it, with a hole in the actual tank for a water fall/ water to be cycled and filtered. This would be my first dart frog setup. Does this seem like going to big? I would prolly want to set up the tank and let it sit for a week or so ust to make sure everything is thriving, since i plan to do all the live moss, live plants, so the cage can contain itself cleaning wise.

any body have pictures of big tanks they have built? wanna get an idea of what im getting into.

That's just a nice size.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
6 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
6 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

here is a pic of my tank. for more pics of other tanks and info check out my group: The Naturalistic Vivarium:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheNaturalisticVivarium/

Joseph

The Naturalistic Vivarium

That's a beautiful "ideal" vivarium, but it is not naturalistic at all. It's more like a golf course that someone has to attend to and trim every day. Where are the frogs in it? How would they change it? They do, believe me. Feeding dusted fruit flies daily does havoc to the moss the calcium vitamins land on, and the frogs are pooping on everything, changing the ideal image. A few forgiving, but voracious vining plants and some fungi and algae interrupting the scene, would be more natural. You are lacking fungi, algae and molds, tiny "worms" of some sort, that crop up, creep over the glass for awhile and are apparently harmless, even good for the naturalistic environment. Then they go away and suddenly a mushroom crops up. The pristine moss golf course substrate is long gone, of course, if you really want something that is biologically recycling, as much as possible, it turns out to be much messier that the ideal pictures of it.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
6 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
6 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

Patty-

I beg to differ. I've been to a number of rainforests, and that scene crops up in many "patches" (for simplicity's sake- patches are where sunlight reaches the bottom floor of a location) of rainforest. Of course there are lots of other rainforest type environments that are much more wild and overgrown looking as well. Also, what you are seeing are newly planted plants. I intended for the back and sides to be more lush after full growth. Anyway- the substrate had been going and "seeded" with all types of microorganism and micro fauna- and was indeed a well functioning biological system. The moss was freshly planted and I expected it to “take” in spots and not in others with is what happened... Needless to say you’re making a bit too many judgments just by looking at a picture. I recommend reviewing my group on naturalistic vivariums for a full description of my vivarium. Also the group is over 5 yrs old with over 1,500 members with much knowledge and resources on the site.

The Naturalistic Vivarium

You're right, I was making too many assumptions based upon a newly planted tank. I missed my own point, which was a newly planted pristine looking tank isn't what one is going to have later, when they do become genuinely "naturalistic," with a bit of help to control overgrowth, etc. I certainly didn't intend to insult you, but on re-reading my own post, it does sound that way, and I'm sorry. As I said however, it is indeed beautiful.

My own always look pretty ideal in the beginning, but I do lose most of the moss and gain other stuff over time. I will look into your site more thoroughly. From a short view, it looks like a very good one. Please keep posting here. We need this expertise.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
6 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
7 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
6 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

Here's my most recent setup--a 20 gal.--far from ideal, but it's a work in progress! I only have one D.leucomelas in it for now. I plan on adding at least one more, a mate or a pair to make a trio. I'm having trouble finding plants this time of year. Does anyone know where I can get some that aren't going to cost me an arm and a leg? I bought two small fly traps and tried them for a couple weeks, but they didn't survive. I thought they would do alright in the high humidity environment, but it must have been too much. If you can't tell that's a small waterfall on the right.

Any suggestions on the next additions?

Just click on the pics to see full size.

"Sniping"

"Singing"

"Hiding"

"Hiding"