Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm thinking of tearing down my 29g aquarium and setting it up for dart frogs. I never did amphibs, though I've had plenty of lizards over the many years. (Right now, I have a 3yo green ig.)

I'm quite willing to stick with one species, but I would prefer one that is social and doesn't have to be kept in pairs only. I would also prefer larger over smaller. And, I want to see them, so I don't want any that are more likely to hide most of the time when the lights are on. What frogs fit the bill?

They don't require UV, correct? So I just need to tailor the light to the plants, correct?

Has anyone used Anubis as one of the plants in a dart frog enclosure?

I can't order frogs until summer, so my plan is to start building the environment and just grow the plants until then. Thanks for the help!

29 gallons is a good size for a group of darts. you should consider D. tinctoris, they are one of the largest darts, outgoing, pretty, and they come in lots of different color patterns. plus they are pretty hardy. D. azeurus are also good. www.saurian.net had great info on both species 9and many others). how are you thinking of setting up thier tank? correct, they don't need any special lights. you should probally use a glass top too, the plants do better and the fruit flies can't get out. one suggestion, culture your flies at least a few months BEFORE you buy the frogs. it can take a little while to get the hang of. if you have any more questions please don't hesitate to ask or e-mail me at otis07_@hotmail.com. good luck!

Both tinctorius and azureus (actually the same species by some standards) are territorial and do best in mated pairs unless the tank is very large. The problem is with the females, so you can keep one female with a couple of males. I would suggest instead that you look into the D. leucomelas, which do great in groups, or if you can afford something more expensive, the D. galactonotus orange or yellow morphs actually do better in groups, and are great, active frogs. The red morphs are more shy. You can also consider any of the D. auratus, which come in a variety of color morphs. In my experience, the blues are shy, but the others get along well and will be in the open a lot. Another thought is the Phylobates terribilis, either the mint or orange forms. These are very bold frogs, and will be in the open most of the time. If you like the thumb nails, D. imitator or its close morph, D. intermedius do well in groups, although they will fight, especially the females during breeding activity. It doesn't seem to harm them, however, as they are very athletic and nimble, and is fun to watch. The gals will mess up and eat each other's eggs, but usually enough survive to watch the full show of raising and feeding the tads.

I belive "Aurora" is a common name for Kananchoe fedtschenkia marginata. The Kananchoe group. They are somewhat succulent and do well in dry conditions, so it probably isn't appropriate for a dart tank where the humidity will be too high and the soil too wet for it. Look into the Pileas, Peperomias, miniature vining Ficus, such as the pumilia varieties, Fittonias, etc. You want plants that won't rot in wet conditions. You can use epiphytic plants if you can put them on something like a cork background. These include some of the smaller epiphytic bromeliads such as the Neoregalias, some Vresias, and you can even get by with some of the jungle cacti, such as the Rhipsalis if you keep them high.

You are correct. The darts don't require UV, and the lighting is for the plants and should reflect that spectrum range. However, you must supplement with D3 in lieu of the UV that will not reach your tank through any glass, along with calcium and vitamins. One of the most recommended combinations is Rep-Cal with D3 and no phosphorus, and Herptivite for the other vitamins. You dust the live insects in this before feeding. Another single formula I like is "Dendrocare." This acquired a bad reputation a few years back when a batch of it was mishandled in distribution, lost its potency, and some people experienced problems. Whatever you use, it must be fresh, as vitamins do deteriorate. Most reptile vitamins have the improper calcium to phosphorus ration for dart frogs, so don't use those.

Good luck. Be sure to post some pictures for us as you build your tank. This is always so much fun to do.
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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

yes, listen to slaytnop.

Correction: I mis-remembered the plant name, and gave you bum advice. I think you were referring to Anubias lanceolata. This is in the Araceae family, and will do fine if it doesn't get too large for you enclosure. But you can always trim it back. Sorry about that!! My computer always dumps my posts here if I preview them and check back with the original post.
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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

Thanks for all the info. I've had various lizards over my adult years - never got into them when I was a kid. (I miss my water dragons and PT skink the most.) So, I'm familiar with dusting and so on. Right now, I have a green ig as my only lizard, and I still dust and supplement even though she only gets veggies and greens.

I figured the larger darts would be easier to feed since they could take more than just fruit flies. But I'll see how culturing them goes. (Thanks for the tip, otis - makes sense to practice that first.)

I've had great luck with some of the Anubias underwater, and I know it grows above water as well, so I would probably throw that into the mix. I've tried Java Moss too, but that never really did well in my tanks.

It seems that my thumb is only green underwater, so I want to see if it is green when half-submerged. If I can't handle the plants that way, I may give Lawsons Dragons a go. Or else I'll set up another fish tank - I could finally get a CO2 system for the same price (give or take) as a few nice frogs or dragons.

You will be able to grow all kinds of tropical plants in an enclosed vivarium--You just need to chose the right ones that tolerate the wetness. Here's some photos--One is of Anubias in a waterway in a 55 gallon bow tank. (I can't seem to control the order in which they post.) It grows much larger than it does completely submerged. I took this plant as an off-shoot of one in my paludarium fish pond. The leaves measure nearly a foot long, so it really does "too well." You can also see some of the Peperomias, Ficus and other stuff trailing around, as well as lots of Java. This is just lighted with an aquarium hood fluorescent lights over a fitted, hinged glass top.

The other photos are of a cork/pressed cocoas fiber background in an 18 gallon imitator tank. All of the mosses and ferns you see grew "spontaneously" from the cork bark, or the sphagnum stuffing. I buy the cork in bulk, then just rinse it off without boiling or attempting to sanitize it much. After some time--it may take a year or so, the cork and also the pressed coconut fiber panels will begin to grow certain small ferns and mosses. Sometimes the brown sphagnum moss used as a filler will "come to life." You can see this as the larger moss. There is Java on the floor of this tank, which has a false bottom and a little pump that circulates water over the rocks on the left like a little spring. Except for the bromeliads, there aren't many other plants in there--some Ficus pumilia quercifolia--the tiny oak-leaf "ivy" looking stuff, and the plain leaf variety. There's a "lucky bamboo" in the right pond, which needs removing, and a little aquarium plant, like a mini-Anubias, but that's about it. It's lighted with a regular aquarium hood light over a fitted, hinged-glass top.

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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