Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just bought a new 50 gallon vivarium with a draining hole and two door panels on the side. I am extremely excited and I plan on incorporating a detailed waterfall and live tropical plants. I already bought fern root panels for the back wall. However, the hard part is decided what to put in it. I am not in favor of dart frogs because of the feeding problem. I am leaning toward treefrogs but I am not sure how many I can keep in such a large tank. I want to keep RETF, Tiger Leg Monkey, and other tropical species but I know mixing is a bad idea. Please help me! I want to have a community tank since I already spent so much on the basic equipment. I definately don't want to only keep two small RETF in such and large and expensive setup. Thank!

That is not a large enough tank to mix species in, first off. Second you really need to decide what kind of frog you want before you set it up. So you can match it to the species exact needs. Thirdly, there is no feeding problem with darts. They need the same vitamins as tree frogs. And as for the fruit flys, I find them a lot easier to deal with then crickets. Just some advice from somebody that keeps a very large mixed tank.

Thanks for the great info and picture! So what do you suggest I do with my 50 gallon? I am worried about keeping darts because of the fruit fly cultures. I don't live by an exotic pet shop and reproducing them seems difficult. Plus, I hear that I must keep several cultures on stand by just in case one dies. That's why I am leaning towards RETF or other tropical tree frogs. How many do you think I can keep in a 50 gallon? Also, can something else live in the bottom if I only keep one type of tree frog? Thanks!

If you are planning on getting RETF, a good rule of thumb is 5-10 gallons (depending on who you listen to) for one frog (however, if you only have one you can't keep it in a 5-gallon tank - that's way too small). In your 50 I would say you could keep about 8 safely (and happily).
If you had your heart set on darts, I wouldn't worry too much about the fruit flies. I get mine at a PetCo, which is like any normal dog/cat/fish store. You can also find them on-line. Go to flukerfarms.com (click on "other feeders". They have a really neat deal where you pay for like 4 containers, and then they ship you one every week, 2 weeks, or whatever you set up (each contains xx amount of flies). Then you get 3 shipments free. Even when you add in shipping, this is waaay cheaper than pet store buying.
Also, the reason mixing of species is not recommended is for several (valid) reasons. First, different species have different needs & they're hard to match. Second, each type of frog can secrete differently than another type, and they might harm one another. Third, frogs will eat other frogs. It's hard to make sure that one won't eat another.
Hope that helped
Fruit flies @ Fluker's

Thanks for the advice! It's just really difficult to get started with exotic tree frogs especially when you get conflicting advice all the time. The reptile manager at my local Petco says that I can mix Tiger Leg Monkeys and RETF without a problem because they are both from the South American Region. I'm guessing that this is not the case but please verify this for me if possible. So if you have to decide between the two, which is more enoyable?

I don't know too much about the monkey frogs. What I have heard is that you can't mix them with RETF. RETF are from Central America & Southern Mexico, and they require high humidity in the tank (70-80%). However, the Tiger-legged monkey tree frogs come from lowerland forests & south america, so they do not enjoy that high of a humidity (65% tops). The link below is to another forum, and has a care sheet for these frogs. Also, try asking people's opinions about tigger legs on there, because I know a lot of people keep the monkey frogs. I know this is a cliche, but I have a page on my website about RETF's: http://members.fortunecity.com/civicchick/retf.html
When I get a new pet, I like to research it fully before bringing it into the house. As I was doing this, I read a ton of books & internet sites, as well as talking to some breeders, and I put all the information on this site.
Have a good one
Tigger-legged Monkey Tree Frogs

I keep retf, tiger legs, a green tree frog & a spooted salamander in a 40 gal terrarium with NO problems. All this stuff about mixing species is a little overwrought. The terrarium is 2 - 20 longs. The top one has part of the side screened (no glass) and it sits on top of the other. Its like 1 big glassed in terrarium. There are 3 different types of plants, large driftwood...plenty of hiding spaces. The bottom is half water with fish in it. I have had this setup for almost 2 years & my students love it. The humidity is prety close to 100% because of the large amount of water in the bottom. I have no problems with fungus, molds etc.. I think as long as the enclosure is big enough & the sizes of the frogs are comparable, you should have no problems. 50 gallons seems to be plenty big. Plan your setup carefully with lots of plants. Good luck & post a pic!