Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello All,

I've had MANY herps for many years. I've never had dart frogs.
I have a 20 gallon long aquarium. What is a speceis that is good for beginners? Are there any that can eat insects bigger than fruit flies...such as crickets? Anything else that I should know before jumping in?

Thank you,

Brian

If you want a frog that will readily take crickets, go with the most toxic animal in the world, P. terribilis. The mint form of terribilis is readily available and is cheap, around $40-50.
P. bicolor, vittatus, and Epipedobates tricolor will also accept larger food items compared to most other dendros.

Honestly fruit flies are much easier to culture in the long run. I have never had success with crickets. They take forever for me to breed, and I don't like feeding them and watering them everyday. Plus, there is lots of noise, smell, and I can't get hatchlings to live.

Fruit flies (melangastor) only take 2 weeks to mature, and they reproduce like crazy. Your petstore hopefully might have a small vial of flies to buy. You don't need to buy expensive fruit fly medium, excelsior moss, containers, etc. Go to www.amphibiancare.com for an easy homemade recipe.

You can make fruit fly containers at home. Just get plastic water bottles from the vending machines. Get a razor cutter and cut a large rectangle on the side. Then tape over with paper towel for maximum air circulation. Fill it up with about a four cup of medium with brewers yeast or bakers yeast. (brewer's produces much more). Get some plastic from shopping bags, ziplock bags, or wrappers, and cut it into strips. Stuff it into the bottles once you got your medium in to allow more surface area for the flies to cling to.

Add the flies easily by shaking them into the bottle from the vial with help of a funnel you can buy at most kitchen places. Make sure the medium is sticky enough to stay at the bottom. Because, when you unscrew the lid and pour flies into the tank, the medium won't spill with it.

Keep in a place with indirect lighting above 65 degrees, 70-80 degrees is best.

I have over 12 cultures done this way, and they last a good deal amount of time. With brewers yeast, I have produced WAY more than enough food. Make sure you set up a culture once every week or two in case any go bad or mold to prevent having no food.

*Remember, dart frogs still prefer small crickets, no larger than 1/2 inch for a terribilis. 1/8-1/4 is much better. DO NOT RELY ON CRICKETS except PINHEADS for froglets. And you shouldn't rely on crickets entirely either.

Some large adult dart frogs that are content enough may eat dried insects like anole food. Supposedly the trick is to drop it in front of their face, but I wouldn't try it until you use the more orthodox foods. Give them a high quality vitamin supplement a few times a week, feed every day.

As far as generally the best dart frogs for beginners other than the ones mentioned, are D. tinctorius, azureus, and leucomelas. D. auratus are too shy and it will be difficult to monitor their health and making sure they eat while young. However, they are hardy, and among the most easily affordable and most beautiful.

DO NOT BUY MULTIPLE TINCTORIUS OR AZUREUS unsexed froglets unless you have an additional tank. Females are territorial. They can be kept in groups while young, but once adults, they become aggressive. P. terribilis, bicolor, E. tricolor, P. vittatus, D. leucomelas can all be kept in groups. In a 20 gallon, you can house a maximum of 4 animals. If you really want to go with azureus or tincs, buy only 2 froglets and get a tank divider ready in a few months if needed.

If you do everything right, dart frogs are actually low maintence in my opinion. Since I specialize in carnivorous plants, as long as you do your reading, they are much easier actually than some of the "common" plants. You won't have to hassle with feeding crickets everyday or going to the petstore all the time for food. They also aren't as messy as most frogs. There is no need to buy filter cartridges (assuming you just have a pump waterfall). Water changes aren't as frequent either.

Have fun!

Thank you for the VERY thorough answer! I am still collecting info and deciding. I really TRY not to buy animals on impulse.

I also have a small collection of carnivorous plants. Several Saracinea, several Drosera, and 3 Nepenthes. I've had one Nepenthes for nearly 10 years.

Thank you,

Brian