Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At a local show recently there was a vendor with dart frogs and setups. He had a ten gallon completely planted with a glass lid and light for $75.00. I have been thinking about trying my hand at dart frogs for a while but I have been intimidated by the tank setup. Would I be better off to get one from him already setup? What about the price? Is that reasonable considering I wouldn't have to worry about doing it right? He makes larger ones but I thought I would start with a ten gallon first.

He also had some sub adult D. Azuereus and adult D. Auratus. I liked the sub adult D. Azuereus better. Would it be feesable to start with them?
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Thanks Dawn
1.1 Veiled (Moe and Isis)
0.1 Helmeted Iguana (Louie)
0.1 Southern Toad (Tiny)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Joker)
1.0 Rescued Adult Iguana (Gomez)
0.0.1 Water Dragon (Igor)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko (Lollipop)
3.1 Cats (Buffy, Spike, London, and Lilly)

It seems like a good way to start, if you are only trying out a single azureus, or even a pair. Then you can go from there. $75.00 completely planted seems a fair price. You'd certainly spend more than that getting the gravel drainage, soil substrate, plants and background for a first tank. It sounds like a good way to learn a bit while planning the next one-- and believe me, you will want a next one-- bigger and better. It's like heroin.

I now have a cellar full of various substrates in bulk, cork bark in bulk, cocoanut fiber matting, egg crate, tubing for water features, extra water pumps I've repaired with extraneous connections, etc., as well as many plants in the present tanks to take cuttings or offsets from, so I can no longer count the costs of setting up a new tank. My first dart frog endeavor was a 135 gallon palludarium, combination fish and frog habitat with two water falls. It was not cheap. Knowing nothing about anything, except for growing plants and a mattering of tropical fish experience, I dove in headfirst. It is still going with the original D. galactonotus frogs and most of the original fish, most of the original plants, minus a few eventual failures and taking over by others, 4 years later. Oh yes, I also had to remodel the kitchen divider between the kitchen and living room to accommodate the tank.

You are doing it the smart way. I merely lucked out that my first elaborate set-up never had major problems-- but I did do some research first. Have fun with this. These darts are wonderful and entertaining.

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus

I was only planning on a pair. I figured more than that would cause problems with territory. Could I go with one of each (Azuereus and Auratus) or should I stick with a pair of the same? I havn't checked into the individual species yet because all these latin names give me a headache. I usually find a color I like then study up on that particular frog.
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Thanks Dawn
1.1 Veiled (Moe and Isis)
0.1 Helmeted Iguana (Louie)
0.1 Southern Toad (Tiny)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Joker)
1.0 Rescued Adult Iguana (Gomez)
0.0.1 Water Dragon (Igor)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko (Lollipop)
3.1 Cats (Buffy, Spike, London, and Lilly)

Stick with a pair of the same. You will be disappointed if you mix them. Azureus are bold, and auratus, especially the blues are pathologically shy. I any event, you shouldn't mix species, at least until you have a lot of experience. I would definitely recommend the azureus for a starter. Blue auratus tend to be really shy. They are hardy enough, but I frankly like to see my frogs once in awhile. It took me about four years to finally get a set up where the blue auratus will show themselves on occasion. They are hardy enough, but most of the time, I didn't know if they were still alive or not, anyway. Azureus are a lot more fun.

The image is four years after, I finally got a photo of 3 out of four of them together doing some [bleep] slapping. They are all females. (I think this site will not allow me to use the word I just used above, despite the fact that it has a pet forum and it's a legitimate name for a female dog.)

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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus