Im just starting to build and plan my first vivarium and future home of either a small group of azureus or auratus darts. And sorry if this is a dumb question, but what type of broms and other plants should I get to fill in my 20g aquarium? Do I need a specific type of brom? Do some plants work better with different species? and if they do what would you recommend?
Unless you are trying to recreate a specific region from which the frogs you are getting came from, I don't think it really matters. There may be some plants that are not frog safe but the main concern is just whether or not the plants you choose are vivarium friendly. If you go to the sponsor section and look through those site you will see that many of them carry plants all of which can be used.
Your main goal is to choose plants that work in the viv, small enough, tolerant to the temperature, tolerant to the humidity. Broms are a favorite of the frogs, but most all of them work in a vivarium as long as they stay small enough.
For Bromeliads, I like the smaller, compact Neoregelias the best, although some of the Vresias also stay within bounds and do nicely. I find they do best in a vivarium when mounted above the substrate and grown as epiphytes on backgrounds or logs. There are a lot of very colorful varieties which will maintain their color only if they have a strong light source. Otherwise, they will lose color and the leaves may become more elongated and strap-like. Mounting them toward the top also puts them closer to the light source, which helps.
I have found my azureus seem to prefer a sturdy broad leaved plant, such as a Calathea for laying their eggs upon, while the auratus prefer to lay under a hide such as a coconut shell. Since the Calatheas tend to get pretty large, using these in a small tank may become problematic or take a lot of trimming back. Otherwise, I like to stick with smaller vines such as the Ficus pumila varieties, others include Piper, Pellionia, Pilea, Fittonia, as well as some of the Selaginellas. Many ferns do well--much too well, in fact, so I generally avoid them. I do have one Davallia that behaves itself, stays small and delicate, but I don't know the species. I've used a few of the Adiantum in larger vivariums. where they stay light and airy and don't appear to spread all over, but a 20 gallon may be too small to consider these. Think small for the most part. Visit the on-line terrarium outlets, some of which are sponsors here for other ideas and suggestions.
This is directed at slaytonp . thank you so much. i found this plant at the garden store that had water that sits in the middle of the stem and thought, hmmm this looks like a plant similar to the ones the dart frogs i see on documentarys laying eggs in. I knew it was a bromeliad but since it was neoregelia i didn't know if it was best. (because im kind of paranoid about screwing up this being my first viv. attempt.) but now that i see that is the better way to go im definitly gonna buy that plant. Now i could look up answers for what i am about to ask but this would be easier.
does this sound good for a setup in a 20 gallon tank? im going to put in one Dendrobates Azures for now,
Gravel bottom (weight is not a concern)
some sort of metal screen i can get my hands on
Coco fiber mayby mixed with some peat moss
some rocks for decor
Two mopani wood pieces
1 malaysian drift wood
Exo Terra terrarium background
I don't have enough money for a water pump yet but would a simple little water bed suffice for the time being?
Now the plants i am getting are
Bromeliad Neoregelia
Alocasia (which genus would be best?)
some begonias or calathea if there is room
Ficus pumilis can you get this plant at a garden store??
and some moss that is called frog moss. is frog moss a good idea?
the only thing that i dont know is what to feed the frogs. it seems fruit fly culture is the most mentioned. is it the best way? could a noob like me accomplish this?
Darts need to have live food that moves around so that they can see the food. Fruit flies are small enough for the frogs to eat so they are the best choice for food. As far as culturing, it is not hard. I think that the hardest thing is getting the scheduling down to a science.
I would avoid Alocasias. They generally have huge leaves and would not be appropriate for a 20 gallon tank. As house plants, which is where I'm familiar with them, they die back and require a rest period of being more dry. Your vivarium should be mostly built around the frog requirements, with the plants as cooperative, rather easy to grow adjuncts. Begonias usually require more space, as well, although some people use them in larger tanks, and I use cuttings of one species to throw into nursery and starter tanks.
The best Ficus pumila I have is a variety called quercifolia, which has tiny oak leaves and makes a tight mat of creeping foliage that will cover the substrate and walls, but is easily controlled. I've never seen this in nurseries, but it is readily available from vivarium specialists. I recently acquired an especially tiny variety of this with even smaller leaves, which is proving to be superior.
I don' have a lot of success with "frog" mosses myself, but other people do, so don't discount them entirely. They require good light and some ventilation--perhaps more than I give them. Java moss and Ricca moss are other options. Both need rather damp substrate, and the the Ricca does best with open water or covering water falls in my own experience.
If you just want to have some bare water showing from the drainage area, you can put a bubbler under the gravel to keep it from becoming stagnant and stinking. This does require some small airline tubing, as well as an external air pump such as one has with fish, but it's easy to install and feed the tubing out of one corner of the tank. It also looks neat. I have one tank with a layer of gravel over a long bubbler, only a couple of inches deep, forming a small pond covered with a delicate layer of Ricca moss. The frogs often hunt and "play" in this area. The bursting bubbles add to the humidity, and along with the Ricca, keep the water clear and fresh.
You will need to enclose your vivarium with more than just a screen to hold the humidity to the 80 to 100% required for darts. I use fitted hinged glass lids for the most part. Or, you can use the wire screen and simply put some Saran wrap over the top of it. This isn't as "pretty," but it works, and has the advantage of being able to peel it back here and there if you think you need more ventilation.
Be sure the entire top is "escape proof." Frogs are escape artists, so you have to be really careful about the least bit of gaps in your enclosure, because they can get through an incredibly small space, even if this seems smaller than they are.
I would recommend culturing fruit flies for the main staple diet. It's not all that hard, and there are entire sections on this board that discuss this ad infinitum.
Thank you I will follow what you said. i do have an aerator or bubbler so i will put it to good use. i have a few questions, what is the drainage area? is it just a term for the area where all the water goes or do i have to manualy install a drain? and is there any way that i can stunt plants growth by cutting the tap root or apical meristem to have them not take over? would that be wise? or would it kill the plant or something?
The drainage area is just 2-3 inches of gravel (or another coarse substance,) underneath the substrate, where water can accumulate so the plant roots don't get saturated. In a very simple system, if this gets too full, excess water can be removed by simply siphoning it off with a length of airline tubing from one corner. I usually use a 60 cc vet syringe that has a cannula which just fits neatly inside the airline tubing to start the process. Between the drainage and substrate is where you place your filter such as a layer of weed cloth or the polyester batting, so the substrate doesn't just clog the drainage area and wick the water back up.
I don't know of any way of controlling voracious plants, except trimming and removing those that may become more obnoxious than useful.
It's strange, but when I first attempted to grow the little Ficus in my first tank, it seemed reluctant to take hold--barely hung in there for a couple of years. I used cuttings from this in other tanks, and now it is all over the place in nearly all of them, including the first one, and seems to take off like a shot and cover everything in no time in any new tank. It doesn't always seem to make sense. It will happen with other plants, too. First one will be predominant, and then another may try to take over at a different time. The frogs themselves don't seem to care much which it is, fortunately. But keeping a pristine "ideal" type attractive planting over all, is something I've pretty much given up on, because it is always changing.
Another bit of advice I have learned is "don't over-plant and crowd things to begin with, no matter how much you want to cover things immediately." With a little time, and more sparse planting, they will do it on their own. I see photos of new vivariums which are invariably beautiful, well balanced, colorful and already crowded with plants that will get even larger as they mature. They look great at first, but then, these plants are going to need more space than they have been allotted in no time at all, and you get an overgrown mess unless you have more time than I do to do trimming and removing. Think miniature, think small, at least at first, unless you have more time than I do for constant plant monitoring, which with a single vivarium, perhaps you do. My originals look nothing like they do months or years down the line--for better or worse--but you aren't planting plastic in a sterile environment, and everything changes. That's part of the joy of it.
thanks you made the term a lot more clear. I will have to look into a syringe because my experience with siphoning has been.....interesting. lol. so yard cloth will work fine? i have plenty of that. I'm probably going to start building my drainage system soon and i plan on preparing over the next month my vivarium because next month is my birthday so that would be the opportune time to have it ready by and it can give me some time to do all the research necessary. I will have to experiment with the plants before putting them in.
i am a fan of things looking natural so I will enjoy just letting it evolve. . I will try my best to not get too eager and fill the viv up too much.
Specific Plants for Frogs
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