[Guest]

Hi, I'm considering raising dart frogs and have a few questions. I already have experience with fish and newts so I'm not entirely in the dark about viv/aquariums, but...

Do they swim? I saw pictures of vivs with many inches of water at the bottom. Is that for the frog's benefits or for temp control?

How loud do they call? Could this be annoying to someone else in the house who's not into frogs? :roll:

I have a 72 g tank I would be converting, how many frogs can I think of housing? 7-8?

When you talk of raising froglets in smaller tanks, do you mean that it's best to sperate the young from one another?

thanks very much

Isabelle

 

[Jace King]

i think for a begginer its best, to at first have froglets in ten gallon tanks. Then as they get bigger move the larger ones into the 72 gallon. maybe 3 froglets per ten gallon. this helps keep feed more readily available. Its not that its impossible to raise frogs in a large viv like that, its just not as easy and your always going to have a frog or two that does not do as good as it could. If i were you i would look into some of the neat aurautus morphs and get two ten gallons, split them up for a few months and then put the whole colony in the larger viv. The most important thing is food for that many frogs. at least 4 cultures a week for 8 frogs.

 

[sirfugu]

I think what Jace King said is very true in that you really don't want to start out with a huge tank like that. Get a couple of 10 gallons and set them up first because there is somewhat of a learning curve when it comes to darts. Also it will give you time to set up your big tank and make it the way you want because usually everyone's first tank isn't as good as their third or fourth. Maybe after you learn a good way to build a cool viv you can build a nice pond section like you were talking about and toss in a couple neons or whatnot. To answer your other questions the water is there for aesthetics as I don't know of any darts that will willingly swim. Just make sure there is something they can grab onto to get out of the water. I havent heard darts call yet but I understand they're barely audible and wouldn't disturb you. Someone else on here can give you a better rundown but these are just the basics. Good luck.

 

[Guest]

I think the water is there for more than just aesthetics. If you want the frogs to breed by themselves in the tank you need a place for them to deposit the tadpoles. I've seen several of my frogs just sit in the water from time to time, though I've also had one frog drown.


-Tad

 

[Mantellaprince20]

As for the calling, It totally depends on the species you get. I have heard that some phyllobates have a louder call, and possibly the leucomela's. As for other genus, such as mantellas, they have a very loud high pitch call. It really just depends ont he frog you want though. Most of the dendrobates from what I have heard do have a low pitch call though. How could anyone find that annoying anyway? I love to hear my frogs call. hehe, also, I would definitely recommend you start small in vivariums, then work your way up. I have am fairly new to the hobby as well, and your vivs will only get better over time. A false bottom is the way to go though, and it makes making a pond very easy. If you have any more questions or anything, ask away, we are all here to help.

Ed Parker

 

[Guest]

thanks very much for the answers. I have a 10g and a 5g I can use to start out. I will give them a go to start then.
When building the land pieces, do you let the coark or peat bricks dip in the water so they are always moist or is that a bad idea leading to rot?

thx!