[asturianu]

I've decided to re-do the RC so that it is just totally flooded on the bottom with some water lettuce and water hyacinth plants floating around. Hopefully, this will encourage breeding as the female is ovulated, but they still won't get going.

I want to publicly thank Ed. He has helped me the whole way through with these guys as they've been very frustrating for me.

I'm concerned because I do have quite a few males, but only 1 definite female. I know Peter mentioned in another post that when he bred his giraffe back in the 90s, some came out looking like normal clowns and others like giraffe.

My question is, as a preventative measure, and for peace of mind, if something happened, what do you guys think about breeding a male giraffe to a female clown?

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Nick

 

[Woodsman]

Hi Nick,

We need to know if the "Giraffe" morph (not a name I particularly like, as it has no real meaning) is a locality morph or if it is a variant within a "normal" population of D. leucophyllata.

I'm sure you know that there is no locality data associated with these imports, so we would have to find some researchers who have been to the populations in the wild.

I think the general position you would find amongst dart frog people is, if you don't know that they are from the same population, keep them separate.

Good luck with them, Richard.

 

[fieldnstream]

I would say that most treefrog people will be more relaxed about collection data etc... If you can identify them for sure as leucophyllatus, most would be ok with you breeding it with a "normal" phase. I say this because a) there are so few in the country, I'm sure it would be nearly impossible to find more to expand your group, b) wild populations display both phases, and c)it may be most important just to get the genes passed on in captivity because 1)you don't know the age of the frogs (may not be breeding for long) and 2) you may lose some which would be a huge loss for the community as a whole in my opinion. Yes people will push for locality-specific frogs, but this is not possible with these frogs (in light of the troubles you had in acquiring these, would you believe what your source told you even if he did respond?). The best you can do is get a general idea of collection area....maybe match with "normal" phase animals from as geographically close as possible. Is this the perfect soultion...no, but it may be the best solution to keep the genes in captivity and get these amazing frogs to other people. Just my opinion....

 

[asturianu]

I agree with you...but just want to see how others feel about it as well.

 

[rcteem]

I found them in three different areas in Peru...Iquitos, Tri-country border, and just north of Pullcapa....I would assume it is a variant in the species but don't know enough about them.