[Peekskillfrogger]

As some of you know im real new to keeping pdf's. I jumped in with both feet and bought 4 tarapoto imitators. I know that every captive bred pdf is important to our hobby and that breeding is a major part of this endeavor (especially when its a less common frog). The frogs seem to be doing well. The temp is right in the tank the humidity is good. I usually see all four in the morning before they disperse into the litter or hide under a leaf somewhere. They have springtails in the viv, and get dusted ff's 2 of every 3 days. I added some isopods but not alot (this will be remedied thursday when I should be getting three diff dwarf species in ample amount).

The frogs are 4-5 months old atm i heard some calling when i first got them (establishing territory?) and even saw some back stroking, but since then I havent seen much in the way of breeding behavior. Im guessing this is for one of three reasons: im not home when theyre doing it, theyre still too young, or im doing something wrong.

My other concern is that I over planted the tank (if thats possible). I started off pretty conservitively but I noticed that the frogs werent out in midday very much so I went out and got some more plants hoping to give them more usable space and allow them to each carve out a nice chunk real estate for themselves... Do yall think I over planted?

I think my problem is that im fiddling with things too much but its hard for me to let well enough alone and now Im worried i overdid it with the plants.

 

[ConFuCiuZ]

Im pretty sure males mature first, around 5 months or so. Females take longer to mature around a year i think.

 

[ocellaris123]

I think your fine with the plants, but im no expert. You may need to trim more often but I like how you planted it.

 

[randommind]

I think my problem is that im fiddling with things too much but its hard for me to let well enough alone....

If you think your fiddling with it too much, then you probably are. The frogs will never act naturally if they are living in fear of you. Give the frogs time to get adjusted and settle in. It is normal for frogs to go into hiding during mid-day, don't worry.

I am by no means a plant expert so I may be a little off here, but I am pretty sure I have seen the plant on the right side of your tank with the thick leaves(the one big leaf in last pic) growing here in Florida...look into it because if it is, it will grow 10-15 feet high...a little too big for your tank. Like I said, I am no expert so look into it before you rip it out.

Good luck, be patient, sit back and watch both your tank and frogs grow.

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

Thanks... being new to this, the reassurance helps.

In my fw planted days my tendancy was to plant the hell out of a tank, let the plants grow in and compete and weed out the losers. The competition between plants made some really cool looking set ups, but im not sure if thats going to translate in a vivarium. Im worried that any plants that dont make it will foul the tank somehow

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

If you think your fiddling with it too much, then you probably are. The frogs will never act naturally if they are living in fear of you. Give the frogs time to get adjusted and settle in. It is normal for frogs to go into hiding during mid-day, don't worry.

I am by no means a plant expert so I may be a little off here, but I am pretty sure I have seen the plant on the right side of your tank with the thick leaves(the one big leaf in last pic) growing here in Florida...look into it because if it is, it will grow 10-15 feet high...a little too big for your tank. Like I said, I am no expert so look into it before you rip it out.

Good luck, be patient, sit back and watch both your tank and frogs grow.

Yeah that plant def. gets big. My hope was to keep trimming it back to stunt it and eventually get some cool root structures coming out of the substrate. If it starts to get unmanageable Ill have to deal with it though

 

[tclipse]

A lot of people tend to meddle too much for the first few months, you're not the only one by a long shot- I was one of those myself. Settle down and give them some time, and you'll be fine. The tank looks just fine, though the guzmania broms may melt from the high humidity after a few months.

There's really no such thing as over-planting. Heavy planting is the way to go, especially with thumbnails & many obligates - it provides more surface area and increases usable space as well as giving the frogs more security.

 

[momkris]

Your tank looks fine. You really cant over plant unless its pushing the door open. lol! I would leave them alone for awhile and let them get used to there new home. Also most imitators mature and can breed within 5-6 months ootw. That is for both males and females. Are these four clutch mates? If so I believe there are other lines of tarapoto out there so you wouldnt have to breed clutch mates. Not that there is anything wrong with it but why if you dont have to.

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

they are from three differnt seperate clutches... their granparents were wild caught and came from sean stewart and understory. They came from completely seperate lines so I think theyre ok to breed, and Ill be picking up 2-4 more from a different line to spice it up even more (not sure if I can keep 8 in the 65 but if need be ill split them up). Im always interested in trading though so shoot me a pm if youre looking to diversify your gene pool.

 

[frogface]

I bet they love that tank! Lots of lush plants. Very nice.

What size is it?

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

its a 65 gal (36l x 18w x 24h). Its funny I was expecting these guys to spend a lot of time hanging out on the glass, and they definately climb on it, but the spend most of there time hunting the litter or climbing to the highest leaf they can and flinging themselves off to grab a ff half way across the tank. Im hoping theyll start to relate me with food the way my tincs have. This will prolly take some time because the tank is pretty large and they rarely see me put the ff's in.

I was concerned about keeping a more arboreal species because of the shape of the tank but I realized it doesnt really matter, as long as they have some elevated perches and places to sleep they seem content. And since the tank isnt even the size of one branch on one tree in a whole forest its splitting hairs to worry about arboreal vs. terrestrial anyway. It seems like they still establish territory horizontally anyway so have a much taller tank than it is long doesnt make all that much sense.

Im thinking about getting a pair of vents or retics and using a 20L or a 30 over a 20h. The concept is going to be to try making the viv look like a fork in a tree, like 1/2 cork rounds on one small side and the bottom (with a small layer of substrate under it and an aquifer of course). Id still do leaf litter under the bottom 1/2 round and drill lots of holes in it to allow them access (maybe throw a ficus or something similiar in a hole to make it look like a leafy branch growing off the cork), but give the illusion that the scene is somewhere up in a tree as oppossed to the ground. Strictly low light epiphytes, mosses, and some creepers for veg should give it a darker more gloomy look than the 65.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Sit back and relax. Tanks look better and better as they grow in however they want to.

 

[Pumilo]

Plants that don't make it won't foul your tank. They will simply be consumed by springtails and isopods.
What do you mean "from 3 completely different lines? Are you mixing the Understory Tarapoto with the Tor Linbo Tarapoto? That is a big no-no. Understory line is a known location and should not be crossed with unknown location "old blood".

 

[frogface]

I think he got the group that Jeremy Huff had advertised.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/630054-post7.html

 

[rbrock]

well I think your tank looks great.

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

Theyre from diferent clutches of the offspring of 6 imported frogs (3 from understory 3 from sean stewart) so I guess it would be more accurate to say theyre the granchildren of seperately imported frogs from two differnt lines as well as coming from 2 seperate clutches. I was actually looking at adding some tor linbo frogs to the mix to increase diversity but if thats a bad idea I can get some more offspring of the understory/stewart lines, hopefully from different grandsires

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

added some new broms to the tank heres a few shots

 

[Peekskillfrogger]

I think he got the group that Jeremy Huff had advertised.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/630054-post7.html

yeah they came from Jeremy who put me in contact with the guy he got them from who provided me with the lineage and the cites info on the grandparents

 

[KingSnake9]

tank looks great