[Frogilla]

I am considering buying poison dart frogs, and I am trying to find out which type of frog to pursue. I am looking for a frog that is active and is easy to breed. And even though I am a beginner I am looking for a frog that I can enjoy even when I get past the beginner stage.

Thanks!

Frogilla

 

[fieldnstream]

Can't go wrong with D. leucomelas. Bold, hardy, and beautiful...the perfect beginner frog. Fair warning though: starting with leucs will spoil you, makes other frogs seem boring. Good Luck!

 

[Zoomie]

I started with Auratus and Leucs and have not had them long. Interestingly, both species are out all of time in spite of Auratus being known at times to be a little less bold.

They are very easy to care for. I can't speak personally for ease of breeding as I have no experience. It is generally accepted by PDF folks that both are excellent choices to try a hand at breeding.

I can tell you that I enjoy the heck out of both species. They make me laugh for some reason or another almost daily.

Finally, both a hardy species. I did something thoughtless and insanely stupid yesterday causing tank temp on Leucs to run up 5 degrees to 83.9. I was terrified that I had somehow injured them. How did they respond ? They ran around like crazy at dinner time eating like maniacs. Apparently warmer temperatures are cause for exceptional appetites. Not very funny, but I'll take the get out of jail free card.

 

[zBrinks]

I did something thoughtless and insanely stupid yesterday causing tank temp on Leucs to run up 5 degrees to 83.9. I was terrified that I had somehow injured them. How did they respond ? They ran around like crazy at dinner time eating like maniacs. Apparently warmer temperatures are cause for exceptional appetites. Not very funny, but I'll take the get out of jail free card.

Where leucs are from, it can get quite warm. I see mine routinely utilizing the very upper parts of their vivs, just under the glass, where it can be in the low 80s - high 90s. I know when I first got dart frogs, I lived in an apartment. The AC went out, and the viv temps got into the mid 90s - the frogs were fine. I think this is another trait that makes leucs great beginner frogs!

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Don't forget the tinc group, many of them would also be excellent first frog choices. They breed easily and are well known to be bold.

 

[beatusb]

I just went through this process myself and can tell you from experience, that in order to to get the best answer you can, you need to provide more information. For example, what size tank are you getting/willing to get. Some pairs require at least a 20g vertical tank, whereas others can be kept in a 10 gallon vertical (although all would benefit from having a larger tank). Also are you looking for a pair or a group. If you want a group, your choices go down or your tank size need to go up considerably.

 

[Frogilla]

The leucomelas, aurates, and tincs all seem like great options. Would I have to get a certain combinations of males and females with any of them? Because I have read about different frogs that don't do well in groups. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Frogilla]

Okay. Thank you for the advice. I am looking for a group rather than a pair. I also don't have a vivarium yet and was going to decide on the size after I decided on the frog.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

Tincs do best in pairs.

 

[Frogilla]

How big of a tank would I need to get more than two tincs?

 

[beatusb]

Leucs are good group frogs, you can house up to four in a 20g and up to six in a 40g tank. Another good group frog is p. vittatus. They tend to be shy compared to Leucs, but if you plant it heavily they will be seen more often. I went with Vittatus.

 

[beatusb]

That depends on the tincs. There are two smaller size tinks that you could do a pair in a 10g (French Guiana Cobalt and Oyapock). The rest need 20g for a pair. And if you go for a group of any of them, you need to increase size greatly. I am not sure exactly how small you could go, but I would think something more than 55g, probably not less than 75g.

 

[Frogilla]

And how many of them fit in the size tanks you mentioned earlier?

 

[Frogilla]

And how many of the vittatus frogs could you fit in a 40 gallon tank?

 

[deboardfam]

Its not so much about tank size... its about aggression. So the real answer to your question would be 30-40 feet if comparing to the wild LOL.

You can have a tinc trio (typically 2.1) if they get along.. just have to watch.. i would say in no smaller than an 18x18x24 exo.

If your looking group go leucs or auratus.

 

[Frogilla]

Okay. And I heard that the tadpoles should be kept separate. How big would their individual habitats be?

 

[jbherpin]

Tads can be raised in cups, small tanks, or whatever. I think you should try and get some experience before diving into keeping a group. Group dynamics can be hard to interpret and even observe. If you are set on a group, and want boldness, I suggest Leucs. You should buy them all at the same age, QT them together, and introduce them to the final viv together. QTing allows you to watch for signs of stress, illness, etc. Best of luck!

JBear

 

[Frogilla]

If I started with a pair of leucs and then after a few months got a two or three more would they do badly together?

 

[jbherpin]

If I started with a pair of leucs and then after a few months got a two or three more would they do badly together?

If you follow good QT practices and have fecals done, etc. it should be just fine. As long as the frogs are cleared by the vet and they are feeding and looking good, it should be no problem adding them to a suitably sized viv. You will have to watch closely for a bit to ensure all are behaving normally and take care to not allow an individual to be "left out". These frogs("left out") often do not feed well and suddenly dissappear(die). This is more prevelant in Thumbs, but is still a real concern when dealing with any group of Darts. Best of luck!

JBear

 

[Frogilla]

Thank you for all your help. If they start to get "left out" then how would you fix that problem for them? Or is it even possible?