[Guest]

Hi,

I recently finished my vivarium and I was wondering if you could please give some feedback as to which dart species are good for beginners. My vivarium is a 65 gallon that measures 36"x18"x24". It is heavily planted with all sorts of tropical plants and has a section of water that measures about an inch deep. I'm looking to keep a group of darts in this vivariums but I'm unsure which species can live in groups and how many I can keep in this enclosure. I hear that Leucomelas, auratus, terribilis or tricolors all do well in small groups but which of these will grow the largest in size and are the most inexpensive to buy? Please provide any feedback, I'm looking to make my purchase at the next expo in White Plains.

 

[Arklier]

That's a pretty tall viv. Out of your choices given, I think leucs would be the best bet. They would use the whole viv, and not just stay on the floor like terribillis. When I get my 180G up, that's what I'm going to move mine into.

 

[Dunner97074]

DK,
Well you already have the info you need as far as species. I believe it it a matter of personal preference. Also check in your area for a local breeder (keeps cost down) Personally I like auratus, as they are hearty, fairly large and active (terrestrial and aboreal). Plus they are fairly common so the price is right. Leucs are great too plus they have the added bonus of not being green so they stand out in a larger tank. But the most important thing is to find a species that you like b/c if you do everything right or mostly right you'll have them for a long while. Good Luck and keep us posted on your decision.
Mike
p.s. any pics of your tank???

 

[Guest]

All those frogs are the larger group and are about the same size except for the tricolors. The leucs seem to be in the lowest price range. I have seen them for $25-35. I like the leucs too because the yellow stands out and they are not hard to find when looking in the tank for them.

My first frogs were tricolors. I had a group of 8 in a 20L and they were awesome. They always sat out in the open, never hiding. The minute you would open the tank they'd all jump to the middle of the tank waiting for the food to drop. The only downside I had was they wouldn't take larger flies like Hydei, so I had to culture two sizes of flies, which wasn't reaelly that bad.

 

[jkinsey]

Pics if you got'em

Sounds like the tank is set-up very well. Do you have any pictures of the tank. I am currenlty in the process of setting up a 65 gal and would love to see some different ideas. Thanks in advance.

 

[bluetip]

Yes, please do show some images. I am currently in the phase of putting together my 36" long x 18" deep x 30" high. I've been wanting to see a similar high tank setups! Did you follow a false bottom setup (which im not too keen on doing)...

Thanks

Bluetip

 

[Dunner97074]

Bluetip,
Why aren't you keen on a false bottom? Just curious.
Mike

 

[bluetip]

Call me shallow but I don't like the way it looks. Seeing plastic under the bottom of my tank. I've also been noticing that a lot of dutch vivs don't seem to have them as well, either that or they just do a darn good job in hiding them!

So now, I'm actually thinking how I can manage the bottom of my tank. I don't know if i shall spray everything with expanding foam or maybe use glass panels to create a layer of water underneath. I would want to use some gravel and rocks though...still considering my options! I finished putting up the glass panels today, now I'm in the middle of figuring out how I want my tank front to be. I was considering of doing a detachable front made of one solid piece of glass without any aluminum railing. I was thinking that with a solid piece of glass, I can have an unobstructed view of the the tank

 

[Dunner97074]

As far as the false bottom, you don't have to see it. I think you can see on my gallery album my tank in the construction phase. I hid the false bottom with gravel. So I have PVC couplers, egg crate, screen, gravel, screen, soil, moss. For the front I extended the screen down to the bottom of the tankto avoid just pouring the gravel in. I think it works well and the tank maintains it's temp and humidity like clockwork.
I like the idea of having a seperate reservoir of water. With misting everyday (twice) I actually have to drain some water, which is good b/c new water is a good thing. Just a thought.
Mike

 

[bluetip]

Sorry dk for hijacking your thread!

Hi Mike! Your tank looks great. How do you keep the water so clean?

I see what you mean by hiding the false bottom. Am really considering of doing that! I may need to rethink on my tank with how I want to do it!

thanks

bluetip

 

[devin mac]

anotehr way to hide the false bottom is to "paint" the bottom portion of the tank with black silicone. if your false bottom is the bottom two inches of the tank, paint two and a half inches up from the tank's bottom with silicone. to get a nice clean edge, you can use masking tape or whatever method you think will wrk.

that way, you have just a black bottom to the tank, eliminating the unsightly false bottom and preserving all the benefits.