[DJboston]

Nothing major but a couple tanks I did up. The first picture shows my terribilis statue sculpture finished so I thought it would be cool to see it in one of my empty tanks. I painted the terribilis white with black eyes quickly, but the finished resin statue will be cast in a semi translucent resin to give the skin a lot of depth and realism. This first tank might be modified heavily for atelopus but we'll see. The rock background is just a carved piece of foam I hit with a dremmel and coated in tinted cement. It was also painted using some shading and speckling to break up solid colors. I'm a trained artist and using my skills soon to sell frog art and do some custom work for people. I am putting everything into a line of tank backgrounds for a company...I'm a dedicated when it comes to doing work for others but have a sort of good enough attitude for my own stuff lol It's ok though. Can only get so much detail carving foam. The ones I'm making for the company will be sculpted in clay, molded in silicone, and cast in solid resin..so much more I can do and will last 100 years in the most dank conditions.

Here's the first tank. 20 gal high vert conversion

Here's another 20 gallon high vert conversion. I had big plans for it but sort of just threw it together as I'm getting more and more wrapped up in Anuran Art Designs and not to mention I have a 3 week old newborn son lol

The pot turned over is a replica clay mayan pot that I added clay and dirt to and partially buried in the soil. I always planned to do this in a tank. Didn't look quite as cool as I wanted but I think it's different. I got the pot at the Boston museum of fine arts for $30. I thought that was cheap for a big pot at a museum gift shop.

Background is just great stuff and cement. I didn't bother painting the cement as I'll be covering it in a mix of clay and some peat and other additives for color. When I have time to.

The airplants have been mounted to my rack forever so I figured I'd throw them in there. If anyone knows air plants, can you tell me if any of these will actually survive in this tank? I'm still going to pack the back with broms and will just remove them if they're going to die.

The tank houses 3 juvi Leucomelas. Sorry, my tanks aren't as impressive as others...I'm not as ambitious in my own designs as I should be. Some day though!

This tank houses a pair of Tarapoto imitators. Got them as just a couple frogs thrown into a trade and loved them since. They're probably only 5 months old. Not sure yet on sexed pair...but there is one calling male. I know males call early but we'll see. Tank was maturing without frogs for a while. Moss is finally starting to sprout all over the back and the creeping figs grew well with my direction.

Thanks for looking!

 

[froggymike]

I like the terribilis sculpture!

 

[Azurel]

Tanks look great DJ.....I really like the second one.

 

[frogmanchu]

Tanks look great DJ.....I really like the second one.

i agree it looks good with the leucs in it

 

[earthfrog]

I really like the log in the second one.

The first one has an umbilical-cord vine in it---you could call it Ode to Motherhood

Also, the angel-wing begonia is showing signs of leaf-rot from water sitting on the leaves. Begonias behave very much like succulents and need to have the substrate dry out in between waterings--they do not like wet feet.

( Hope you and the baby are having fun getting to know each other! I loved that pic of the smile! Just wait until the first laugh series---my son first laughed uncontrollably when he was only a few months old--- he saw me outside the bedroom window. For some reason it was hilarious that he only could see my head moving by! )

 

[DJboston]

Susan...I noticed that with the begonia today!! I'm going to remove it tonight and let it live in a pot for a bit and recover. I've had the plant for 4 months. Got it from Black Jungle. It grew quite a bit and is always sprouting new leaves...but I can see where it won't be lasting in this tank. I think it was fine for a while but I need to drain this tank a bit. The tank it was first in was a really wet 10 gallon so I never thought it would rot.

I'm sure it's still able to be saved though. The top of my rack has a desk light with CFL bulb. Used for froglets and to light any rubbermaids with other species of toads or frogs on top. So I can put the plant under there to dry out a bit and soak up some rays. Susan, I know what you mean about the vine. I had it lying around. A fish buddy had it and left it here. He didn't keep reptiles or amphibians and just asked me to take it. It's a zoo med I believe...which is rare for me to use ANY of their products. I like it though...does have a umbilical look to it though lol

Thank you for the compliments on the terribilis. I like it a lot but it's nothing compared to what it will look like finished. A few sculpting flaws I didn't notice before will be hashed out when they're resin and I can sand and dremmel the castings easier. Should be very little clean up though. No seam to drill as it's a one piece mold. It's nothing compared to what's on the way though with my line of frog art. I'm very excited.

Also, thanks for the compliments on the second tank. I think the background looks terrible like this but It will be fine once I do some work to it. I wish I did that stuff before throwing the leucs in there but they're an incredibly hardy trio so I'll wait a week and put them in a holding container while I do clay work and mount broms, etc. Background came out so cheesy but as I fix it and cover it up it should come together. The mayan pot is kind of neat. Gives the frogs a nice hideaway too. Also, I was making it with different frogs I have on hold in mind as the leucs were very situated in their tank. these leucs were the size of a dime in early December. I moved them because of with the shop light on the bottom shelf and the visibility of the vert tank, their colors just pop and they finally stand out. I wanted the tank to contain bright frogs that guests would get a nice clear view of their beauty.

Thanks again guys
Dan

 

[joshct]

looks great