Sort of new here

[guidedbyechoes]

Hi I used to post on this site a long time ago inquiring about information. So I'm not totally new. I currently have 2 tanks open for viv transformation. One is a 55 gallon 4 foot and the other is a 29 gallon 3 ft. I'm looking at two different tincs the Azureus and the Regina. Exactly how much room do the frogs need to be sufficiently happy? If a 2 foot area is sufficient I can use a divider and keep both species in the in the 55. If I have to chose just one it would be the azureus though. I plan on only keeping a pair or trio and don't want multiple tanks. I just got finished with having fish, so I learned my lesson quickly. Whatever the outcome I plan on having a false bottom. I have a fixture that already has 6500k T5's I can use for lighting. I have stands for both. I also have a reverse osmosis device so the water will be nice and pure. Of course, I will have to deactivate the DI portion of the unit.

Besides culturing FF I think pdf will be a lot easier to maintain and move if the occasion arises. I just plan on doing tons of research, and build the viv before I purchase the frogs I settle on. I've talked to the local herp store and they don't order frogs until after it gets warmer here, for their safety.( I live in WI) The person running the store has being in the business for quite a while and has many satisfied customers I know personally. I also spent about 2 hours talking to the guy without purchasing anything and all of his animals look healthy. SO any input you could add would be greatly appreciated.

[Philsuma]

Hi there,

I would recommend 1 adult frog of those larger species per 10 gallons of fish tank.

Dendrobates tinctorius are kept mostly in pairs - 1.1....or sometimes 2 males and 1 female. Adult females can get scrappy with each other.

Dividers are kinda tough to recommend as they hamper cleaning and tank maintenance and if one or more frogs gets sick or diseased, then they are all likely at risk of cross contamination.

Hot bulbs and most all reef / specialty bulbs are too bright and throw off too much heat for our hobby purposes. Some lights get close to 130F and project that heat downward into the vivarium. Temps over 80F can hurt and possible kill most dart frogs.

FF culturing is both the easiest part of the hobby...and at the same time, the hardest part. heh.

Try to include a location in your profile. One of the neat things about this hobby, is the closeness and helpfullness of everyone. Chances are there is someone close to you that can either get you great healthy animals, discounts and/or really helpful advice up close.

[guidedbyechoes]

Hi there,

I would recommend 1 adult frog of those larger species per 10 gallons of fish tank.

Dendrobates tinctorius are kept mostly in pairs - 1.1....or sometimes 2 males and 1 female. Adult females can get scrappy with each other.

Dividers are kinda tough to recommend as them hamper cleaning and tank maintenance and if one or more frogs gets sick or diseased, then they are all likely at risk of cross contamination.

Hot bulbs and most all reef / specialty bulbs are too bright and throw off too much heat for our hobby purposes. Some lights get close to 130F and project that heat downward into the vivarium. Temps over 80F can hurt and possible kill most dart frogs.

FF culturing is both the easiest part of the hobby...and at the same time, the hardest part. heh.

Try to include a location in your profile. One of the neat things about this hobby, is the closeness and helpfullness of everyone. Chances are there is someone close to you that can either get you great healthy animals, discounts and/or really helpful advice up close.

Ok then my 3 ft tank should be adaquate for 3 adults. Very good point, I hadn't thought about cross contamination

What type of lighting is used for frogs? Something like t8s or even power compacts?

I can see why culturing could be an issue. One bad batch and you are in a bit of trouble until you can get another one going. DO they all have to be cultured or do they breed readily? DO they have to be in a lit area?

Also I read somewhere in the forum that like fish a 30 day quarantine is recommended before being place in the display tank/viv. Clear plastic tote with ample humidity and air exchange I assume. Should there be anything in the tote or bare bottom is the ideal setup?

Also I've seen a lot of plexi vs screentop discussion. What about partial of each?

That takes care of most of my questions except for photo periods, foggers vs water features but I can do some reading on those answers.

Also thank you for the reply.

[DianeCarter]

Hi, and welcome back to DD! Others will post about the lights and the quarantine, but I can tell you about tops and ffs. You will need a very small amount of screen, for air ventilation, but the debates are generally about plexi vs glass. You will need to have the majority of the top covered with either plexi or glass, to keep the humidity level high. Many people put glass or plexi over the screen, so you can move it as needed to increase or decrease the amount of air going in, to control the humidity. PDFs need high humidity!
As for fruit flies. I've been in this hobby for almost a year, and ffs, IME, get easy to deal with pretty quickly. You'd rather have too many than risk running out, and the cost per culture is fairly small. When you make a new culture, it will "pop", or reproduce, in 11-16 days, depending on the species of fly. You want to discard the culture after about 28 days. They usually keep producing for longer than that, but you risk mites after a month, so just get rid of them at 28 days. Also, buy mite paper to keep under the cultures, it will help reduce your risk. If you are only going to have 2 or 3 frogs, I think you would be safe setting up a new culture every 7 days. Even if a culture dies off occasionally, you'll still have enough flies from the other cultures to feed your pdfs. I have 5 vivs, with 13 frogs, so the schedule I use is 4 new cultures every 10 days or so. I always have plenty of flies, with excess. I haven't had a "crash" since I first started, and if that happens, just go to your nearest Petco/Petsmart, local frogger, or even order from a company and you can get by.
You need to look into other feeders too. Springtails, isopods, confused flour beetles, etc. Fruit flies are the staples for pdfs, but a varied diet is very good for our little friends. Also, if you have a crash, it's good to have a back up! Also, these additional feeders can have cultures that last months, if not years--no need to discard them after 30 days!
As for your question on lighting. Everything I read says ffs should be in a normally lit area, with day and night lighting. They do well under these conditions, but I will tell you, for several months I kept all my ff cultures in an unlit closet, and I never saw any difference in production.
I look forward to seeing pix of your viv!
Diane