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Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...
Dart Den

Serving the Dart Frog Community Since 2004...

120 gallon Ghostviv Red Galact build
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120 gallon Ghostviv Red Galact build
#21
Wow !! That is just excellent Jim...excellent. Very envious !
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"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana".
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#22
That's going to make watching TV a task.

Looks nice Jim, well done.
brad
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#23
Holy crap! Looks awesome!

Give me a ring Sunday I have a few ideas for venting.
What some see as death, others see as beauty.


Casper
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#24
Thanks guys! I'll give you a call tomorrow to catch up Casper. I think I have this solved with the 80 mm. I ran a quick test with it on low blowing into the viv on the top left side and it cleared the glass in a hour. I think I will permanently mount it in the hood and throw it on a timer. That should keep the glass clear during the day or viewing hours. Here's what it looks like with the fan running:
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#25
really love this build
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#26
More crummy cell phone pics - I'm lazy Smile

I received my final two MegaDawns today. I had already mounted the fixtures, so it was just a matter of screwing in the new bulbs. Here they are installed:
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And all lit up:
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#27
Shots of the inhabitants (they are quick, so I've been snapping cell phone pics of them...sorry for the poor quality). They are coming out quite a bit now, so I'm pleased with the setup.
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#28
I had to rework the substrate in this viv after I discovered several of the galacs discovered a 0.5 x 1 cm gap in the cork bark on the right side of the viv where they were able to get under the false bottom. I ripped out the FB, and found 5 of the 8 frogs hanging out in the egg crate. I completely removed the egg crate FB and moved to a series of inverted shoe box rubbermaid containers with drilled holes for water flow surrounded by turface for my replacement FB. It seems to be working well, and my tunneling galacs have resumed climbing the background instead of hiding in egg crate.

Some cell phone shots:
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#29
Well it's been a while and I noticed Phil and Casper chatting about the need for updated photos about 6 weeks after they made their posts...I guess I should pay more attention to the chats :lol:

So the bad news first...slugs! Ugh. I had that emergency tear down when I discovered 5 of the galacts had been roosting under the egg crate false bottom. In one night I ripped out the substrate and egg crate FB and I shifted to drilled sterilte shoe boxes and turface as the drainage layer. This has worked out well, but during the process I pulled in slugs. I've been squishing at night with a flashlight and that seems to be doing pretty well. We'll see where I end up, but a full tear down may be in order.

Now that the bad news is out of the way, here's an update on the viv. The galacts are getting bolder with age, and I hear calling. There are eight in there, and usually you can see one or two within a few minutes of plopping down in front of the viv. You will usually see 4 or 5 of the 8 at feeding time. Here are some FTS':
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I've been battling fogging issues. I have to tune the exhaust fans a bit, but I am starting to get the front glass under control. The funny part is the rear class is relatively clear :lol:. Here's a shot with the circulation fan above the top vent disabled:
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Now for some shots of the inhabitants. I'm growing impatient with them :lol:. They are still skittish compared to our tincs, but they seem to be warming up to the living room location.
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This is a cell phone shot from a weird angle when I heard some calling and looked in the viv. Found these three crammed in the upper left corner:
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#30
Have to love it when you build a beautiful tank for them and they choose the glass. Tank has grown in nicely Jim.
brad
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#31
:lol: Thanks Brad! Five of them hang out in the middle center portion of the cork bark background. The ledge with the three of them perched together in the photo above (not the glass shot Wink ) It's funny that they have this giant 120 viv and they cram themselves in the same 6"x6"x6" space.
Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#32
This has really turned out stunning, Jim!
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#33
Well late night slug hunting turned up something more:
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One egg deposited in moss just above the ledge pictured above with the three galacts perched on the edge. The first image is lit with a flashlight and best represents the color of the egg. The second and third are backlit. Guess I'll be offering up some deposition sites tomorrow!
Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#34
Grabbed a macro shot today. Looks like the egg is good. You can see the eye developing already.
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#35
Well the first egg molded over in viv. They dropped a clutch of five eggs this week but I am not sure they were good - I pulled the clutch and am monitoring. So some progress! Meanwhile the viv is flowering nicely. I added some generic orchids and I am starting to get new buds! (Exciting for me but old hat for most)
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Here are a few shots of existing flowers:
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And the African violets look like they are starting up:
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And the silver skies never stops:
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And a few flower stalks too...
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Here's the requisite frog shot - they only one I spotted today :lol:
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#36
The group is doing well. They have become more bold as they breed and interact. The first froglet crawled out of water this week and there are a few more on the way. I have not bothered pulling eggs, so all the tads are tank reared, though I have been pulling tads when they get back legs so I don't have to go hunting down froglets in the depths of this tank Smile
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#37
It's coming up on a year and the viv is changing its appearance. I have sorted out my ventilation issues and the glass is now clear all the time. The silver skies is pretty much taking over the viv which is quite striking. It has covered most leaf litter and the frogs are using it as cover as they move around the floor of the viv. The group is consistently breeding and depositing in the front pool. There are about 8 to 12 tads in various stages of development in there now.

Here are a few updated photos:
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Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#38
Wow Jim, really looks nice. How is Old that breeding group now? Are they more bold than before? I found certain frogs get to "know" you after a while, wondering if you noticed that w Galacs.
Scott - North Dallas
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#39
Thanks Scott! I picked up 4 from Patrick 2 years ago (6 to 8 months OOW), and another four from Sean about 6 months later (~3 months OOW). They were kept separately until I started up the 120 about a year ago. So they vary in age from about 2 to 3 years, but they have all been together about 1 year.

They have settled in pretty well, but they are still pretty shy. Most will run for cover if you plop down in front of the viv, but if you sit on the couch they move around a good bit. You can generally see 5 to 7 of them during feeding, and usually you can spot 1 or 2 at any point during the day. The big change happened when they started breeding - at that point they didn't seem to care as much about what was going on outside the viv Smile
Jim from Austin | https://www.oneillscrossing.com/dart-frogs/
fantastica nominant | summersi | reticulata | A barbotini
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#40
Looks great, and one of my favorite frog choices. I wish mine would breed Sad
Everything I've ever wrote is/was just my opinion Tongue
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