Frog Room Update!
Good Evening Friends
As some know, I have a small collection of Poison Dart Frogs. These awesome little creatures reside in custom made vivariums where all contents are living. The plants, the substrate, the moss, the algae...EVERYTHING! We have a small room in our home that we keep a few racks of tanks. My son LOVES them, and to be honest, so do I!
I wanted to share two new varieties that we recently acquired. The first, is Dendrobates tinctorius 'Green Sipaliwini'. Commonly called the Dyeing Poison Dart Frog (based on an early belief that natives used brightly colored frogs to dye fabric). She is a stunner!
Next, a pair of Dendrobates leucomelas, or the bumblebee dart frog. The call on the male frog is beautiful:
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And lastly, I'd like to share an update in regard to the Dendrobates auratus "Costa Rica" or green-and-black poison dart frog breeding project.... So far this year we have successfully morphed nearly 30 from egg to tadpole to froglet! Of course we sell/trade some of the frogs, hold some back, and we also donate many tadpoles to my son's school so that the children get a first-hand experience and witness a tadpole morph straight through to a froglet. The little ones get so excited!!
Here's a picture of a group of recently morphed froglets:
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As you could imagine, we stay pretty busy! But, I have to say that we LOVE our hobby.
Thanks for reading.
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Have a great evening!
Tim
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Those are some of the prettiest creatures on earth, in my opinion. They have always fascinated me. Unfortunately, they are a prohibited import and we can not keep them in Australia outside zoos and research programs. I would definitely get some if I could.
Well, start a zoo!
Hahaha.... But really, they are beautiful! That's unfortunate, but understandable.
When I build my account to sufficient levels, I just might start an aquatic research facility so I can get snakeheads, piranha and others on the banned list. Should only take another 20 or 40 years at this rate! ;)
hahahaha!
Cool as fuck
Oh my god!
That is awesome!
I used to have 3 fish tanks but am now down to just one. I have always wanted to get a reptile, possibly a type of lizard or snake. My wife is not a fan.
My son does have 4 pet snails though. He loves them as well!
Maybe one day I will write a post about them...
Thank you!
I have a few posts about the dart frogs, some with some specific details about habitat, and even the “poison.”
I’ve always wanted to get into saltwater fish, but I feel like fish tanks are a lot or work...Maybe I’m wrong?
My son loves snakes, but my wife says no. Haha..these are a really good compromise! I’d love to see a post about pet snails. My son would enjoy that too!
Aquariums are not a lot of work. The biggest issue with marine aquariums in the past was with lighting, but metal halide and LED have been game changers in that regard and lighting is now effective and efficient, allowing the keeping of many corals and anemones which only a decade ago were no go.
Filtration has also progressed from undergravel plates to fully automated systems with a trickle sump, refugiums and other features.
The main thing is to do what needs to be done regularly. Avoiding sudden changes is key to success. It is better for the fish to live in attrocious conditions than to be suddenly taken from these into ideal conditions. Swings in temperature, pH, hardness, salinity and chemical composition can have dire effects on a community in an enclosed environment and any changes must be gradual.
Water changes are a necessary evil, but I enjoy doing them as the process allows a good close look at the tank. Gravel vacuuming through suction is a must to get rid of detritus and nitrates that build up in areas there is limited or restricted water flow. This process requires close attention, thus you get to look closely at areas of the tank which might avoid notice at a casual look. Again, regularity is key. 10 - 20% of water is the most you want to change at any given time. This is THE BIG ISSUE with marine tanks as the water is salt water, the chemicals and minerals that make it so must be added, unless you have a source of fresh, clean, unpolluted sea water. It can be expensive.
The most common mistake people make is to think they will get a small tank to keep things easy. The bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep things in balance and to maintain it as there is a larger volume of water to stabalise things.
That's a ton of great info! Much appreciated.
If we do start a saltwater tank, I'd like to wait until I remodel part of the house. That way, I can build it in.
Sounds like you have a lot of experience with saltwater?
My first tank was a very basic marine tank in the Solomon Islands. We collected all the live rock, inverts and fish from the local beaches and used fresh sea water. It was extremely basic with just a flouro light, an undergravel filter and and air pump, but it worked for 3 years without a hitch.
I have kept and bred a few marines (such as the clownfish, unfortunately, Nemo would have gone into the cull tank, with a couple of very big oscars as garbage disposal, due to his gimpy fin. He would not have passed muster.)
I have kept fish from pretty much every family in fresh water, my favourites being the corydoras, South and Central American cichlids and the Labyrinth fish, which have an accessory organ which allows them to breathe atmospheric oxygen. The labyrinth fish include the Betta group which of course includes the fighting fish.
Wow! I know who to ask when I start!!!
My user name came about when I was servicing hire tanks, and one off remedial servicing. All my clients would just call me Fishman, and it stuck. Most people call me that now. Between aquariums and angling, most of my time is spent with the scaly, slimy buggers. And I love every moment.
Awesome!