Where Do I Start?

My wife and I are planning to start a poison Dart Frog tank in a 55 gallon aquarium, yet we have never had this type of animal before. We are looking for any information on accomplishing this goal as well as how many frogs we can put in the tank and how many different colors we can have or if that even matters. We are dumb to the fact of this hobby but want nothing more to get started by Christmas of 2009. I am using this time simply for researching this hobby and getting as much information built up as I can. thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

I would go max 6-8 frogs in a 55 gal more if your planning on some thumbnails (species that only get up to 26mm about 1"). It's possible to house different species of darts together, though you must make sure that you have do not house species that will interbred. I would also avoid keeping two color forms of the same species in a tank.

I would suggest starting with Phyllobates vittatus, Epipedobates tricolor, Dendrobates tinctorius and Dendrobates ventrimaculatus or imitator. These species live very well in a well planted tank and are easy to come by.

A well planned tank with a misting system and drain for a sump tank is needed, good examples can be found on this site though any tank can be made to work with a few modifications check out E.N.T. Terrarientechnik - Dendrobaten-Terrarien and Ben's Jungle Online-Shop. I hope this will help you get on your way.

I would suggest starting with Phyllobates vittatus, Epipedobates tricolor, Dendrobates tinctorius and Dendrobates ventrimaculatus or imitator. These species live very well in a well planted tank and are easy to come by.

Can I put one of each of these in the same tank?

Originally Posted by mikecoledarts

Can I put one of each of these in the same tank?

You could but I wouldn't. Personally I would start with a small group (3-5 frogs) of 1 or two species and add another species along the way.

Phyllobates vittatus and Dendrobates tinctorius are almost always near the ground so you would only want one of these species in a tank, D. tinctorius is also fairly large for a dart.

Epipedobates tricolor is somewhat aboral.

Dendrobates ventrimaculatus or imitator are both thumbnails and really don't need to be added into the frog count 3-4 can live well in even a 5 gal tank. They also are very rarely on the ground, I don't think I ever saw mine come down from their Broms.

The unwritten rule 5 gal per frog for any speices over 1" so you have alot of room to play but I would keep the number under 15 to give the species a little more distance should they want it.

There are also other species that you could keep together but you really have to watch what ones to avoid interbreeding. You can't keep Dendrobates tinctorius with Dendrobates auratus for example. Though they won't kill each other they will inbreed.

I have a book tip. Poison Frogs From W. Schmidt and F.W. Henkel (Available from www.zoobooksales.com). It's one of the two books on darts I own and I've fond it to be a all in one resource on set up care and breeding.

For a beginner, I would stay away from mixing at all until you have the hang of it. I don't usually direct people to other boards, but check out Vivarium Forum for great how-too on building. Dendrobates tinctorius is a great starter frog.

can we touch these frogs or play with them so to speak at all or what?

They are more like fish, more of a look but don't touch kind of frog. You can touch them, but they are not to play with. If you want a frog you can hold, there are others out there. Darts are not one of them. They are far too sensitive to the oils and chemicals on your hands.

ok that I knew, however if we touch them while in the tank or something like that will they hurt us?

what type of equipment will I need to start the tank do I have to have a waterfall and all that or can it just be a basic set up in an aquairium?

Captive darts don't produce toxins (well their are one or two but they aren't widely available), so they can't harm you at all. Though the heat from our hands is the main problem with small frogs like darts. The tank ca be fairly simple.

I would suggest at least a tank with a glass top, drain, misting system, heatmat placed on the back of the tank, and a fan. Outside of that you could use expanded clay pellets for the floor and potted plants branches and moss to make it look nice.

The top things are temps, humidity, and that it's free draining so bacteria doesn't build up in the water and the tank doesn't flood.

You need a tank with dirt and live moss. They do best on moss with plants for cover. Most people set up some sort of river/waterfall. Do check out the vivarium forum link I posted. It's a great building resource.