Please i need help, with a setup for mantella

[mantellacrazy]

So basically i am completly in love with mantella, and i am new to keeping frogs, i know mantella are not the easiest but i want to keep them. So i hav been doing alot of research but i am strugling to find the information i want, i want to know everything i will need to keep a mantella, from the food to the tank.

[deranged chipmunk]

http://www.frogforum.net/showthread.php?t=29492


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF ! Joshua and few others have posted information about them in the forum's Dart & Mantellas section. Josh Frogs, one of the vendors, also has some care info on his website.

[mantellacrazy]

Thanks for the help, i hav a few questions, so i would be delighted if you could help
1. Does the encloser hav to have a glass or mess lid.
2.Do the frogs hav to have live plants,?
3. Does the tank have to have a light, if so will led be sufficient?
Thank you

[DigitalPunk]

Hey and welcome to the forum!

1. A glass lid - Due to the high humidity requirements you will need to use glass to trap all that sweet humidity in the tank.

2. Yes Mantella need live plants.

3. yes you will want a light and LED will work fine. With the live plants you will need 6500K lighting and LED lights are capable of that.



Mantella are a great frog, but are not super simple to care for. Before you buy them I HIGHLY recommend you practice culturing fruit flies and have your tank setup at least a month in advance. Having the tank setup so early will allow you to tweak the tank to get your temp and humidity figured out and allow your live plants to get rooted in place.

In your tank you will want to add Springtails and Isopods to the substrate. They will help keep your tank clean and will be eaten by your frogs as a snack. Because your frogs will be eating them you will either want to setup breeding boxes for them so you can "grow your own" or you will need to order a new culture roughly every 30 days.

I would encourage you to get an easier frog to start with and get your fruit fly culturing under control and figured out and learn from your first tank build so you can apply the things you learn on the first tank to the mantella tank. Just my 2 cents.

[mantellacrazy]

Hey and welcome to the forum!

1. A glass lid - Due to the high humidity requirements you will need to use glass to trap all that sweet humidity in the tank.

2. Yes Mantella need live plants.

3. yes you will want a light and LED will work fine. With the live plants you will need 6500K lighting and LED lights are capable of that.



Mantella are a great frog, but are not super simple to care for. Before you buy them I HIGHLY recommend you practice culturing fruit flies and have your tank setup at least a month in advance. Having the tank setup so early will allow you to tweak the tank to get your temp and humidity figured out

and allow your live plants to get rooted in place.

In your tank you will want to add Springtails and sopods to the substrate. They will help keep your tank clean and will be eaten by your frogs as a snack. Because your frogs will be eating them you will either want to setup breeding boxes for them so you can "grow your own" or you will need to order a new culture roughly every 30 days.

I would encourage you to get an easier frog to start with and get your fruit fly culturing under control and figured out and learn from your first tank build so you can apply the things you learn on the first tank to the mantella tank. Just my 2 cents.

I think it was more than two.cents,
I will take your addvise and get a frog that is easier to care for , what frogs do u think i should start with ,i would i
like something that will live in a similar setup.

[DigitalPunk]

There are several Dart frogs that are classified as beginner frogs. We have a couple Azureus and they are very bold and beautiful. If you go to Joshsfrogs.com and go to their Frogs for sale section you will see a listing for beginner frogs. Others on the forum here can point you towards some of their favorite frogs too


Edit: I do love Mantellas and think you will love them too. Sorry if my previous post was in any way harsh. I honestly want you to find great success with your first frog so you can get some of these truly amazing and under appreciated frogs and help increase their presence in the hobby

When you start setting your tank up you should do a build thread on here so we can see your progress and answer any questions you have. You will not find a better more helpful group of people on the internet than you will find right here

[mantellacrazy]

There are several Dart frogs that are classified as beginner frogs. We have a couple Azureus and they are very bold and beautiful. If you go to Joshsfrogs.com and go to their Frogs for sale section you will see a listing for beginner frogs. Others on the forum here can point you towards some of their favorite frogs too


Edit: I do love Mantellas and think you will love them too. Sorry if my previous post was in any way harsh. I honestly want you to find great success with your first frog so you can get some of these truly amazing and under appreciated frogs and help increase their presence in the hobby

When you start setting your tank up you should do a build thread on here so we can see your progress and answer any questions you have. You will not find a better more helpful group of people on the internet than you will find right here

Noo, i did not find it harsh in any way, i found it helpffull, i am a beginer you are an expirenced keeper, so any of ur advice isbvaluable , so i completly understand why i should go for a easier species. I will look on tge website suggested and i will creatw a thread once i get going.
Thanks for the help everyone, the clouds of confusion have cleared in my brain and i can see a clear path i should take.