Various Questions!

[ChaoSile]

I've recently started looking into getting some frogs, but I have a lot of questions that I can't seem to find the answers for anywhere.

I'd like to either get some sort of Tree Frog or some sort of Poison Dart Frog. What are the main differences?

I was reading that you can mix some species of Tree Frog. Is this true? Is it the same for the Poison Dart Frog?

I was also reading on another forum that someone was thinking of doing frogs and then having fish in the water. This didn't seem very logical to me, but is this possible to do?

What are the basic supplies needed for Tree Frogs or Poison Dart Frogs?

What do they eat?

How many *could you have in a 55 gallon tank?

How many *could you have in a 20 L tank?

I was reading that their poop is so small that the plants can decompose it. Does this mean you generally don't have to clean the tank?

Is there a risk to getting mold or those gnats (I have plants in my room that attracted the gnats, but I've cut the population way down)?

Will having the tank in my room make my room humid, especially if I use a 55 gallon tank?

[elly]

Depending on the tree frog species, some of them tolerate a greater range of humidity or temperature than poison dart frogs do. You'd have to check the individual species though. I am not expert on dart frogs but I think they require high humidity and fans to keep the air from getting stale. Dart people, is that true?

You'd probably be better off not mixing species. Different tree frogs have different toxicity levels in their skin and you don't want to risk them making each other sick over the long term. You can, however mix morphs of the same species, if a species comes in different colors or something.

Tree frogs require tanks with space for climbing, especially those that like to stay in the canopy like red-eyed tree frogs. 24'' is a good height for a live plant tank, but more height would be even better if possible. Depending on the size of the frog, they'd eat anything from fruitflies to full-size crickets. Dart frogs eat fruitflies. Luckily you can get the flightless kind to feed them. It's good to dust feeder insects with vitamin powder to help prevent calcium deficiency.

If you have a properly set up live plant tank, you can get away with never cleaning it. (Well, if you have big tree frogs you'll need to pick up poop. Also you'll need to clean the glass but that's it.) You need a drainage layer in the bottom, weed-blocking fabric to separate the dirt from the drainage layer, ABG soil which contains charcol and barks that don't break down easily, and live plants.

Disadvantages are you might have to get the ABG soil by mail. Also the drainage layer and soil take away a few inches from the overall height of the enclosure.

Gnats don't hurt frogs, though if you're worried about mold, you might want to get a springtail culture, which is little bugs that eat mold.

I don't know if a tank would make your room more humid, but it probably wouldn't do that to a significant extent. Have you thought about how you intend to control the temperature and humidity?

Edit: Also take a look at mantellas.
Here's an article on dart frogs.