Will this setup work?

[DJMonty]

Hi, everyone.

I've been drafting up a setup for some FBTs in an old fish tank. Will this work?

The tank is 50 Gallons. I will be (hopefully) having 10-12 FBTs in there.

The tank will have 5-6 inches of water, and this water will cover the entire base of the tank. There will be structures made of pieces of slate siliconed together placed around the tank, with ramps of slate leading up to them. These will vary from 8 inches tall to 12 inches tall. There will be pieces of slate connecting some of the structures together. The water will be circulated by an old filter. The substrate will be sand, and there will be a few small aquatic plants growing in the water.

I have a few questions regarding this setup.

1. Will it work?
2. Is slate a suitable material for the structures? These will be used for the 1/3 land that FBTs require.
3. Is the number of FBTs I have in there okay? Too many? Can more be added?

Thanks.

[Badger]

10 seems like a good number, but make sure you can afford that many crickets per week. That's like...30 a day if they're juveniles. Slate will work as long as there are no sharp edges...sand em down? I would suggest a filter for the water as well. I would use eco-earth over sand also, it's frog safe and just as good..Only downside is it gets in the water, but some leaf litter on top can cut down on that. You could put some small guppy feeder fish in there for the frogs to snack on as well.

[DJMonty]

Thanks for the quick response.

30 crickets a day? I've read they only need feeding two or three times a week. I suppose I'll start stocking up now.

Thanks for the info on Guppies as feeder fish. We've got a tank of them downstairs, and they breed like mad, so no problems there.

One more thing: I've read that the ideal temperature for FBTs is 18-20 degrees C, room temperature. Is this true?

[Badger]

I am not an expert on FBT's, but I suppose it all depends on how cold it gets where you are. You may need heating in the winter. There are lots of care sheets out there, google it up. And 30 crickets a day if they are juveniles, most juvenile frogs of all kinds get fed every day. Once adults then 2-3 times a week is fine.

[DJMonty]

Okay, thanks.

How would I heat the tank for them in the winter?

[Badger]

Aquarium water heater, overhead lighting, under-tank-heating pad, all sorts of options. pick one and I'll be happy to explain lol

[DJMonty]

How does an under tank heating pad work?

[Badger]

It's basically a pad that you stick to the bottom or side of your terrarium/aquarium that heats up. Plugs into the wall. I have never used them, but they are pretty popular. Some people have had problems with them overheating, shorting out etc. though. I personally use lights.

[crazkt]

It's basically a pad that you stick to the bottom or side of your terrarium/aquarium that heats up. Plugs into the wall. I have never used them, but they are pretty popular. Some people have had problems with them overheating, shorting out etc. though. I personally use lights.

I think the heating pads are for use only with a dry (or the dry side of a) tank. I've heard that using a heating pad with an aquatic tank can crack the glass if the difference between the water temp and the pad is too great. Do you know if this is true? Personally, if you want to heat the water, I'd go for an aquatic heater that is used for aquariums, and I'd use lights for the rest of the tank. But unless your house gets really cold in the winter, you might not need any heating. They're good in 68-78 (Fahrenheit) 20-25.5 C (?) temps and are ok with occasional drops to 60F/15.5C.