Potting plants question :P

[roynard]

Hello all
I am quite new to this forum and have kept FBTs in the past but now I only keep an axolotl and two
fire belly newts and then some tetras with shrimp and a dwarf goarami. All pretty heavily planted.
I recently got a White's tree frog and have fallen in love with him. He' just so happy looking :P
1. Anyyyway, I recently bought a second hand 20 gallon tall for him for $10
and I am basically wanting to know how everyone prefers to pot their plants. I readily have
pothos but I am definitely wanting some other plants. I live in florida so there is actually a lot
of ferns growing outside. Is it safe to just use some of these if I wash them off well? Just wondering.

I didn't know if you simply plant them in the coco fiber or if you need to use a small 2-5 inch pot
and just keep them in that and hide the pot.

Totally a newbie and would appreciate everyone's advice/tips on planting. I looked through some
old threads but didn't really find the answer I was looking for.

2. Also, what is the preferred lighting for White's? I know they don't need any special lighting so it's
mostly for my plants. So is there any cheap way of providing light, like a clamp lamp with a CFL daylight
bulb in it?

As you can tell my terrarium (if you'd even call it that yet lol) is looking quite lame and bare at the moment.
So I want to plant it heavily and make my frog feel safe and have stuff to climb on. Also will be adding leaves
on the floor, my boss has a magnolia tree in his yard I was just gonna go steal some leaves off the ground :P

3. Also is it necessary to add a layer of rock or clay balls underneath the coco fiber?
Thanks!

[wesleybrouwer]

Hello all
I am quite new to this forum and have kept FBTs in the past but now I only keep an axolotl and two
fire belly newts and then some tetras with shrimp and a dwarf goarami. All pretty heavily planted.
I recently got a White's tree frog and have fallen in love with him. He' just so happy looking :P
1. Anyyyway, I recently bought a second hand 20 gallon tall for him for $10
and I am basically wanting to know how everyone prefers to pot their plants. I readily have
pothos but I am definitely wanting some other plants. I live in florida so there is actually a lot
of ferns growing outside. Is it safe to just use some of these if I wash them off well? Just wondering.

It is always a risk putting in plants from outdoors.
Not only chemicals can be on it, but chytrid for an example as well. This can't be seen and isn't something you wash off just by putting some water on it.
I would say that ferns might give a nice look, but the sturdy plants like Monstera or Photos are more important since they provide climbing possibilities.

I didn't know if you simply plant them in the coco fiber or if you need to use a small 2-5 inch pot
and just keep them in that and hide the pot.

I always put the plants into the substrate after washing them and rinsing the dirt off as thorough as possible, just to be sure
It's just because i don't like the look of some pots in my viv, it isn't that natural looking after all.

Totally a newbie and would appreciate everyone's advice/tips on planting. I looked through some
old threads but didn't really find the answer I was looking for.

2. Also, what is the preferred lighting for White's? I know they don't need any special lighting so it's
mostly for my plants. So is there any cheap way of providing light, like a clamp lamp with a CFL daylight
bulb in it?

For lighting it's easy to use fluorecents, not that pricy as well.
If it is sufficient enough you may also think about using spiral CFL's.
Not really sure about the size of the tank since we never talk about it in gallons (Litres) but in size like lengthXwidthXhight.
Personally i do provide my frogs with UV, i use the Arcadia D3 compact for this purpose, they seem to enjoy taking a sunbath now and then.

As you can tell my terrarium (if you'd even call it that yet lol) is looking quite lame and bare at the moment.
So I want to plant it heavily and make my frog feel safe and have stuff to climb on. Also will be adding leaves
on the floor, my boss has a magnolia tree in his yard I was just gonna go steal some leaves off the ground :P

This is just a matter of patients. Once you put in 1 or 2 creeping plants like the Philodendron or Monstera, it will soon fill up the entire terrarium.
Creating climbing and resting spots for you're frogs.
A common mistake is to put in as many plants as possible, filling up the terrarium instantly.
This will make the eventual result, in my opinion, not as great as using just little different plants that eventually take over the terrarium.

3. Also is it necessary to add a layer of rock or clay balls underneath the coco fiber?
Thanks!

Some of my tanks have the clay balls underneath, others don't.
I also use the filtration sponge instead of clay balls underneath the soil.
Works even better for me.
This is just a matter of what you think works best for you.
Problems not using anything under your substrate is that it will easilly get soggy.
But so is the substrate when water is not evaporating quick enough between your clay balls, or whatever it is you are going to use.
Stagnant water is also likely to get putrid, wich will give it a bad smell.
This you can prevent by keeping it moving by either an air stone or filtration, a drain is also commonly used around here, causing the water to overflow when it rises above a certain point wich also keeps it moving.

[DonLisk]

Hi,
First off, welcome to the forum.

Your tank definitely needs some help since your frog needs to be able to climb, hide, and perch off the substrate to feel comfortable with his new home. I would suggest you have a drainage layer, especially with live plants.
The water will only collect on the bottom and soak and rot the substrate where as with a drainage layer, the water collects in the stone or hydroballs and evaporates or just collects for later drainage.

Bromeliads, Snake Plant, and Pothos are the main plants to look at since your frog is going to grow and with over time destroy more delicate plants. I would only use the fern up higher as a place to maybe get behind since it won't be sturdy enough to support the abuse your frog is going to place upon it.

As for lighting, a 6500K color temp 20 - 24 watt compact florescent bulb by Reveal is great for the plants and is available at Walmart for under 5 bucks.

Here is a link to making a false bottom with some eggcrate, but you can just use a layer of stone or hydroballs in place of the eggcrate false bottom. I provided this so you can see an easy planted setup for your Whites Tree Frog.
http://www.frogforum.net/vivarium-te...se-bottom.html



Here is a list of suggestions for the newly acquired frog:
1. Place the tank in a quiet room and not in direct sunlight
2. Cover three sides of the tank and remove any night lighting.
3. Ensure their environmental needs are met such as temperature and humidity. 68 nights and 75 - 80 daytime temps and 50 - 60 percent humidity for your Whites.
3. Ensure water is either chlorine free (bottled spring) or treated tap water.
4. Limit the times you enter the tank to only when changing water and adding or removing crickets.
5. Monitor humidity and temperature and mist once to twice daily.
6. Provide enough natural accents to allow for hiding, climbing, and perching above the substrate. Since your frog lives in trees, they are rarely found on the substrate and prefer to move from leaf to vine to branch to explore the tank.
7. Slowly remove covered sides over a few weeks to let them become accustomed to their surroundings.
8. Ensure the crickets provided are no longer than the width between the frogs eyes.
9. Monitor the frogs activity and weight. If your frog moves around at night in the dark and soaks or sits at the water dish edge, then he/she is doing fine.

[roynard]

thanks a lot guys for the pointers and suggestions. I mostly was just not sure if you planted directly in the coco fiber or if you had to leave them in pots. Don - you also gave me a few ideas I didn't think about at first.
And I don't know if I can do the egg crate thing just yet but it does look rather simple. I do have an extra pump laying around that I could use to pump the water out when it gets too full. I suppose I should do that before I do anything else otherwise I'll just have to tear it all down later. I have some 2-3 inch diameter bamboo that is dried and I was going to probably cut these down to size and have them where he can climb on them. Time to start designing the terrarium on paper! This was always so much fun with my old FBTs.