Re-do my frog tank?

[Kerry1968]

Hi, in case you are not aware, I have a little Kassina senegalensis. These are terrestrial frogs, they like to burrow a little in the substrate, are nocturnal and don't need high humidity.

I currently have my little one in a 2 and a half foot tank, with compost substrate, a few plants and a water dish.

I don't think he ever goes in the water dish, I change the water regularly, but as it's part buried in the substrate I don't actually take the whole dish out to clean it, therefore there is a little dirt in the bottom (bits of substrate that won't suck up the turkey baster!) so therfore I'm not entirely positive he DOESN'T use the dish.

Anyway, the point of this post, I want to change the tank completely and try to get a more natural looking tank. I have been looking at some other vivariums on the net and wondered if it would be worthwhile trying to make the tank part water, using a false bottom, with gravel underneath, a mesh and substrate on the top. I would put less gravel and no substrate one end to make a pool. Would this work?

Also I was wondering if having aquatic plants in the pool would help the water quality so that I wouldn't have to change the water. I would like to, at some point, have a waterfall effect in the tank too, just for my viewing pleasure, but would I be able to get away with no filtration/pump in the tank for now?

One more thing, would I be able to put some of my Gammarus pulex (shrimps) in the water part to help clear any debris and food for the frog (if he DOES go in the water)?

Sorry for the long post, as you can tell I'm new to all this!

[adawinters]

The design that you describe doesn’t quite sound like a false bottom tank. I was just looking at a site that detailed a nifty false bottom design the other day. (Luckily, I bookmarked it, so I can pass it along to you: http://www.victri.net/tanks/vivarium_2005-06-20.html ). Personally, I’m always afraid of water bodies without filtration. This design used a small, submersible filter, which is always a good option. If you decide that a false bottom is too much work, you can easily use aquarium sealant to section off one portion of the tank. (Someone just posted a thread about this… I’ve forgotten who…)

Frankly, I’m kind of in love with plants, so I always opt for them in my enclosures. They will help water quality somewhat, but I wouldn’t count on them to act in lieu of a filter. (Java fern, Java Moss, and Anubias are the staple, low-light, easy to grow, fall-backs for aquatic tanks/areas.)

I don’t see any reason not to include shrimp (though, personally, I’d go for one of the Neocardia species, but that’s just a personal preference). You could always quarantine them before hand if you’re worried about contagion.

I don’t know much about your frog species (although I looked it up, and they’re beautiful!), so I’ll leave it to someone else to suggest tank décor/mods that are tailored to the species’ needs.



(And thanks, by the way, for reassuring me about my axolotls' sheds on caudata.org. As you can probably guess, I'm a lot more familiar with the whole terrestrial-frog-enclosure-and-maintenance thing than I am with cold water, aquatic axolotls. )

[Kerry1968]

You're welcome! Do you know, until now I never connected you to the JClee in caudata!

I just had a look through the link you provided, thank you. It is similar to the kind of thing I was thinking of doing, I'll provide my link now!
Amphibiancare.com >> Tropical Terrarium Design

About half way down the page it shows some tanks, with gravel on the bottom, followed by mesh, then substrate, this was how I was thinking of doing mine, with a high bank one side to create a drier place for the frog. Further down, near the bottom there are some vivarium ideas, I think these are mostly for dart frogs, but I was hoping to do something similar for my frog. I especially like the 'pool in the middle' look.

I've also found a small filter with only a 1 inch high intake for the water, so I could use this to keep the water moving.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[SludgeMunkey]

Water quality really will depend on water volume. A small amount of water, say 1 liter or less, will tend to evaporate faster than it goes stagnant. I feel that filtration is unnecessary for water features this small.

You could ad some plants to the water, this looks great and will help chemistry a small bit, but given this frog does not spend too much time in the water I would not worry about it too much. Another advantage to plants in the water is they tend to help keep live foods from drowning.

In using a false bottomed tank for this species. I suspect the water would become more of an issue than a help. You may find that setups like these often result in bog-like conditions in small set ups. It easily could become too wet for your frog.

[Kerry1968]

Thanks for your input Johnny. I was hoping you'd reply as you have so much experience with vivariums.

Looks like my plans might be a bit too adventurous for my frog then!

I have part of the tank sectioned off already with a piece of plastic 2 or 3 inches high where I tried a part water part land look before, but I didn't use any aquatic plants, or a pump/filter. I'll maybe have another play around with it and see if I can come up with something pleasing for me and the frog!

[purplefrog1937]

Sounds exciting! I'm setting up my tank for my tree frogs, with a pool.

What I'm doing is I have a very small under water filter that I picked up for $15 at PetSmart that circulates the water, up to 5 gallons, and it's adjustable. I am using river rocks for the bottom and will be using it to build up a land mass for about half the aquarium. I've also ordered live Sphagnum moss for the entire land/water edge. It has an antiseptic quality that makes it perfect for frogs. I found it cheap on eBay, and people will sometimes give discounts to froggers. I even found someone offering a frog assortment package of 3 different types of Sphagnum moss specifically for frog vivariums. Other than that, I'm using philodendrons submerged and above water, and some aquatic plants typically found in the lakes around here, though I got them from a pet store.

I would like to find some ferns that I could plant in there that won't get root rot from the water base, tree frogs need lots of places to hide...

Anyway, good luck! Sounds like fun.

[ViperJr]

Sounds exciting! I'm setting up my tank for my tree frogs, with a pool.

What I'm doing is I have a very small under water filter that I picked up for $15 at PetSmart that circulates the water, up to 5 gallons, and it's adjustable. I am using river rocks for the bottom and will be using it to build up a land mass for about half the aquarium. I've also ordered live Sphagnum moss for the entire land/water edge. It has an antiseptic quality that makes it perfect for frogs. I found it cheap on eBay, and people will sometimes give discounts to froggers. I even found someone offering a frog assortment package of 3 different types of Sphagnum moss specifically for frog vivariums. Other than that, I'm using philodendrons submerged and above water, and some aquatic plants typically found in the lakes around here, though I got them from a pet store.

I would like to find some ferns that I could plant in there that won't get root rot from the water base, tree frogs need lots of places to hide...

Anyway, good luck! Sounds like fun.

You do realize that the last time anyone replied in this thread was August 11th, 2009.

[purplefrog1937]

lol... I hadn't noticed... I'm new to this whole forum thingy.