A peek at my Brown Mantellas (mantella betsileo)

[Geo]

Here are a few pics of my Brown Mantellas. I wish that the frog community called them Bronze Mantellas due to the luster of the golden / bronze color on their back.

[jz24]

Hi Geo,

What exquisite frogs. I love them. Thanks so much for posting their photos. Best of luck with them.

Judy

[Mentat]

Very nice and healthy looking frogs !

[Geo]

Thanks everyone. I do what I can to make these beautiful creatures stay healthy, safe and content.

[Geo]

[flybyferns]

Geo,
Great photo!
You might consider entering this photo in this month's 'photo of the month contest '!
Thanks for sharing!
Lynn

[Geo]

Thanks Lynn. Are you referring to the last photo of the closeup full on side of one of the males?

[deranged chipmunk]

they look awesome George!! you are doing very well by them and it shows!!

[Geo]

Thanks Bill. I am hoping to seem some breeding from them in the spring. I am not certain if I have enough males though. I have 6 of mantellas and thought that I heard chirping / clicking from two of them but the last week it has only been one who has done it with any regularity and the calling seems to relate to him defending a small cave area that he has claimed for himself. Soooooo I am not certain if I have 1 male and 5 females. If so I need to get my hands on a couple more males but it may be too soon to tell.

[Geo]

The white-neon blue belly markings of the Mantella Betsileo. This is my largest female showing off her belly after a small snack of a few wingless fruit flies.

[Geo]

An example of amplexus within the Mantella Betsileo species.

[s6t6nic6l]

some very nice pics there. tis great when we get pics showing the underside markings. frogs look good.

[Mmfh]

Those are beautiful frogs! The name of brown mantilla does not do them justice.

[Geo]

I have noticed that the neon blue on their stomachs/legs has become a bit more intense/pronounced since I introduced:

- brackish (clean tannin infused (thx Bill!)) water to their habitat. It is water that I cycle in another tank with wood (Malaysian bogwood etc) present in it. The tannins from the wood create a "tea" like affect that they seem to prefer over sterile water.
- used a dusting of reptivite on the fruit flies (melanogaster) that I feed them every 2nd day. Feeding schedule is partially based on how active they are. IE if they aren't hanging out at the "feeding rock" (large flat rock that I lay their food on) then I skip the feeding until the next day.
- periodic feeding of red mites from my compost. They go crazy for these. Don't over feed though because it seems to throw off their eating pattern. Suspecting that they are fattening / enriched in comparison to the fruit flies.
- changed lighting to a T5 light canopy on a 12/12 cycle.

I noticed that the diamond/helix patterns on their backs has become more obvious and the brown body coloration has darkened a bit to a nice bronze (except for one male who has remained light mocha in color). They are very active but the chirping stopped a little over a month ago. I am not certain if this pertains to a change in territorial disputes / mating / seasonal changes.

[deranged chipmunk]

George, when you say brackish, are you meaning black water? Tannin infused water? Because brackish water is in between fresh and salt water. Like mangrove swamps.

[Geo]

Sorry Bill. You are correct. I have gotten used to using that term for anything that is not clear water lol. Yes, tannin infused water. I do the same with the Siamese fighting fish and African dwarf frogs that I have and it seems to benefit them. I believe that there is chemistry / organisms present that benefit them more then "pure" water does. I had a discussion at a local petstore recently with a gentleman who kept frogs. He was very much a "pure" water frog caretaker. When I mentioned tannin infused water he had a bit of a hissy fit and said I would make them ill, bad caretaking, that the literature available is against it and so on. I told him that my critters were very healthy and happy from all my observations and I am fully aware of when they would be in some sort of mental / physical distress. I asked him one simple question - what type of water does he think is in a puddle, stream, lake, etc? He just paused, stared at me and said something along the lines that we know better to which I responded that nature knows better then us and we would benefit to copy her whenever we can in the hobby. sigh.

[Mmfh]

When I used tannins it was my understanding that it made the water slightly acidic.

[deranged chipmunk]

When I used tannins it was my understanding that it made the water slightly acidic.

It does, which is not necessarily a bad thing, since most plants prefer slightly acidic conditions. But tannins do not affect the pH as much as something like worm castings or bat guano would.

[deranged chipmunk]

Sorry Bill. You are correct. I have gotten used to using that term for anything that is not clear water lol. Yes, tannin infused water. I do the same with the Siamese fighting fish and African dwarf frogs that I have and it seems to benefit them. I believe that there is chemistry / organisms present that benefit them more then "pure" water does. I had a discussion at a local petstore recently with a gentleman who kept frogs. He was very much a "pure" water frog caretaker. When I mentioned tannin infused water he had a bit of a hissy fit and said I would make them ill, bad caretaking, that the literature available is against it and so on. I told him that my critters were very healthy and happy from all my observations and I am fully aware of when they would be in some sort of mental / physical distress. I asked him one simple question - what type of water does he think is in a puddle, stream, lake, etc? He just paused, stared at me and said something along the lines that we know better to which I responded that nature knows better then us and we would benefit to copy her whenever we can in the hobby. sigh.

I agree wholeheartedly!! In fact, in the past, I have done black water amazon biotope tanks. Black water takes a bit getting used to, but it is definitely very close to their natural environment. I remember reading about adding black water extract to dart frog tadpole water for a reason I don't recall.

[Geo]

A few updated photos of the M.Betsileo colony. As of late I see 5 of them on a regular basis but a particular one (mocha rather then brown/bronze) has been missing from the feedings. I am not willing to tamper with the habitat just yet as they have "vanished" for long periods before.