A few random questions from a newb

[junebug]

Hi all! I'm in the process of setting up my viv (again after a drainage layer failure). I had a few questions. I'm going to have to reorder my springtail and iso cultures - springs didn't make it here alive and the Isos didn't do very well, only two survivors and I couldn't find them when I went to add them back to the tank from their temp storage container. I don't think they could get out, but I have no idea what happened to them. Anyway, that's the basics of a cleanup crew, yes?

I don't have my toads yet. The tank inhabitants will be bumble bee toads. I want to make sure I have a good cleanup crew well established in the tank before I put the toads in it, but what's up with my springs dying in transit? Is that common? I order live animals and feeder insects in the mail all the time and rarely have issues like that. Anyway I want to add them to the tank pre-toad, but what do I do to keep them alive until the toads go in and start pooping to feed them?

Another question - given it's a viv, there is a small bathing pool in about 1/4 of the ten gallon aquarium. I want to put some bladder snails into the water to keep it clean and eat anything the toads may knock into the pool. I'm putting a small anubias plant in the water to assist with water quality as well, and I know that's okay, but what about the snails? Will they be a problem for my toads?

Regarding soil in the viv - I used a potting mix. I use the same mix in my fish tanks, so I know it's safe, but the soil is acidic and prone to anaerobic spots when it becomes compressed. Would adding some small slugs, snails, worms, etc. be a poor idea? Aeration in the soil seems good, but I worry if I was to add worms that one might die and cause an ammonia spike in the soil. How sensitive are toads to ammonia in the soil? Will it hurt them if this happens? What effect does it have on them?

Okay and onto the fun part, here is my viv after I redid it. Plants are assorted tillandsias, multiple kyoto grass, two Spathiphyllum wallisii (umbrella plant from petsmart) and sphagnum moss. The anubias petite nana should be arriving today, and I'll just set it in the bathing pool. I also have one of those random "fern" plants sold at terrarium stores. It did okay in the humidity before so I'm assuming it'll be fine.

Is there anything I need to add, subtract, divide, etc? Does this look like a good habitat for bumble bee toads now that I've fixed the soil level issues and the water level no longer touches any of the soil on any level of the tank?

[Strider18]

Hello, lets see how well I can answer your questions
1. Not sure, they should survive if they got ordered overnight.
2. What I do with my isopods is I put some fish flakes in there but you could use leaf litter as well.
3. I doubt that the snails would do anything to the toads since toads are more dry land animals and aren't like some frogs which just dive into the water.
4. I would personally use ABG soil mix since it is the most common and stays stable most of the time, I have tried to add worms and slugs but they don't do anything except end up dying.
5. The ammonia levels in the soil should be kept down so again, I wouldn't reccomend putting things such as worms to the soil.
6. Overall the tank looks good and you should have some happy toads
Hope this helps!

[lnikkiy]

Snails and slugs will damage your live plants. They eat leaves, so while they might not harm the frogs, they will definitely harm your plants!

[deranged chipmunk]

Snails and slugs will damage your live plants. They eat leaves, so while they might not harm the frogs, they will definitely harm your plants!

No, they won't actually. Bladder snails are aquatic and very few aquatic snails eat plants. Bladder snails are not one of those species. Apple snails, mystery snails (sometimes) and a couple other will.

Terrestrials, on the other hand, are different. Quite a few will eat live vegetation, but those are the truly monstrous species. The small ones we get in vivariums are more of a threat to frog eggs than anything else.


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

[lnikkiy]

Yes, I was referring to terrestrial snails, not aquatic ones. Obviously the type of snail would make a difference, but many can be quite disastrous. Just something to keep in mind if you are considering snails

[junebug]

Are there any very small land snails that won't eat my plants? Obviously that would be a bad thing lol. If not, no biggie, I have isos as a cleanup crew, just thought a single small snail would look nice.

Does anyone know if it's safe for me to use vinegar on the tank? I really want to try to get rid of this hard water deposit on the front but don't want to poison my toads.

Also, is there anything I should add to the tank other than springtails and isos for a cleanup crew? Perhaps there is a small beetle I should consider, or something? Honestly I don't like beetles, or most bugs, but rolly polies are okay.

I am also wondering if I should consider adding a carnivorous plant to assist with overfeeding, which I'm likely to do as the toadlets will be young and I have yet to find a guideline on how much to feed them. I'm planning on a staple of drosophila with regular phoenix worms for calcium. And if I can find them, termites that don't eat wood might be added as well, or non-biting ants. (if anyone knows where I can purchase these, let me know, I'd be really grateful.)

[LilyPad]

I do not know about the snails.

Vinegar is great for cleaning off the hard water and when rinsed, will not harm your toads at all. Sometimes a razor blade is necessary to assist with cleaning off hard water deposits.

I have great luck with only spring tails and isos as a clean up crew. Have never felt the need for anything else.

I would not add a carnivorous plant, your toads would likely stress them to death and I believe (tho correct me if I'm wrong, plant experts) that they need quite a bit of circulation.

I have heard of people having issues with pheonix worms because the frogs cannot digest them properly. The fruit flies maybe with a few occasional bean beetles mixed in and calcium and vitamin powders should be sufficient.

[junebug]

I have heard of people having issues with pheonix worms because the frogs cannot digest them properly. The fruit flies maybe with a few occasional bean beetles mixed in and calcium and vitamin powders should be sufficient.

That's odd, I had heard they were a good natural source of calcium for amphibians. :/ I will have to look into that more before I feed them lol. What is a bean beetle?

[Strider18]

Almost all land snails will be eating your plants, not much you can do about that.

You can use vinegar to remove hard water deposits but you may want to tear apart the whole tank so that you can make sure that you get all of the vinegar out.

I would just stick with isopods and springtails.

Most carnivorous plants that I know of wouldn't even survive in that kind of enviroment, you may want to ask Bill(Deranged Chipmunk) as he is the real plant expert

I hope this helps!

Lol looks like I need to type faster, everyone is stealing all of my answers :P