Mixed Terrarium

[Deku]

Have to give you props...very well described...and would love to have more input along the way...I had danios in the paladarium setup but they did not do well...they aren't as colorful as these Endlers either.The area which will be the "land" area will have egg carton/substrate' etc. so there will, I hope, be a good area for terrarium live plants...and of course the usual elevated areas for the frogs to cruise...I do plan to let the tank cycle and for the plants to get a start...in the meantime want to set up my ExoTerra for some darts that I hope to get this weekend at the Maryland show...and when my new guys , Red-Eyed Leaf Frog and a Lutino Red-Eyed Leaf Frog get a little larger, I have a home set up for them too. Its a disease...a really serious disease...

Ahhh. Well I will input on fish questions. As for some fish not doing well. First off, theres alot of things to consider why a fish may not be doing well.

In all honesty, not all fish are compatable. But here is a list of what maybe wrong:
-The fishtank may not have the correct PH desired by the fish(angels I think like a high PH).
-The tank may not have appropriate heat, some fish like it cool(65-72), while some like it warm(73-82).
-The tank water may either be too hard or too soft. Hardness and softness is read by GH and KH, which is also measured by how much minerals are in the water. Normally a "hard" water is very hard to change. Not impossible but normally a pain, liquids dont work on this. Pretty much to make water softer you may divide up the water to half RO water(no minerals so itd be soft, but you dont want the water anything below 6.0 NO MATTER WHAT at this rate itd burn the gills.), or you could use stuff like driftwood to produce blackwater. Or so Ived heard. In general, you should call the water company to see what water quality you have first before you try to put fish in. PH is easy to change and will constantly change so that you have to test for every so often(weekly) but GH and KH is pretty much a set thing. Its not going to change unless you purposely change it. Salt also makes the water hard. Mainly hard water from the water company I think it contains stuff like I THINK limestone, I know it defenitely has calcium. Maybe magnesium? I was reading something earlier on this. Also hard water contains I think something called chloramine which you still have to take it away manually since unlike chlorine it wont evaporate and this will ultimately kill your fish/frogs. My friend doesnt use tapwater conditioner for his frogs. But they never look as bright as healthy when he got em(my other friend). Thus you see his pacman frog which was once a brightlush green is now a deep dark brown and it looks like a pickle(literary).
-Food is also important, flakes and pellets are okay but dont contain the exact nutrients the exact species of fish may require. In any case you need a varied diet consisting of proteins and veggies.
-Substrate some fish require stuff like sand(cichlids, catfish. and another type of fish which I forget). While others prefer types of gravel, and others large river rocks.
-Is the water oxygenated and kept cleaned? Some fish require pristine water conditions, while others dont. Most fish need a highly oxygenated tank. Cold waterfish obviously require this more than warmer water fish. Coldwater=higher oxygen is produced. Warm water=oxygen gets depleated.
-Some fish like calm, and quiet tanks without any strong currents. While some THRIVE in very strong currents. You wouldnt put a betta fish in a tank with a strong current, as you wouldnt put something like say a corydora in a low current tank(cories like currents). Some fish require currents. I cant think of some right off my head, but I know some NEED strong currents to live. Iam assumming minnows like strong currents, species of tetras, and that sort of stuff. Columbian sharks like strong currents. Hillstream loach NEED strong currents, since they come from a place that has very strong currents that is very cold. Their body is MADE for currents, its how they get their oxygens. They being from china.
-Plants, and coverage. All fish need some type of coverage but some need it more than others. African cichlids require them to have lots of rockwork, else they fight for any hide out and will ultimately die out of stress. Stuff like tetras prefer to be in planted tank, they're small bodied fish and they generally love to hide in plants. That obviously being said you put some plants in they will be alot happier, more colorful, and overall healthier. Stuff like livebearers thrive in liveplants. Theres also hatchet fish. They like floating plants. Stuff like african butterfly fish also require floating plants. Even some frogs like floating plants. I definetly know you give an african clawed or an african dwarf frog some floating plants and itll be less stressed. Since itll give them that sensation of being undercover.

That being said there is alot of things why I fish could die.
Also you could have gotten a bad batch, it could have been loaded heavily with parasites and the stress of transporting them may have triggered something hidden to pop up. This is why when you buy fish you bring paper bags or even a cooler and store them in there. Putting them in a dark place in the ride home will pretty much lessen the stress. Them seeing someone look at them all the wayhome will ultimmately stress them out and kill them. So yeah. Also some fish maybe more tolerant than others. I know kilifish are delicate, stuff like neons are delicate. Glass fish are also delicate. South american cichlids are delicate. You may wish to go with more hardier stuff. I know barbs are hardy. Theres also cories(one of my favorites). Minnows are hardy although feeder minnows are a whole different story. Iam talking about stuff like white mountan clouds(they like cold water), or stuff like danios which are a type of minnow. I worked in a petstore. In this petstore there has been many dead fish(30a day). Ived rarely seen the danios die. These fish are survivalist. That store uses sump units. So 40fish tanks share 3 large sumps. All of which if one sump gets sick all the fish gets sick from that same sump. Ived seen tons of fish get popeye, bloating, ick, velvet, etc. You name it and only a few cassualties from the danios. Danios are often overlooked. But if you get them frm a good source they should last you atleast half a decade. Give or take.
Good luck in cycling your tank. Word of advice. Measure the gallons of water and use one whole frozen jumbo cocktail shrimp per 20gallons. So 1 shrimp per 20gallons. Leave the shrimp in a small bag with holes. Use a ziplock bag and poke alot of holes in there then stick the shrimp in there and tie a string to the bag and keep it weighted in one area(middle of the tank) and leave it in there for atleast 4weeks. This will give the tank the ammonia it needs. Id recommend on changingthe shrimp every week though(just in case). This will keep the tank healthy and clean. If you cycle it with fish, you may end up introducing parasites and bad bacteria to the tank. Only do a 5% of water change PER week. If it looks cloudy and the tank stinks it means its cycling. dont touch it. Once after the 4weeks are done. Get your water test kit ready and test for the ph, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. I dont know if it was nitrate or nitrite that was bad. But one of them you want at 0. You also want 0 ammonia. Ammonia burns gills. You should do more research on the tank cycling process.