Community Tank - Monitoring feeding?

[99]

While I appreciate your concern, that wasn't my question. Community habitats are harder to manage, but not impossible - ensuring frogs are similar sizes prevents them from eating each other. As I said, my tank is very large - which makes a temperature gradient possible, I've managed to ensure that habitat needs are met. Plenty people manage to sustain healthy and happy community tanks.

My question was: How best can I ensure that each individual is getting enough food in a community tank?

I'd be grateful if we could stay on topic.

[Larry Wardog]

While I appreciate your concern, that wasn't my question. Community habitats are harder to manage, but not impossible - ensuring frogs are similar sizes prevents them from eating each other. As I said, my tank is very large - which makes a temperature gradient possible, I've managed to ensure that habitat needs are met. Plenty people manage to sustain healthy and happy community tanks.

My question was: How best can I ensure that each individual is getting enough food in a community tank?

I'd be grateful if we could stay on topic.

I understand you have a good size tank but that does not ensure the safety of the red eye tree frog. They are not the same size the whites tree frog is the third largest species in the world. They take a long time to get that size but if you are planning on the whites dying before it gets full size or the red eye then it should be okay. People have tried this before and it eventually led to problems for one species. The White lipped tree frog I believe is the only other tree frog that can live with the whites because they aren't bigger and from Australia.

I would like to stay on topic but I do not want to get away from the fact that this is something that will become problematic at some point and I want to warn you before you move further.

I have mixed species setups and I understand how to make big enclosure mixed species setups but it takes a lot of research and planning and owning the species alone first before trying it. I'm not against mixed setups but for one these frogs are from different parts of the world and the whites tree frogs has been known to eat other species.

There have been new people recently coming to the forum and asking for help on their mixed species setups and nobody really has been responding to these types of posts because they know it's a bad idea and are trying to help and the person asking the question doesn't say what led them to mix the specific species or they don't ask people if the frogs can live together on a frog forum full of people who have experience with frogs and helping people.

It just gets frustrating when someone tries to give advice and a new person comes along and doesn't explain anything and just knows they are right.

I hope you take some time and read some posts on here about red eye setups and whites tree frog setups and think about the risks of mixing the whites with a smaller species.

Good luck

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[99]

I understand your concern, but you're answering a question that I haven't asked. I've sought my advice on mixed set ups, and have planned accordingly.

My question is independent of the fact that species are mixed - I need advice on ensuring that each individual in a community enclosure is eating enough. If my Whites grow to be too large, that's a problem I'll solve in the future - it is not my current problem, nor is it relevant to my current problem.

[DanDrobates]

Not to jump on the bandwagon but I have to agree with wardogs response. I also don’t advise mixing species or even differently sized individuals of the same species in the same enclosure since that situation creates the very issue you are looking to resolve.

However, I will answe the question you asked in two parts.
1. The least invasive method is to feed at night in the enclosure when the red eye is active. I would place feeders in a 16 oz deli cup or similar container and watch to see if it feeds. This may take multiple tries and lead to some late nights.
2. You could also transfer the red eye to another enclosure just for feeding purposes preferably at night and monitor it. This is a method I’d least t recommend since it will likely stress the frog and may inhibit it’s natural feeding response.

Again the preferred method is to keep both species seperate and you’ll never have this problem, but if you are going to keep them communally you could try the above methods.

[99]

Thank you - as I said, I'm willing to adapt to problems as they arise.

I've just been popping the crickets in to roam freely in the tank to force at least a bit of exercise for my Whites - concerned they'll get fat too easily. 😂 Do you think I should stop that altogether and just stick with the container for them?

[DanDrobates]

I’d cup feed as I described. If the enclosure is large enough place one cup at either end and divide the feeders in half.