90 gal question

[Douglas65]

What I am toying with is this... I have a 90 gallon tank that has been empty for some time.. Seeing the tanks on here has made up my mind what I want to do with it.. It's dimensions are 48"x18"x 24". (LxDxH) What I was thinking was a mixed tank, but I was thinking along the lines of darts and red eyed tree frogs... I have done a LOT of research.. There are several species of darts that are native to Costa Rica... There are also RETF's in Costa Rica... My thought was to turn the tank into a Costa Rican rainforest tank with those frogs... Do you think that would be ok ? I understand what others say, BUT, if they are native to the same area then that should eliminate at least 1 of their 3 main arguements against mixing... I plan to culture FFs and crickets, so feeding different size foods shouldn't be an issue either... I'm just looking for your thoughts...I have been told that there is a vast amount of knowledge on this site and that it isn't nearly as judgemental as other forums. I can't wait for your responses... Just curious as to your input and opinion..

Thanks so much,

Douglas

[bshmerlie]

Even though these frogs come from the same country they still would never meet in their natural habitat. The tree frogs are high up in the trees with a lot of ventilation and humidity between 50-70%. The dart frogs are on the ground in the puddles and leaf litter and their humidity is around 90-100%. I don't think it would be possible to have a screen top on your tank for the tree frogs and then only 24 inches away have it be 100% humidity for the darts. Maybe if the tank was turned vertically where you had a fan system at the top where the tree frogs will sleep and then had a humidifier pumping in at the bottom to raise the humidity for terrestrial darts. Crickets would have to be confined to a cricket bowl or they will harass the darts while they sleep. You would have to have a removable bowl for the Red Eyes water dish and remove it before the darts wake up in the morning. Then wipe up any tree frog poo you see before the darts walk through it. Do the same with any dart frog poo before the tree frogs wake up. Although they are still poisoning each other but you could make it a slower death with diligent husbandry.

[Douglas65]

Fair enough.. Thank you for your answer.. That makes perfect sense... Let me ask this... Is there any other species of land dwelling frog or toad that would work well in an enclosure with Red Eyes ? OR, is there any other tree frog that would work well with darts ?

Thanks so much,

Douglas

[Iratus ranunculus]

Fair enough.. Thank you for your answer.. That makes perfect sense... Let me ask this... Is there any other species of land dwelling frog or toad that would work well in an enclosure with Red Eyes ? OR, is there any other tree frog that would work well with darts ?

Thanks so much,

Douglas

I see a 90 gallon tank and think "Oh my god, my bullfrogs would love this!"

I dont understand the obsession with dark frogs and s. american treefrogs.

Glass Frogs might work though

[UncleChester]

I dunno about red eyes and darts, but native to the same area does not necessarily mean cohabitation is possible. An example I've read about in multiple books is the Pickerel frog, Rana palustris. In closed quarters like a vivarium they will kill off other species (via toxic skin secretions) that you can see them sharing the same large pond with outdoors. Think of it like being stuck in an elevator with me after I've had a large helping of garlic toast and baked beans. You'd rather be in a great big windy field with me than in the elevator, you might not pass out then. Same effect, the toxins will build up much more rapidly in confined quarters and you just can't get that far away from the source.