Setting up tank for PDF's

[bshmerlie]

I'm going to be moving my firebellies out of their medium Exo Terra to make room for some darts. Now I have some questions:
1. Do I need to tear down my GS background because my firebellies have been living in there for the last six months and the waterfall runs down the center? Or is there a way to clean it.
2. I don't want to start off with the typical beginners (tincture,luecs,auratus) and want to go with something like the Ranitomeya Benedicta, Lamasi, Variabilis, Ventrimaculatus, or like John's imatator Veradero or Tarapata. How hard are they really when it comes to keeping them successfully? I like these color patterns and price doesn't really make that much of a difference to me.
I want a frog that is bold, awake a lot, and not microscopic. I would like to get four of them but two would be fine if there is territorial issues.

Most importantly I would like to start off with a sexed pair of adults..not babies at this time. I would like to get them in March when winter is ending. Does anyone sell adult pairs like this?

[John]

1. Do I need to tear down my GS background because my firebellies have been living in there for the last six months and the waterfall runs down the center? Or is there a way to clean it.

Fire-bellied toads are invariably wild caught and will have parasites of one kind or another. I would tear out the entire contents of the tank and dispose of it, and then use a 5% bleach solution on the tank itself before starting over again. I don't see a way you can clean a GS background.

I want a frog that is bold, awake a lot, and not microscopic. I would like to get four of them but two would be fine if there is territorial issues.

The thumbnails you mentioned _are_ tiny. They are also not bold. There really is no such thing as a bold thumbnail, just one that is less shy than the others, and frustratingly, this can vary from individual to individual. Out of the ones you named, the Tarapoto have been the most bold in my experience. I certainly wouldn't keep benedicta or lamasi as my first thumb.

Thumbs are not that hard but there is a learning curve to darts in general - once you get a feel for it, darts are among the easiest frogs to keep, if not the easiest of all.

Most importantly I would like to start off with a sexed pair of adults..not babies at this time. I would like to get them in March when winter is ending. Does anyone sell adult pairs like this?

I can sell you a sexed pair of Tarapotos, and slightly less reliably sexed pair of Varaderos. However, I think you should start with a tinctorius of one form or another - they are far more bold, they tame well and will beg for food from you, and adults are almost constantly out and about doing something right in full view. You can get sexed pairs (I just bought a sexed pair of Matecho) but they are usually pricey (at least $225, more if proven). I would suggest going through the tinctorius morph guide and seeing if anything grabs your eye. The photos there are not the best but you can plug the morph names into a google search.

[bshmerlie]

I can sell you a sexed pair of Tarapotos, and slightly less reliably sexed pair of Varaderos. However, I think you should start with a tinctorius of one form or another - they are far more bold, they tame well and will beg for food from you, and adults are almost constantly out and about doing something right in full view. You can get sexed pairs (I just bought a sexed pair of Matecho) but they are usually pricey (at least $225, more if proven). I would suggest going through the tinctorius morph guide and seeing if anything grabs your eye. The photos there are not the best but you can plug the morph names into a google search.

Thanks for the reply John. I looked at the tinc morph chart that you posted but I still like the intricate detail of the Tarapotos or the Veraderos. When you say they're not bold do you mean they're so shy they'll hide all the time or run when you approach the tank? I don't need them to be as eager as a firebelly but they are going to be my only frog tank at my office at work and I would occasionally like to see them. The thing is I don't have the opportunity to have an unlimited number of frog tanks in my marriage so if I'm going to have darts this is it. I'm confidant that I can provide a stable environment for them and the whole friut fly thing looks pretty easy. After raising half inch baby red eyes I'm not so afraid of small frogs anymore. The first thing I'm going to have to figure out is how to fruit fly proof an Exo Terra. With the slits between and around doors, the ventilation vent below the doors, and the screen on top...what are you guys doing to keep them in? John do you still have any of the Tarapotos that you had listed a little while back? Oh ...and also a matched set?