New vivarium - Crowdsourcing on Frog Forum

[clownonfire]

Eric asked me to look and contribute so here goes.

Species choice, I have never been crazy about Azureus (yes, I'm that one person). I would choose a tinctorius, probably Powder Blue. Auratus are a nice but if you do choose one, go for one of the "fluorescent" kinds like the Panamanian kind that Josh's Frogs sells - I know you're in Canada so you can't get them from him, but at least you can see what I mean from his web site.

Silicone: I'm actually a chemist. From everything I've read, I believe Bioseal is a bad thing to have around frogs. However, I think we can get away with it well in a thumbnail vivarium because the nasties end up in the drainage layer, which most people will siphon off every now and then. There is no recycling of any chemical residue into the tank, and tadpoles are not raised in it. This is more of a concern in the case of larger frogs that might deposit eggs in a built-in pond which uses the drainage layer water. I have no evidence to give you on whether or not bioseal is harmful, but I have only ever used it in the thumbnail situation and I've not noticed any issues with the frogs.

Plants: I'm really not an expert on plants, but I do have preferences for certain situations. Do you have specific niches left to fill?

John, thanks for taking time to participate and giving us your feedback. For the silicone, we won’t be using a lot, but I will follow your lead on your terrariums “how to build” threads you have and will use the GE II Silicone.

As for plants, we are still in the process of selection, nothing is set in stone yet. I know broms are always a clear choice for darts. And we do have orchids home, which we would like to use. But we have lots of space to fill. So please, I would be curious to see which plants you would prefer… It’s a collective effort, after all!

I’m pretty certain we will go with the Azureus. We could still be swayed towards the Powder Blue… We will be getting them from Understory Enterprises this Summer during Mark Pepper’s trip to Montreal. We still have a month or two to make a clear choice.