Kind of an old topic, but have a query, folks. On a slight variation, can a species of dart frog be mixed in a large vivarium with a tree frog species? This is making the assumption that all stock is from a reliable source, disease free, have similar ambient requirements for humidity, temperature, etc. and will have minimal conflict in daily activities.

FWIW, from a purist fish guy, the potential of hybridization as well as crossbreeding of morphs within a species truly needs to be minimized, especially when dealing with species, subspecies and morphs that may be threatened in the wild. The introduction of DNA from an outside source, whether another species or a color morph of the same species, will alter the genotype, reducing the usefulness of and/or rendering the bloodline useless in later breeding programs. In addition to not having a pure genotype, the resulting offspring may carry recessive traits which may not appear immediately, but may manifest as undesirable or deleterious phenotypic traits in later generations. I've had a similar discussion with many fellow cichlid enthusiasts who see no harm in hybridizing fish that they plan on keeping, and admittedly many hybrids are attractive in their own right. However, if these hybrids are irresponsibly or accidently passed into general circulation, well...entire bloodlines of a species could become lost. Interspecies injection of DNA into a bloodline should only be practiced in the extreme circumstance of a genetic bottleneck in a species, and then should be practiced with caution.

My hands-on experience is mainly with ungulates and carnivora at a higher level and is a bit out-dated, and with fish as a hobbyist. Not too familiar with Anuran genetics, but I feel safe sayin' that I'm sure plenty of frog and toad hybrids are fertile in the F1 generation.

Not tryin' to irritate anyone, I know an opinionated, know-it-all newb can be a bit irritating. Have had a few at my home site, FWM. Just wanted to throw some food for thought out there for somethin' I feel strongly 'bout.

WYite