First frog tank ever. Probably need help

[Colorblizzle]

Ok sounds good :-)

On another note my FBT hasn't eaten since I got him saturday. Any ideas? Offered 5 crickets are none. Then today went into cricket tank and all but 2 crickets were dead. I feed them so 1) how do I keep crickets alive? And 2) y won't frog eat??

[deranged chipmunk]

I don't keep crickets anymore, I just buy as needed, drop em in the tank and let the killers loose lol

Your frog may just be acclimating to it's new environment. Offer it food every couple days if you can. When it feels more comfortable, it will eat. Some eat right off the bat, some don't.

[Colorblizzle]

But instinctually it will eat before it dies right? I'm trying to feed 2x a week or so but don't have the free time for trips to the LFS often so right now keeping them is my only option. But how do I keep them alive? And can I feed him larger crickets? I'm offering small right now

[deranged chipmunk]

Yes, survival instinct SHOULD kick in, but not always. It sometimes takes a couple weeks. As far as the crickets, give them hiding spaces, moisture and food.

[Colorblizzle]

Ah, moisture. I have me in a tank with oatmeal bedding a little fish for food and toilet paper rolls for hiding. That's it. Should I put a small dish of water in their or maybe must the tank? I'd be worried about too much moisture in the oats tho if I misted...

[deranged chipmunk]

Nope, you can use water crystals, or, what I used in the past, a hermit crab sponge in a small dish

[deranged chipmunk]

They don't need humidity, but water to drink.

[mapdoggis]

This has been a fun and informative tread to read!

For crickets, I use cotton balls in a milk cap to hold water.

For my plants, I use plastic containers to make islands of plants and position rocks so the frogs can climb onto them.

For not eating, I asked Petsmart what they were feeding the frogs before I bought them. They said waxworms. (Where's the eyeroll smiley?) So I bought some and weaned the frogs off the waxworms and on to eating whatever is dangling from the chopsticks I use to feed them. They just started to associate chopsticks with food. By the time they realize I'm not feeding them waxworms, it's too late - they already swallowed the cricket. HA-HA!

[Colorblizzle]

Good to know u guys. I will add a small fish of water, I'm feeding me flukers orange cubes. I had hoped that would have enough moisture in it. I'm told I should start offering them shredded carrots tho. And what are water crystals? And again what size crickets should be fed? My fiancé hates bugs. I got her ok with crickets I'm not gonna get her to let me start keeping worms lol

[deranged chipmunk]

Don't worry about the water crystals, the cubes are good. The size of the crickets depend on the size of the frog. It should be no larger than the space between their eyes.

[Colorblizzle]

Small size then. My frog is about 2" when he's just siting there. Over 3" tho when he's stretched out

[Colorblizzle]

Been reading a lot tonite. Quite a few questions for the masses. I'll start from the bottom up.

Drainage, is it better to use a false bottom instead of hydro balls or is that a matter of preference? I understand I want a false bottom where I keep the heater and filter but could the rest of the tank be hydro balls?

When you foam is it ok to be fully submerged? Saw in a tank where the foam went to the bottom f the tank in the aquatic section. Liked the look.

How do you keep the substrate from falling in the water? I understand the inhabitant is going to drop some in from time to time but where the soil meets the water, how do I stop the whole edge from just constantly dropping in??

What is the big differences between vivariums, terrariums, and paludariums?

Lastly, what is the best soil to use that's looks completely natural (I like black soil) is healthy for the inhabitants, and super healthy for the plants. Is there one that's best? Secret recipes or special ingredients etc. I have a local landscaping company that carries soil and cheaply but idk how good it is

I can never keep plants alive in a terrestrial sense. So in willing to spend a little more in quality "ingredients"

[DigitalPunk]

The False Bottom - You can do it either way. The main benefit for doing the egg crate false bottom is that you can ensure the water in the false bottom does not touch the substrate layer and swamp it out. You can put some Hydro balls in the false bottom. It helps to filter the water and will help with humidity some.

Foam in water - You can and it won't hurt, but over time it could degrade the foam and cause it to come free from the wall. If you do have some under the water I would do whatever you can to waterproof it. Looks at build journals with foam under the water line and see what they did to keep it. OR you could use the GS Pond and waterfall foam it is designed for water use.

Keep substrate from falling into water - In my sons tank I used rocks to create a wall between the land and the water section. You could use Moss, Some egg crate, or really anything to create a berm between the land and water.

Diff between the types - I am not expert but from what I have learned. Terrarium = Live plants. Vivarium = live plants but adapted for keeping live animals. Paludarium - Same as other 2 but with a water feature.

Soil - I don't know that there is a best. I have seen everything from ABG mix to dirt used. As long as it is animal safe if will be fine. A good rule of thumb is to think about the natural environment the frog you are keeping and what is in it. If it exists in nature it will work in your tank. ABG mix is great for plants and will allow them to thrive. As will mixing your own soil. There are several people on this board who have post talking about their own "special" soil mix.

[Colorblizzle]

If I have to buy special dealer for the foam then I'll probably just keep it out of the water. I like the look but I also like the "fish eye" view of my inhabitants. Altho my FBT has dropped so much coco fiber into the water it's a little darker than a light tea right now. He loves it tho. Thinking of adding duckweed since I have a ton.

And I can create a berm I suppose. You just don't see that a lot in nature. I wanna keep it as natural as possible, I actually found a pic online of a 29g that unlike the layout. It's just a natural slope to the water and back out wth the soil touching. I guess if it mucks up the water that's just a recipe for a happier frog huh? Heres the pic btw



And since I have a pool of water and live plants I guess mine is a paludarium then?

[Colorblizzle]

And I saw in one of chipmunks threads that he ha a special mix I was kinda fishing for an offer to share the ingredients list ;-) something about bat guano and kelp tho? Prolly not available around here. I need to visit a hydro store and see what thy have tho

[Colorblizzle]

Oh and chipmunk, finally got all caught up on your steampunk build. That plant they sent uo was a damn shame, I know that and I don't even know anything about plants really lol. But also the setup looks really awesome! I wish at the ends of your builds tho ou would post a video. Maybe not so much on the mantella build butnid like to see how the "steam" works in this new build :-)

[deranged chipmunk]

Been reading a lot tonite. Quite a few questions for the masses. I'll start from the bottom up.

Drainage, is it better to use a false bottom instead of hydro balls or is that a matter of preference? I understand I want a false bottom where I keep the heater and filter but could the rest of the tank be hydro balls?

When you foam is it ok to be fully submerged? Saw in a tank where the foam went to the bottom f the tank in the aquatic section. Liked the look.

How do you keep the substrate from falling in the water? I understand the inhabitant is going to drop some in from time to time but where the soil meets the water, how do I stop the whole edge from just constantly dropping in??

What is the big differences between vivariums, terrariums, and paludariums?

Lastly, what is the best soil to use that's looks completely natural (I like black soil) is healthy for the inhabitants, and super healthy for the plants. Is there one that's best? Secret recipes or special ingredients etc. I have a local landscaping company that carries soil and cheaply but idk how good it is

I can never keep plants alive in a terrestrial sense. So in willing to spend a little more in quality "ingredients"

Paul pretty much hit the nail on the head with his answers, but i may be able to elaborate.

Drainage: false bottom versus drainage layer. False bottoms allow for a multitude of options, including allowing a space to hide equipment, and to ensure a drier substrate. But as I always see it, having a larger water reservoir allows for more stability in the bio filter. The higher the water volume, the easier it is to keep parameters stable. Of course, a false bottom had disadvantages, the main being it requires filtration. Using a straight drainage layer avoids the need for filtration, but also creates the need for a way to drain the excess water. It's really a matter of preference.

Foam: is applied directly to the glass, not an issue. Water proofing is not necessary, the foam is water proof. It's urethane, essentially, and the same stuff they use for more modern, solid life preservers. So you can run the foam all the way to the bottom. I did on the Madagascar tank and my foam goes well below the substrate in my pond on the steam punk tank.

Keeping the substrate out of the water with live animals going in and out of the water is nearly impossible. I utilize lava rock for this purpose. I also use dark aquatic substrates, that way the terrestrial substrate blends in.

Paul was correct in his definitions of tanks, with the exception of paludarium. A paludarium is defined as a tank which combines a terrestrial portion as well as an aquatic portion. Simple example, my Madagascar tank was a paludarium, my steam punk tank, while having a small pond 1" deep, is a vivarium. The AGA (aquatic gardener a association), who governs the competitions defines the aquatic portion as an area where aquatic animals can live comfortably (I'm paraphrasing). So a palu has a section of deeper water and normally planted.

Soil: pm me

[deranged chipmunk]

Oh and chipmunk, finally got all caught up on your steampunk build. That plant they sent uo was a damn shame, I know that and I don't even know anything about plants really lol. But also the setup looks really awesome! I wish at the ends of your builds tho ou would post a video. Maybe not so much on the mantella build butnid like to see how the "steam" works in this new build :-)

Thanks! I can post a video tonight so you can see how it operates. It's very basic and simplistic. Pretty much a face palm when you see it and say"my god! That's so easy, how come I never thought of that!" Lol

[Colorblizzle]

Well I saw the way you had the pipes set up and saw where you said the mist will come from but just want to see it in action :-)

How exactly do you use the lava rock? I have about 100lbs of lava rock laying around actually. I just didn't think to use it in a frog tank because of its sharpness and their sensitive skin.

With the foam being waterproof, I also saw where you posted once that no matter what you do moisture gets between the foam and the glass. But this had never caused a separation in your experiences?

And lastly I'm going to attach a photo here but I stated before my frog wouldn't eat and the crickets were dying. Well the frog still won't eat and I bought more crickets and added a water dish in there cricket keeper. But I also decided to buy another FBT today thinking since they are said to be communal maybe this will make it more comfortable. Now maybe an hour later one is kind of on the other. Is this a sign if aggression like hey this is my tank! Or is it mating? Just didn't expect to see them by each other so quickly

[deranged chipmunk]

Here's how i used lava rock to transition from land to water


I never had an issue with separation due to water. My main reason for mentioning water getting behind it is because I always hear "the frogs will never come in contact with it, so I think it will be safe". Water mixing back there with an unsafe substance can cause toxic chemicals to leech into the tank from there.

And that behavior with fbt's is quite common. My son kept several in a palu I built for him and they did that constantly.

Try this link, hopefully it works, there's a video of the steam in the comments section.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheH...7026403386969/