# native plants/weeds in dart frog tank?



## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

so im a bit brassic as female cresties are expensive,lol,but just thouhgt i could maybe use native grass weeds plants and moss etc? as i cant wait to set em up properly,ive got 2 young blue azureus and possibly gettin a couple more.
heres theyre tank








i know it seems tight but relly aint got the do to go to a garden centr atm
any ideas?
thanx peeps


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## mad4frogs (Aug 8, 2006)

If youre a "bit brassic" to set up their tank properly then surely youre a bit brassic to be getting some more!
Please STOP and set up their tank properly before even considering getting anymore. You shouldnt have bought them if you hadnt got a viv sorted and by you keep adding bit by bit daily it will stress them out no end. Considering you only got them on sat they need time to acclimatise without their environment being constanly changed as they will not settle, which is the reason why ur asking in the other post about them being shy.
Sorry to be blunt but its for the sake of the frogs.


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## knighty (Feb 27, 2008)

have to agree with mad4frogs here, if you couldnt afford to set the viv up properley then you should of waited till you had enough to do so. just think the money you spent on the frogs could of gone towards the plants and stuff for the viv. dont mean to sound harsh but you should always make sure you can afford to set up the viv surficiantly and buy any foods or supplyments BEFORE you buy the live stock.


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## tuckerboy (Jul 1, 2008)

hi. IMO, you should of set them up in a tempary RUB or something.somewhere that they would be happy enough for the meantime and not get disturbed.
then you could of set up a propper viv, and allowed plants to root and grow before adding the frogs.

ive used native mosses in my dart vivs, but they need time to establish before the frogs go crawling all over them..also they need to be kept very damp.
the trouble with adding native mosses to your already populated dart viv, is that you come accross the risk of adding parasites and desease to your frogs.


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## knighty (Feb 27, 2008)

RUB would of worked, but would it not of been easyer to put a deposit on the frogs, then get viv set up rather than keep moving them about.......


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## mad4frogs (Aug 8, 2006)

yes... cause if its the bloke I think it is who sold em to him, well, he lives quite close to him


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## Frogdude (Jun 28, 2008)

Mares tail can be found in most grassy areas that havent been treated with weedkiller. It looks like a long cylindrical fern, about half an inch thick with a pointed end. It'll grow in conditions from slightly damp to marginal aquatic and looks great. Spreads like wildfire too, and can be trimmed when it gets too big. If you've got a big tank horse tail is similar but grows up to 5 feet tall and is much more coarse. Ivy could also be used.

If you're short of money, buying seeds is cheaper than buying plants, and would be less dissruptive for the frogs. Any coleus species is good, and lawn chamomile makes a good ground covering. If you can find them, fern spores would be great!

I agree with what the others have said by the way, but there's no point repeating the same thing over and over. 

If you want to pm me your address i'll send you some cuttings of scindapsis and philodendron, and a bromeliad pup or 2.

Rich


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## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

err think ppl are jumping to conclusions here,none of u know me,and u certainly after a couple of posts shudnt start jumping down ppls throats,
my tank had been set up prior to the perchase,and ive only added a couple of bits today,aprt from feeding thats the only disturbance theyve had,
theyve got plenty of hideing places,and i was asking ppls oppinions on how many would be ideal for that sized tank.
i asked if i could use native plants not ure oppinions on my financial sittuation,im not an idiot,of corse ive got money to feed and maintain my animals.
id like if i may(as annoying as ppls anal attitudes are) to get back to the post
if u cant post a question on a forum made for that perpose without so many blunt replys wot can u do?


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## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

Frogdude said:


> Mares tail can be found in most grassy areas that havent been treated with weedkiller. It looks like a long cylindrical fern, about half an inch thick with a pointed end. It'll grow in conditions from slightly damp to marginal aquatic and looks great. Spreads like wildfire too, and can be trimmed when it gets too big. If you've got a big tank horse tail is similar but grows up to 5 feet tall and is much more coarse. Ivy could also be used.
> 
> If you're short of money, buying seeds is cheaper than buying plants, and would be less dissruptive for the frogs. Any coleus species is good, and lawn chamomile makes a good ground covering. If you can find them, fern spores would be great!
> 
> ...


thanks m8 very helpful,the kind of reply i like.
as i say its pretty much done but a few plants will finish it off


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## Frogdude (Jun 28, 2008)

No probs. Have you checked out dendroworld.co.uk yet? It's a pretty good pdf specific site


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## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

yeah great site think im gonna set up a nice big false bottom one so this is sort of temparary,probly jst gonna add few potted plants for now so not to disturb em.
u shure u could send sum clippings?dont bother if its too much hassle,
thanks agen


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## Frogdude (Jun 28, 2008)

Teah, it's no problem.


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## mad4frogs (Aug 8, 2006)

sorry to have been so blunt but you shouldnt put a post up saying your cant really afford plants, yet you want more frogs at 40 quid each. just gets my goat thats all. If you had waited a while until your viv was established or at least finished then I think you may have had a better response thats all and would have been kinder to the frogs. Its not the fact that you may be skint or not or wether you have the money to feed the frogs, its purely the fact that you bought the frogs and are now asking about what should go in the viv ect when these things should have been ask before the purchase of the frogs.

Since you have got them now anyway heres some advise...

I wouldnt collect any form of grass from outside your house as itll be covered in pollutants, fertiliser, and could also contian the harmful citrid virus being brought into the viv. If you do decided to go down this root then youll have to wash the grasses extremely well. I used to collect mosses from the local woods which will do well in a PDF viv. (only collect small amounts from each area as they are mini ecsystems and you dont wanna disturb them) put em in a pot for couple of weeks to get rid of all bugs and wash many times. 
For cheap background to make em feel bit more secure you can get a bromeliad picture on a aquarium backing roll which you can put on without distubing them. 
Buy some oak leaves (do not collect from trees at this time of year cause will harm them) and use a forest floor as they will feel more secure hiding and foraging under them. May have some somewhere.
As for cheep plants you could get a brom or 2 from homebase/b&q for fiver as they will then sleep inside the leaves. (just make sure any plants from garden centers are washed thoroughly and all sol removed as a few contain fertilisers and or slug repellents).
Your viv really needed a 2" layer of hydroleca at the bottom of the soil to keep the hunidity high and the plants/soil from goin too soggy from you misting and wold also help the plants to root.

Hope this all helps, pm me if you need any thing else answered


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## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

ok thanks,
it was all set up orchiid grade barch chippings with moss on top and plenty of barch etc before buying the frogs.
ill add a few pot plants(after neccicary cleaning) for now and leave em as this is a temp,
im making another big 1 with a false bottom,
and this is when ill perchase the others,were not talking reclace buying here.
wots a ideal group size for azureus?


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## mad4frogs (Aug 8, 2006)

what size viv?


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## tuckerboy (Jul 1, 2008)

always have more males than females.


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## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

more good info,
thanx m8,
how many would be ideal in a 3ft/1.5/1.5ft old fish tank?
probly gonna make a false bottom 1 for em in the near future


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## tuckerboy (Jul 1, 2008)

ideally i would say 1 female 2 males, or you could sperate the viv down the middle and have a pair in each section. also a good key point, if you havnt mastered it already is the culturing of fruit flies. it can be expensive buying cultures in and so is a good idea to make your own.

all i do is,
get a disposable clear plastic pint cup,
fill about 1 1/2 inches of poridge oats, add 4 tsp of water, microwave for 15secs.(kill mites)
add half a ripe banana, mash everything with a fork,
add a few pieces of card for the flys to climb on.
add about 30 flys, place some kitchen roll over the top and secure with a lastic band.
keep warm...and....boooom!!!
job done.


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## deaxone (Feb 25, 2008)

tuckaboy uve dun it agen m8,
mucho grassias 
very hany info,could even feed my young creties on em,
ur a star


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