# My newest obsession



## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

So I decided a while back I wanted to get some of these little guys.. worked on this tank for a couple months before I got it just the way I want it... still need to add quite a few more plants, but it isnt looking too bad right now. Inhabitants are 5 Dendrobates Auratus 'Green and Black'. I will be adding two more that I have in another tank later tonight.. hoping to get them to breed within the next few months.

Full tank shot, you can see the small water fall and stream.









Another full tank shot from another angle.









A really nice little plant that I got for $.74 from Lowes that I am really proud of... found it on a plant clearance rack and it fit into the cork bark perfectly.









One of the tank's inhabitants.


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## NeXuS (Aug 16, 2006)

nice very good job on the set up. how much did the frogs cost?


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

Perfect looking setup for dart frogs.


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## SNAKEBITE (Oct 7, 2006)

emersed tank...beautiful!! maybe when im more experienced with plant aquariums ill get into emersed tanks

great job


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

NeXuS said:


> nice very good job on the set up. how much did the frogs cost?


I ended up getting them quite cheap from a woman over in WI... was like $27 each shipped, but part of the good deal was taking all of them that she had for sale.


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## PaNo617 (Jan 31, 2005)

Amazing!


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## spranga (Dec 28, 2006)

very nice setup rizman


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## wabash420 (Feb 27, 2007)

awsome setup man


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## mr_b401 (Jul 6, 2005)

Sweet setup & nice pics. He probably loves it in there.

0.74, thats what im talkin about


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Cool tank looks like the dart frogs have a very nice home.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

mr_b401 said:


> Sweet setup & nice pics. He probably loves it in there.
> 
> 0.74, thats what im talkin about


Thanks... and I got all those broms for $3 each from a wholesaler on a group order... usually they are at least $10 each going all the way up to like $30-$40 each depending on the varieties you get.

He/she is not the only one, has 4 other companions, and two more joining tonight.


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## Snake_Eyes (Jun 14, 2006)

Very nice! Are they hard to keep?

Yay I have 5 skulls now!!!!


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

That's such a sweet setup..what size tank is it?


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

That's a pretty hot lil' setup you have going there. Good job. What size is the tank? Want to give us a run down of how you built it?

Also. Way to post in the wrong forum.


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## CorGravey (Feb 13, 2007)

Looks amazing, nice looking frog too.


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## Moondemon (Dec 9, 2006)

Wow, that's quite a nice tank !!
Great job !!


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Snake_Eyes said:


> That's a pretty hot lil' setup you have going there. Good job. What size is the tank? Want to give us a run down of how you built it?
> 
> Also. Way to post in the wrong forum.:rasp:


58g column... it has a false bottom so that I could have a small water feature, everything is either covered in silicone to keep the water flowing, or has great stuff around it to keep it in place. Dart frogs are natorious for being escape artists and finding trouble so everything is sealed very well. An XP1 with a ball valve on it is running the water feature and seems to be working perfectly. The substrate is at the bottom level stuff called LECA which are fired clay balls for good drainage, then a planting mix that the Atlanta Botanical Gardens came up with and then a little bit of long fiber sphagnum moss on top of it to hold moisture in. The wood is all cork bark and cypress, and then there are bromelaids, lemon button fern, rabbits foot fern, pilea baby tears, couple jewel orchids, and a few other little plants. Still needs more work but hopefully within the next month or so I can get it all finished up.

This isnt the wrong forum... this is the Picture forum if Im not mistaken :rasp:


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

Buitiful setup you have there riz!

I cant wait to get darts anymore. I've decided reciently to set up a 10 gallon viv(nothing as nice as yours), and just buy some. I was thinking I would get the viv going, and get some fruit fly cultures(so I can get used to raising them). I'm probably gonna do that in the next week or 2. Then in mabey a month or 2 go get some darts. They have a reptile show every month in Grand Rapids, so I wont have to have them shipped hopefully.

I've spent so much time reading about these guys, I feel like I'm already obsessed and dont even have any yet.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Jayson745 said:


> Buitiful setup you have there riz!
> 
> I cant wait to get darts anymore. I've decided reciently to set up a 10 gallon viv(nothing as nice as yours), and just buy some. I was thinking I would get the viv going, and get some fruit fly cultures(so I can get used to raising them). I'm probably gonna do that in the next week or 2. Then in mabey a month or 2 go get some darts. They have a reptile show every month in Grand Rapids, so I wont have to have them shipped hopefully.
> 
> I've spent so much time reading about these guys, I feel like I'm already obsessed and dont even have any yet.


Once you start is it definitely hard to turn back. Just shot ya a PM with some info!


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

therizman1 said:


> This isnt the wrong forum... this is the Picture forum if Im not mistaken :rasp:


But it's also the Piranha Picture Forum.







Those frogs don't look like piranhas to me!

People used to post pictures of their herps in the non-p pic area. But since the site split everyone just does it in the general herp forum now. We would beenefit from a separate pic forum.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

my pics totally pwn urs

hehehe jp!


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## eiji (Sep 16, 2006)

nice pics... cute lil devils!!! arent they toxic??


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Mettle said:


> my pics totally pwn urs
> 
> hehehe jp!


They could... if you resized them and had them in focus :rasp:


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Very nice set up. Love the little flower you found on clearance, nice find.

Kickass little frogs BTW.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

by the way rizman1, those are not my frogs, the pics were taken by me @ the bronx zoo


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## merks91 (Feb 13, 2007)

howd you get that stream working? by the way your tank is beautiful. making me want frogs instead of Ps. haha can't turn back now though too far into my P process.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

merks91 said:


> howd you get that stream working? by the way your tank is beautiful. making me want frogs instead of Ps. haha can't turn back now though too far into my P process.


There is a false bottom to the tank which is somewhere around 4" deep, and then I have the tank drilled and plumbed an XP1 into it, and then I control the volume of water being pumped back into the tank with a 3/4" PVC Ball valve... working very well so far, the only concern I have is that I know it puts stress on the XP1 due to the fact that the water cant exit as fast, but I dont think it should do it any damage either.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Riz, that is extremely cool!

I've thought about getting a Poison Arrow Frog setup for years now, and I'm sure I eventually will.

You've really done an excellent job setting yours up, very impressive.

To the guy who asked if they're toxic, they are in the wild because of what they eat, but in captivity, eating "non-toxifying" food, they quickly become inert.

Riz, you're an inspiration for my future setup.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

that is awesome riz. the tank looks great. i know i read somewhere that poison dart frogs don't produce the poison in captivity right?


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Genin said:


> that is awesome riz. the tank looks great. i know i read somewhere that poison dart frogs don't produce the poison in captivity right?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Genin said:


> that is awesome riz. the tank looks great. i know i read somewhere that poison dart frogs don't produce the poison in captivity right?


This is about 85% true... in captivity they can still produce a very small amount of poison. Terribilis are known to still secrete small amounts of poison in captivity when they become scared. They actually secrete a type of mucuous and according to a study a doctor done, if you lick them after they have secreted this mucous, it will make you sick, doubtful it will kill you in captivity, but it did make the doctor feel pretty sick. In general though, they are not toxic in captivity unless you are making a habit out of licking them.. which any normal person would use common sense to know better.

It is true what Piranha man said though... the main reason they are toxic in the wild is due to their diet in the wild. Obviously in captivity they are not eating the same things... the main part of their diet is made up of fruit flies, and then some occassional spring tails, and once in a while I pick up some pin head crickets for them.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Moral of the story: *Don't lick 'em*


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

thats an amazing setup, i just cleaned a tank thats 50 gal (i think) that im planning on using for a dart frog setup. i hope i can make mine like yours. its really awesome tho. who do u find managing fruit flies and there cultures


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## CloneME (Feb 24, 2006)

Awesome looking habitat you got set up for those lil guys. 
E


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

Awsome picks now I want one! Ill definantly consider a dart frog tank in the veyr near future.

How much did the whole set up cost (not including the tank)?

And how does the waterfall system work? And howd u do the back of the tank with all the wood and stuff?

Srry for all the questions


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

rocker said:


> Awsome picks now I want one! Ill definantly consider a dart frog tank in the veyr near future.
> 
> How much did the whole set up cost (not including the tank)?
> 
> ...


I chose not to keep track of the money so I wouldnt regret it as I am sure I spent a fair bit on it. It is definitely more than setting up a normal tank... if I have to guess a price for everything inside the tank... $500? you can easily drop a couple hundred on plants if you want nice ones, etc. Cork and nice rocks arent cheap either... probably 6 tubes of silicone, a couple cans of great stuff, half a dozen pieces of driftwood, all the substrate stuff, lights, etc. Def not cheap, but well worth it, I dont even have it done and people already love it when they see it.

Waterfall is plumbed in the back since I drilled the tank, just using an XP1 that has a ball valve plumbed inline to control the water flow, and there is a false bottom, so once it gets into the pond it just flows out and then gets pumped back in again... somewhere around 9gallons is held under the substrate.

All the stuff on the back of the tank is held on with silicone and greatstuff, and then the stuff covering it all is a combination of charcoal, tree fern fiber, milled sphagnum moss and coco fiber all blended together with concrete binder and then just slathered on and allow it to dry for a week or two till it is literally as hard as a rock.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Do the XP series not have controllable flow rates? I know Fluvals do.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Mettle said:


> Do the XP series not have controllable flow rates? I know Fluvals do.


Not that I know of...


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)




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## Red Eyes (Nov 25, 2003)

Congrats on the Dart Frogs! Awesome setup


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Your set-up looks amazing Mike, nice job!


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

BioTeach said:


>












I got your topic moved.


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## Blacksheep (Dec 11, 2003)

Man Riz -

You really did a nice job there! That beats my tank! You will have to let me know how the bromelaides work out. I only have one easy to grow plant in mine and I have to keep cutting it back as it grows like crazy.

Nice Job!


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## Marcel_h (Feb 27, 2005)

Very nice tank and pics!


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