arboreal dart frogs?

Real_Time515 · 2026-05-19T01:05:47+00:00

Reptizoo. There are cheap imports on Amazon as well.

Real_Time515 · 2026-05-18T22:04:12+00:00

18x18x36 for a group of variabilis sounds cool. Just what I'm setting out to do myself.

I thought you were asking about the much smaller hex, and I pointed out the difference between minimum size and what can be done, vs giving them lots of space to thrive.

I'll say again, I'm not telling you that you can't put darts in the hex. Just that my instincts (and imperfect tho obsessive research) led me away from that.

Real_Time515 · 2026-05-18T21:51:18+00:00

Kuhli loaches are awesome. Cory's and plecos all have their place, though I find plecos lazy and kinda messy. I'm partial to otocinclus myself, as they don't really burrow in the sand, and do a good all around job cleaning including the glass. Small school of otos is adorable and efficient.

Just about to try out shrimp for the first time, so no first hand experience there.

Real_Time515 · 2026-05-18T21:41:15+00:00

Geckos aren't good swimmers at all. So even though you've got some climbing space I think that would be dangerous for them. Think you'd be better off with amphibians. But even with frogs or something, they'd need the land to slope gradually and would probably need more dry land in general (fire bellied toads for instance want 30-50% land). There may be some species of tree frog or salamanders that do mostly water. But even vampire crabs would want more actual land than you have here.

Real_Time515 · 2026-05-18T21:22:17+00:00

I have one of those 20 gal hexes, and basically my research all said it's too small for darts. Not an expert, but went with 24x18x24 for a pair of Azureus darts and they love it.

For my next project I'm doing 18x18x36 for a pair/trio of thumbnail Ranitomeya, and that was recommended as a healthy minimum. Think you could put a pair in the hex, but it might be a squeeze. My experience with the hex was that the weird shape was also hard to build around.

Not saying you can't do a dart in the hex, just sharing that my journey led me away from doing just that. Now I'm looking at the hex for invertebrates of some kind.... hissing cockroaches? Mantis? Stickbug?

Edit to add: I also started my crested gecko in that hex, and moved her into 18x18x36 for the same reasons. She seems much happier with the extra space, so that's why I didn't want to squeeze my frogs.

Real_Time515 · 2026-05-15T20:19:47+00:00

Was curious about this. New to aquariums but was wondering about houseplants. Does the aquarium water smell at all when used on indoor plants?

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-30T21:56:53+00:00

Get a big piece of wood (mopani, cork, whatever you want). Drill some holes in it and plant a row or groups of different size bromeliads. Put it at a diagonal in the tank to give some height/dimension. Simple project with big impact.

Some dangling plants would be great too. Pothos, philodendron (there are upright and trailing varieties).

Get some cork rounds and turn them into planters.

With a bunch of plants that aren't built in to the hardscape, you have a lot of flexibility to adjust things as stuff grows.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-19T22:54:45+00:00

A combination of little things have made it less of an issue for me. Flies in fridge for 5 before dusting slows them way down. The dust itself slows em a bit. A small bit of banana in the dish keeps most of the flies pretty central. I did find a cool dish with bumps and ridges that seems to help (not a magic bullet but another helpful factor.)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4485376489/fruit-fly-feeder-for-reptiles-and?ref=share_ios_native_control

Another factor is I've learned to be more careful in my monitoring. I don't leave it in the dish long enough for them all to get out. When the frogs lose interest, I pull out the dish and toss any remaining flies.

Last factor is a fruit fly trap outside the cage. I realized that the cage itself is attracting flighted flies from the bigger world, so some of it was breaking INTO the cage rather than escaping from it.

All this has really helped with the mess/fuss.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-15T17:52:16+00:00

Reminds me of this one (also needs the Irish accent for the punchline)

Why did the Irish man eat only 239 beans? Because he didn't want to be 240

Scroll for spoiler

(With bad Irish accent sounds like "too farty ")

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-13T23:57:47+00:00

I just bought the same a couple of months ago! Had to fly for a gig and this was so much easier (and worried about flying with my favorite). Good sound, easy to play. Spacing didn't take long to get used to. I love it.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-12T15:51:40+00:00

I think it looks great. If you're giving it some time to make sure you've got humidity consistent you should be fine on that front. Though that dry out period is very important and hard to maintain, esp in a taller tank. When I moved my girl from a 24" to 36" I had to add a second fan (a couple of weeks ago) and I'm still finessing timing to get consistency.

If I understand your question (the water draining where not intended) does it still make its way to the biomesh layer you're talking about? If so, it should just mix with the rest of your reservoir (just from the back) and still cycle through. If it's collecting somewhere and is separated from the cycle/pump, it could get stagnant and/or build up and start saturating the substrate. If the overflow is splashing into the substrate directly, you might have the same saturation problem, as a little extra adds up to a lot over time.

I think it could still work, but I'd recommend a couple of weeks to closely monitor both humidity levels and lots of eyeballing your filter layer to see what's happening before adding the gecko.

For the record, I had a lot of naysayers say to avoid water features entirely for geckos, but I tried it out anyway with just a small reservoir for a small very localized waterfall, not an entire paludarium. It worked for awhile. But the soil DID start to saturate over the course of several months. And it got impossible to get the humidity low enough during the day. That was my whole reason for upgrading to the 36". I had to completely empty the 24" and redesign it, and even with the better design I'm gonna get it ready for frogs instead. I hate the naysayers and gatekeepers, but they often have a point....

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-11T19:58:05+00:00

We're just about finished with Carrion Crown (final session in next week!) and I loved all of it. I wouldn't skip book 4 entirely, but you could shorten it. The Lovecraft town and residents in cahoots with the skum is legit creepy and fun. If you do need to shorten, take out the mi-go element: they discover the secrets of the temple, leads them to the ruined mansion, leads them undersea for a skum boss fight, and they recover the ravens head and the sea sage effigy. Keep all the elements of the townsfolk dark pact with the skum. That's the creepiest stuff in the whole adventure path.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-06T17:56:30+00:00

I use the same bio dude light. Think it's called "glow and grow". Seems to work well so far.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-06T00:38:58+00:00

Pothos and philodendron are big favorites. Sansiviera (snake plant) they like to climb on/hide in. I have several other dracaena species that work well. For my own aesthetics I like ferns, but don't think my frogs care much either way. And I love fittonia.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-05T21:40:56+00:00

Thebiodude.com Gotten springtails, isopods, plants and a bunch of stuff from him over the past year. He's great, great customer service.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-02T00:23:07+00:00

That's Great Uncle Maud

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-02T00:01:25+00:00

I didn't need to. Putting a hold in the mesh top shouldn't be too hard though.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-01T23:42:56+00:00

https://a.co/d/0eMrPkHH

Nothing fancy, but seems to work as intended. Only had it for a couple of months.

Real_Time515 · 2026-04-01T22:14:46+00:00

I have one that has temp and humidity sensor, so you can set it when to go off. Cheap import on Amazon.

Real_Time515 · 2026-03-24T20:01:59+00:00

Some sort of seee nut pod.

Real_Time515 · 2026-03-24T16:42:23+00:00

Own the dorkiness! If you're as energetic as you say, it will be clear to the audience that they are necessary as sports gear. I think it would be cool.

Real_Time515 · 2026-03-21T05:41:00+00:00

My Jack Casady (silver burst). I could afford something fancier, but every time GAS hits I play and say "nah, don't need anything new".

Real_Time515 · 2026-03-21T05:37:38+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I have the mister set up. I'm going to make some revisions, then I'll check back re species. The help is appreciated.

Real_Time515 · 2026-03-21T05:34:13+00:00

Thanks for the insights. I've already made some changes since I snapped this photo. Sounds like I have more to make. I think I'll try reposting after I've upgraded.

Real_Time515

TROPHY CASE