# Santa Isabella anthonyi



## JeremyHuff (Apr 22, 2008)

I have a group of 7 Santa Isabella anthonyi I have been raising and have heard calling for the last 2 months or so. However, I have no idea what the sex ratio is. Last night I found a clutch on a leaf with a frog guarding it.

A couple questions...Would the frog guarding the eggs be a male or female? Is there any noticeable sexual dimorphism in the species? And lastly, should I remove the eggs? I can easily clip the leaf, so as not to disturb the eggs.

I'll try to get some pics up soon.

Thanks


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## BBoyette (Mar 9, 2009)

From my knowledge its normally the male SI that guards the eggs...I pulled my eggs and 3 out 6 developed for me. This was also their first clutch of eggs.


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## Paul G (Feb 27, 2007)

Males guard the eggs in Epipedobates & Ameerega from what I understand.

"Mating tend to produce 20-30 eggs and the male will guard the clutch aggressively against intruders, including the female that laid them!" -Bill Heath
Anthonyii


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## pl259 (Feb 27, 2006)

It's all about territory. The male SI will call the female Into his chossen spot/territory. He then protects the eggs against all intruders to his space. After the eggs hatch and he collects the tads for transport, he has to likely cross the territories of other SIs, including the original female. She doesn't give a hoot if those are her tads he's carrying or not. She'll defend her territory as well. I've seen a female chase the male away from depositing her own tads in a pond in her territory. 

Interesting stuff that we don't get to see if we pull eggs and raise them out of tank.


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## JeremyHuff (Apr 22, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies. I believe this is the first clutch. There are 9 eggs, and they look good. I didn't realize the territories were so important, so I will need to move them into a larger viv. Do people find that male heavy groups work well so females have choice? Do multiple females cause problems? I guess I am wondering if I should try to divide my group of 7.


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