# Starting with a 29G aquarium



## Hypancistrus (Jul 9, 2009)

I am currently in the process of removing fish from my 29 gallon aquarium and placing them into a larger 55 gallon. This leaves me with an empty aquarium. My GF saw the article on dart frog terrarium in the September issue of Reptiles and thought it looked neat. I, as well, have always thought a dart frog viv would be pretty cool!

My question is this... would a 29 be too big for a dart frog viv? It's a standard 29 gallon aquarium. It has a glass top and a light suitable for aquatic plants (T5 bulbs). I am located in Baltimore, MD, and we have a monthly show and several local quarterly shows that I can easily get supplies from. Could this work??


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## Marty71 (Nov 9, 2006)

Definitely, a 29 gallon is a perfect tank. It gives you a nice combination of floor and vertical space, allowing you to choose a wide range of frogs. It also allows you room to put in a waterfall or a pond, both of which are unnecessary but seemingly unavoidable on first tanks...


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## t-o-l-o (Oct 21, 2008)

Welcome to the forum!

That would be a great size, especially for your first tank. What types of frogs were you thinking about getting?


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## yumpster (May 22, 2009)

You will quickly discover that there is no such thing as a tank that is TOO big for dart frogs. They sure do love to explore. The unwritten rule is that there should be 5 gallons of tank space per frog, but the majority of us tend to give a couple extra gallons to each frog.


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## HunterB (Apr 28, 2009)

As said before you can never have too much room haha

I belive there is a post somehwere on here from SmackoftheGods about RichFrye converting an old shower into a viv for 4 darkland pumilios
Haha moral of the story, the more space the bettter

What do you plan on getting if I may ask?


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## Hypancistrus (Jul 9, 2009)

I have no idea what to get. We're going to the All-MD Herp Expo tomorrow, and hope to get an idea of our options there. I am also going to pick up a book or two.

This tank will be in our bedroom, and my GF is a light sleeper. We don't have to have a water feature, do we?


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## Hypancistrus (Jul 9, 2009)

Bought a book at the herp show yesterday and I'm reading it. It's very exciting! The local show has a regular guy who sells feeder fruit fly and springtail cultures. We also have access on a regular basis to pinhead crickets. 

Like the look of _D. leucomelas _and _D. ventrimaculatus_. I think we are going to go with a false bottom layered with LECA and the spaghnum moss overtop. My GF is going to get some dried magnolia leaves from her parents farm in Virginia this coming weekend. We're going to dry them in a black plastic garbage bag like the book says and then start setting the viv up next week. Hopefully we will have the money to get the frogs at the Mid-Atlantic Reptile Show in early September.


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## Ziggi (Jan 23, 2009)

I first started off with both leucomelas and ventrimaculatus and I'm very happy with both.
Although both very different I think you can't go wrong with leucs.
Everyone loves them, they are great frogs, and dont' worry about your GF being waken up by the frogs, they aren't nocturnal.

Best of luck, seems like your on the right track!


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## Hypancistrus (Jul 9, 2009)

We started looking at prices online yesterday. The "vents" that we like are apparently the "Amazonian" vents, with the red-orangs backs, and they seem pretty pricey. We weren't as enamored with the less expensive ones, so I think we are going to go with the leucs. I need to start breaking the tank down... I have three stubborn fish left in it that refused to be trapped (it is a jungle with moss and anubias and other aquatic plants) and I need to just break it down.


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## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

Make sure to boil your Magnolia leaves for a good 30 minutes or longer. Don't worry the leaves will not fall apart during the boiling process. Your house might smell like tea for a little while though. There are many parasites, fungi and other organisms that will be in the leaves that you collect, and it is extremely important to make sure that you kill these. Anyway leucs are a great frog especially for beginners, and they have a wonderful call. Have fun at the expo.


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## Colleen53 (Jan 19, 2009)

I first wash my leaves off and then I put my leaves on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 200 degrees pre-heat for 5-10 minutes. A little easier for me.


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## Hypancistrus (Jul 9, 2009)

Good to know, thanks!

Should we get fresh leaves, plucked right off the tree? Or leaves that have fallen naturally, as would accumulate under it?


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## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

I generally pick leaves that have fallen, or off of a dead branch. Just make sure that the yard that you get your leaves from is not covered in pesticides and fertilizers. These can be very harmful to the frogs, even if you rinse the leaves extremely well.


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## Hypancistrus (Jul 9, 2009)

No pesticides, it's a farm. They don't treat.


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