# Starry Night Reed Frog Paludarium



## NewToFrogs (Sep 23, 2013)

First post! I'm brand new to frogs, but have been a big fish-keeper for a long time. 
I'm expecting 5 starry night reed frogs this Friday and am preparing to make sure I'm all set enclosure wise and thought I would ask for some extra advice over here. I've poked around the frog forum, but thought extra opinions never hurt.
I have a 20 high that will be filled roughly 40% with water, and the rest will be a rock land mass, and pothos vines. I would like to get a reed like plant(or anything with vertical leaves) that will fit in the tank, to simulate their natural environment. Preferably a riparium plant that would be able to have it's roots in the water/substrate. 
I've already setup the tank, and would love some advice.


I'm not sure if you can tell, but there is an internal filter that shoots water to the top of the rock mass. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not for reed frogs, as most of the rock has running water over it. This leaves the glass, pothos and driftwood as the only dry spots in the tank. 
the water level will be lowered before the frogs get there, I'm keeping pygmy cories in the water portion.
My main questions are
1. Anyone have any favorite reed-like riparium plants that grow well in an aquarium(and are small enough to fit)?
2. Will the water running over the rocks cause problems for the frogs?
3. Do they need like an enclosure or cave to hide in other than plants/driftwood/rocks?
4. Is there anything else I can improve?


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

Your tank looks very nice! 

Some plants I've used with reed frogs are syngonium sp. and Ruehlla sp., and some of the large philodendrons. They really like it on the backside of long, draping leaves. The one you have in there now looks good. Pretty much any large leafed plant they will like. If the leaves grow up to the top of the tank, they seem to like those leaves the best. 

Your water level looks very high to me though. I have not kept starry's before, but when my other reed frogs breed, it's in 2-3 inches of water (often less). I would be worried that the adult female might drown during breeding as it can last a few days. I have never had the water level that high, so cannot say how they will do for certain. Females can lay hundreds of eggs every few weeks and deplete themselves quickly in a wet environment. They are not seasonal breeders but you might consider giving them a break at some point because it's so wet in there now. Keep an eye out and maybe if they lay too much, turn the pump off for a while. Also pay attention whether they are having trouble with the water depth if you decide not to lower it in the meantime. If your pump isn't making the water jet out, it should be okay, a trickle is fine, but you don't need more than that. 
For hides, all that foliage is sufficient.


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## pooky125 (Jan 16, 2012)

I've had good success with keeping Lucky Bamboo in similar setups. As long as its leaves are dry, and its feet are wet, it seems to grow like crazy. Might be tough to find taller pieces, but if you can, they're pretty hardy.


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## NewToFrogs (Sep 23, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback! 
I do plan on lowering the water level to about 4-5"(it's at roughly 9" now) when the frogs get here. I'd like enough space to have both frogs and fish in the tank, but if the frogs look like they are struggling with the water I can always move the cories to a different tank and lower it to 2-3"
I was thinking bamboo as well, but I've never had it before. 
I'm hoping the water wisteria in the tank will also grow above the water level as well. I experimented with allowing water wisteria to grow past the water level a year or so ago, but never had much room to let it take off.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

That level of water will be much better. If you have lots of plants in there it might not need to be lowered more unless they breed and are exhausted. 

Don't cory's have a pretty tough spike? I have kept them before and I don't remember what the circumstances were, but one 'stabbed' me with it's dorsal fin. It felt sort of like a sting and there was a little bruise. I'm not sure what would happen to a frog if it landed on one.


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## NewToFrogs (Sep 23, 2013)

I ended up throwing in a third pothos vine to see how it looked, and it didn't look quiet as overgrown as I thought it would. Still looking for some bamboo or other plants(not too many options where I live). I still plan on lowering the water to a good 4"-5", maybe more depending on if the frogs look cramped. 
Pygmy cories do have some tough spines that can be choking hazards when eaten, but since reed frogs are so small I didn't think there would be any chance of the frogs attempting to eat them. I didn't think about the frogs jumping on them though. I've never heard of any issues with them stabbing other fish in the tank, as they are typically a good community fish. I'll have to look into that. 
I am about to try my hand at hatching annual killi-fish, and they might actually be a good fish to throw in there with the frogs, as they are adapted to living in shrinking bodies of water.


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## NewToFrogs (Sep 23, 2013)

Got the frogs! I ordered the frogs from another forum, but I'm fairly sure he's on this one too. I bought them from Genesis Exotics, and I've been very happy with my order from Josh.

I lowered the water and added another pothos vine.

There are a lot of spots for them to grab other than the pothos leaves, such as airline tubing, pothos roots, and the driftwood.
And here's a shot of one of them hiding under a leaf. 


I've already seen a few hop into the water, and they haven't appeared to be terribly distressed. I removed the java moss in the tank because I was concerned about them getting tangled up in it when I saw one swim through it on the way to the driftwood. Otherwise everything seems to be working out well.

Any other suggestions? Would love suggestions on how to keep fruit flies from falling in water. I have a bowl in there, but they can climb out.


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