# Identifying D. auratus



## Thesassyteapot (Apr 21, 2020)

Hello all! I am a newbie to posting on the 'board, though a long time follower of this wealth of information. First post! So if this is in the wrong category or needs collapsed, pardon the faux pas. 

I acquired a pair of dendrobates auratus from my local pet store, and I’m curious what people think the morph could possible be and what compatible varieties I could potentially incorporate without tainting a line of auratus (and if that is even a thing I should worry about?). The frogs are bluer than your typical "costa rican green and black", but don't to my eyes appear as blue as one of the various true blue varieties? It's really a muted pale sky blue, and they are still quite small so the colors aren't as developed as I suspect they could be as adults. I'm wondering if they could be El Cope, but that's such a variable locality idk how you could even ID it without knowledge from the breeder; furthermore I doubt these are any kind of pure breed in the first place. The store now has a more "standard" auratus available; if I added a couple to the mix am I creating a crossbreeding problem, or providing genetic diversity to the future froggies they could produce? Am I stressing over nothing?? 

Any opinions people have on the above are welcome, thanks so much! I'm two weeks out from completing my bioactive vivarium, stay tune for pictures! 

-P


----------



## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Hello, welcome to the boards.

If you were not given specific location/morph information from the place you bought them from then there's not going to be any 100% accurate identification of morph/locale.

As such, you shouldn't try mixing them with other morphs/locales of Dendrobates auratus, any offspring produced are going to be similar to a crossbreed (obviously not a true cross breed where it's two different species, but in the dart frog hobby it's viewed the same way).

Also, I'm not sure I understand your post, you said you've acquired the frogs already, but that you're a few weeks away from finishing your first bioactive tank, what are they currently housed in?


----------



## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Don't breed animals whose identity cannot be conclusively established by the breeder, especially those from the general pet industry, which can be expected to have very questionable heritage. Period. The hobby, now and far into the future, thanks you.

For a great list of morphs and pics (not to establish identity of your frogs, but just for general awesomeness), try this, put together by @Ravage:

https://www.auratus-morphs.jeffravage.com/


----------



## Thesassyteapot (Apr 21, 2020)

fishingguy12345 said:


> Hello, welcome to the boards.
> 
> If you were not given specific location/morph information from the place you bought them from then there's not going to be any 100% accurate identification of morph/locale.
> 
> ...


Oh, since they’re still very small they have been living in a grow out enclosure of moss and leaves; better monitoring their intake and what have you. I should clarify my *fancy* bioactive won’t be complete for a couple weeks, since what’s the point of having a jewel without a gorgeous piece of jewelry in which to display it? 😍 

Thank you for your thought on adding to the pack. That honestly reaffirms what i was feeling deep down. I’ve been out of the hobby for years now getting rather unexpectedly pulled back in when these guys showed up in the shoppe a few months ago. I will def be frequenting actual breeders for any future frogs. 

P


----------



## Thesassyteapot (Apr 21, 2020)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Don't breed animals whose identity cannot be conclusively established by the breeder, especially those from the general pet industry, which can be expected to have very questionable heritage. Period. The hobby, now and far into the future, thanks you.
> 
> For a great list of morphs and pics (not to establish identity of your frogs, but just for general awesomeness), try this, put together by @Ravage:
> 
> https://www.auratus-morphs.jeffravage.com/


Sweet, thank you! The link will only partially open but I’m on 8% battery and poor internet, I will flag it for later viewing. Auratus is such a cool and diverse group of frogs. 

Thank you for your thoughts on adding to the group. Honestly that reaffirms what I was really thinking, deep down. Some little voice was hopeful for a quick addition –wiser parts of me know to look at real breeders, but these little guys rather unexpectedly pulled me back into the hobby after a five year hiatus some months back. Thank you for entertaining my whim! 

P


----------



## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

Thesassyteapot said:


> I should clarify my *fancy* bioactive won’t be complete for a couple weeks, since what’s the point of having a jewel without a gorgeous piece of jewelry in which to display it? 😍


I think I understand your feeling here, so don't take this in any way but friendly discussion, but: many of us keep really excellent frogs in very, uh, _purely functional_ vivs; actually, the most appropriately designed vivs for thriving frogs can look pretty ugly -- no pretty water feature ('cause most frogs don't need it, and maintenance sucks, and they can be a danger to frogs), lots of drab leaf litter ('cause frogs love it), no big patches of moss ('cause from a frog-usage standpoint, moss is more or less an overly-hydrated wasteland), and so on.

There are folks who keep strikingly beautiful vivs with frogs in, and then there are people who keep really fascinating frogs in vivs; I'm happy to be one of the latter type.


----------



## Thesassyteapot (Apr 21, 2020)

Socratic Monologue said:


> Thesassyteapot said:
> 
> 
> > I should clarify my *fancy* bioactive won’t be complete for a couple weeks, since what’s the point of having a jewel without a gorgeous piece of jewelry in which to display it? 😍
> ...


Indeed, I believe we stand on similar grounds in regards to frog homes. I don’t buy into a lot of that either especially water features. Of course this is my first build in years, but I enjoy spending time tracking down unique endemic tropical plants and microfauna to place in ways that accommodate the frog and keep that plants happy; I see it as a perfect blend of art and science, and if the frog isn’t anything but thriving in your construction it’s all a waste imo. Leaf litter being excluded (like you said, people enjoy their water features and moss) is such a shame, in that you lose a natural zone in which the frogs would spend most of its time in the wild. All I meant from the above was that my vivarium which will be planted with endemic tropicals, seeded with many more appropriate microfauna, and built with more than 15 minutes of effort out of supplies I had on hand will be competed soon, and I’m very excited to share the finished project with the frog-world. ☺ 

I supposed I strive to be someone who keeps strikingly beautiful frogs in equally beautiful vivaria without hiding the natural beauty of the frog 😉. 

P


----------

