# Pumilio Cristobal



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

I bought a pair of Cristobals from Marcus at the Daytona Expo. I finally got a couple of decent photos. I can't get over how awesome these frogs are. 

Interestingly, the male was calling like crazy in the little plastic container on the way home from the Expo and did some calling in the temporary container. Since I put them in the new viv, I haven't heard a peep. They both were pretty skittish for the first week in the viv, hence the difficulty in getting photos. They are settling in a showing themselves a bit more. I hope to hear some calling again soon and dare to hope for some eggs.


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Gorgeous! Ummm, FTS?


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

frogface said:


> Gorgeous! Ummm, FTS?


Does that stand for first timer syndrome? These are my first pumilios.


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

lol first time syndrome! It stands for 'full tank shot'. We want to see the whole thing!


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

frogface said:


> lol first time syndrome! It stands for 'full tank shot'. We want to see the whole thing!


HA! I'll post some FT shots tomorrow.


----------



## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Very nice Cristobals, i have a pair in my 75gal but havent heard any calling from either of them. I keep playing audio clips trying to induce it but nothing yet....one day I would like to get a pair of those marbled ones as well. GL with them!


----------



## azure89 (Jan 5, 2009)

Awesome frog, hey what is the name of that neo it is on?


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

azure89 said:


> Awesome frog, hey what is the name of that neo it is on?


I got a couple of labels mixed up, but I got it from Alasdair (Rareplantbroker). I'm sure he could ID it if I can't find the label.


----------



## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

nice frogs, best of luck, they breed like rabbits!


----------



## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

Julio is dead on, I got my pair from SNDF in April or May and already have 8 froglets oow about 2 months, and a ton more in the water. The froglets morph out HUGE as well.


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

Julio said:


> nice frogs, best of luck, they breed like rabbits!


I can't imagine anything more exciting in the hobby. I set up a 20H using a clay backgroud for the first time. I anchored the clay with several pieces of cork barked glued to the glass. I also used a clay-based soil recipe I got from Lee (flapjax3000) that has various proportions of kitty litter (bentonite), art clay, turface infield conditioner, expanded coco fiber, and some sphagnum moss. I dumped in a large number of springtails and put down a leaf litter. I have a trickle wall and am up to six broms. I can probably fit a couple more smaller specimens if that is necessary. I've also ordered three other species of springtails and some isopods. I want as diverse and dense a population of microfauna as I can get for the froglets when they emerge (assuming I get some). Oh, and I sprinkled calcium montmorillinite clay powder on the soil before adding the leaf litter.

I'll never go back to fern panel or GS backgrounds. I love the clay even tough it took some adjusting to keep the trickled water from saturating the clay background and risk it falling off the glass. I had that happen on a small scale, but added some pieces of cork bark and rocks to direct the drips into a concave cork bark segment that acts as a little streambed. I'll post pictures later this week of the entire set up.

I have an Exo Terra fixture with two 23 Watt, 6,500k bulbs that each put out 1,600 lumens. I went with the slightly lower wattage bulbs due to the size of the tank. I didn't want to overheat it. 

Since these are my first pumilio, any advice is welcomed.

Thanks,

Jim


----------



## Nicholas (Mar 16, 2010)

I am soooo envious of you right now. These are my favorite Pumilio's these and Blue Jean's. Gosh it would be so awesome to have a pair of those.

As soon as i got some more experience keeping darts I am sooo getting a pair of these. I have been eye balling these pumilio's for at least 9 months now.

Got my Leuc's from josh's and I am loving every second.
Don't even want to know how I will feel when I get a pair of these.

CONGRATS DUDE I WISH THEY WERE MINE 
P.S. Maybe when you get them to breed I could get dibs on some from you


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

Nicholas said:


> CONGRATS DUDE I WISH THEY WERE MINE
> P.S. Maybe when you get them to breed I could get dibs on some from you


You got it. Top of the list.


----------



## Nicholas (Mar 16, 2010)

JimO said:


> You got it. Top of the list.


Now that's what I call the Bee's Knees.


----------



## stevenhman (Feb 19, 2008)

Perhaps you could share this recipe with the masses?

And I'm glad to see that my leaf money was well spent! Very nice!


----------



## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

How are you going to describe all of this wonderful work you did and deprive us of a full tank shot? That my friend is an outrage!

Best of luck to your new breeding pair. Only advice I have is have lots of broms, good air circulation and cycle in repashy. Then it is up to them to be good parents.


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

Okay, here's the 20H Cristobal viv. It's pretty simple and doesn't look like much in the picture actually. I have six broms and cuttings started from ficus pumilio to grow up the back wall. I also put some pieces of moss from one of my other vivs (where it has overgrown the waterfall) on the cork bark that constitutes my version of a drip wall. The water is pumped out of one spot and dribbles down against the grain of the cork bark. I still have to figure out some kind of ventilation.









Would any of you who have pumilio breeding experience suggest more broms or other types of plants?

Also, my son caught the male calling and got this shot.


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Nice! I love it simple. One of my favorite tanks (for my leucs) has nothing but pothos in it. They seem to like it.


----------



## Nicholas (Mar 16, 2010)

They look pretty big... what pumilio sitting on the brom in the top right of the first pic looks the same size as my Leuc's... are they a bigger thumbnail species ? or are my eyes playing tricks on me?


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

Nicholas said:


> They look pretty big... what pumilio sitting on the brom in the top right of the first pic looks the same size as my Leuc's... are they a bigger thumbnail species ? or are my eyes playing tricks on me?


They're not as big as they seem in the photos. They're quite a bit larger than my Intermedius, but not as big as the average Leuc.


----------



## JimO (May 14, 2010)

I still can't get over that my son was able to get a photo in mid-call. He reminds me of Jabba the Hut. Hmmm, I think I just named him - Jabba the Dart.

One of my sons named one of the four Intermedius "Mr. T" due to "T" on its back and this was before any were sexed. As it turns out, Mr. T is the only male in the group.


----------



## Nicholas (Mar 16, 2010)

JimO said:


> I think I just named him - Jabba the Dart.


ROTFLMAO!!! thats funny!


----------



## RarePlantBroker (Aug 3, 2008)

Jim, the vivarium turned out great! Glad to see your new pumiliio's in their new home. You've got room for a few more brom's in the background--but those should start to pup before too long.

Travis, that bromeliad is Neoregelia 'Fireball' x N. 'Royal Burgundy'.


----------



## BlueRidge (Jun 12, 2010)

Beautiful! I these are definitely on the list of pums for my vert. Gorgeous!


----------



## ESweet (Apr 13, 2009)

JimO said:


> Would any of you who have pumilio breeding experience suggest more broms or other types of plants?
> View attachment 12298


Jim,
In almost all my pumilio tanks, I use one other plant besides bromeliads, if any other plants at all. Just make sure not to take away too much floor space - I feel they are bolder with more floor space and lots of broms to retreat to.


----------



## bgmike64 (Mar 16, 2008)

Any updates or babies? I'm curious to see if yours have been laying eggs like crazy. Mine do but no tads yet.


----------

