# Water dishes in tanks?



## phyllopastry (Feb 11, 2014)

Hey Dendroboard,

I have a question regarding water dishes in tanks …. I don't have water features in my tanks, but rather I use petri dishes and small low water dishes for the frogs to soak in and hopefully one day deposit eggs/tadpoles. On top of regular misting that helps to replenish the water, how often do you take the dishes out and clean them and replace them with all new water? I have also read somewhere that using dishes to let frogs soak in can be a bad idea in general because it will just accumulate bacteria and is bad for them. (I make the water level low enough so that they can climb out easily and not drown) I have heard that some people don't use water at all, as long as the humidity is up in the tank then the frogs will just absorb water that way through the air and off of plants. Just looking to hear different opinions on what you all do, thanks! Btw, I have a pair of Phyllobates Terribilis and 4 R. Sirensis, so if you have any ideas on what to do with the different species regarding water that would be great.


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## toadlicker00 (Feb 14, 2013)

I don't use water dishes most of the time. When I do it is in the form of a petri dish. I change the water or dish every two or three days. Once you see feces in the dish its time to change. You don't want them bathing in waste.


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## hypostatic (Apr 25, 2011)

I don't have any type of water dish or feature in my viv. My frogs are healthy and have bred successfully without them.

If you really want a dish, I would recommend cleaning it every other day, or whenever you notice that it looks "dirty".


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## Matecho (Dec 16, 2013)

I have a water dish in my tank and i change it once every morning and once in a while at night. My frogs really like to be in the water dish and i have seen all of them in there at once. I don't know if its just my frogs but they love to sit in a water bowl


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## Frog pool13 (Oct 30, 2013)

What I do is occasionally put a water dish in a tank for a day or two and then completely replace the dish whenever I feel I need to put it back in.


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## srrrio (May 12, 2007)

The beauty of frog keeping.. not always one clear answer. I keep some form of water in all my tanks that have possible breeding going on, or tanks I want to encourage breeding. For pumilio and ranitomeya it is plants, film cans, sometimes little dosing cups. For all the big frogs it is a simple corner pond and/or 6ish oz glass custard cups. In truth I rarely empty or change them .. just add water. When a tad shows up .. that is when it gets changed. Although I sometimes let the tad grow up in the tank that way as well.

I would say to the OP that the one group that does not seem to use them much are my P. terribilis. With that said, it was pretty exciting for me to see a male carrying around a bunch of tads and over about 3 days he had deposited them in separate "bowls" !


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## mfsidore (Oct 10, 2012)

I find my frogs in theirs everyday!


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

I use water dishes in some tanks, in my experience having some standing water encourages some frogs to breed since the males will use it to soak in (for keeping the eggs moist) and transporting tadpoles. Honestly I don't change mine out unless they look really dirty, I usually just dig down into the substrate so they are like a small pool level with the ground and put some gravel in there so it blends in better. It will get leaves, moss, etc. knocked into it, I just fill it up when it dries out and really only change it when I see tadpoles in it.
Bryan


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

sorta what I do as well -- just think of where they originally come from, and how they also like funky water as tadpoles (according to some on DB)...I use the nutpods that have been treated to retain water...and in some tanks the petri dishes, only because I haven't had the time to waterproof the pods. The thumbs don't seem the least interested ...


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## Jessa (Feb 9, 2014)

I also use a small water dish in my tanks, even for my younger frogs who arent even close to breeding age yet. My alanis tincs hop through it pretty often and seem to enjoy a quick soak here and there. Not had any issues but i do clean it out at least every other day. My frogs dont avoid it so i dont see a harm as long as they arent too deep or full of frog logs...


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## phyllopastry (Feb 11, 2014)

Thank you to everyone for all of the helpful responses, I really appreciate it!


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## Kas (Oct 6, 2013)

I use tiny soy sauce bowls that I buy at a local Chinese grocer. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors. I use them for feeding FFs, water dishes, for banana slices, etc. My leucs LOVE to soak in their little 2" shallow dishes.


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