# Painted Mantella eggs



## Hsp (Sep 3, 2021)

I am a huge fan of the painted mantellas (baroni is the best!).
Before I came to U.S on Aug, I have a 8 painted mantellas in China. I founded two clutches of eggs (in little pots they used to hide under the leaflet) in the 2019 and 2020 summer when I raised the temperature and gave them huge water sprays. However, they are both unfertilized. The males had been calling for a long time, and I could see that some are chasing the big-belly females.
I tried to figure out the reason, and here are my assumptions. -1. The eggs were the result of stressful ovulation in response to changing environment of the tank. It is really a hard one to exclude. -2. The "sexual ceremony" were conducted but the male failed to fertilize the eggs, probably due to wrong species-matching. I definitely have 1 Baroni female and might have 1 Mada_ female, but the calling sound of males really sounds like only Madas ( though they do look like baroni). -3. So many male adults in a 18 gallon tank. I saw them fight with each other like wrestling. Maybe is interrupted somehow. 
I saw a research paper said that males would still fertilize the eggs several times after the female leaves. So I tried to expose the unfertilized egg clutches, but it seemed the calling males was not interested at all.
Do you guys have any idea on that?


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## Hsp (Sep 3, 2021)

Besides, Do you know where I can buy those little cute? Just came to Philadelphia.
Neither Josh's and underwater have them.
If possible, I would really like to have some WC, for their brilliant color and being always big enough to tell the gender.
Really hope to see them again.


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## Johanovich (Jan 23, 2017)

Hsp said:


> I am a huge fan of the painted mantellas (baroni is the best!).
> Before I came to U.S on Aug, I have a 8 painted mantellas in China. I founded two clutches of eggs (in little pots they used to hide under the leaflet) in the 2019 and 2020 summer when I raised the temperature and gave them huge water sprays. However, they are both unfertilized. The males had been calling for a long time, and I could see that some are chasing the big-belly females.
> I tried to figure out the reason, and here are my assumptions. -1. The eggs were the result of stressful ovulation in response to changing environment of the tank. It is really a hard one to exclude. -2. The "sexual ceremony" were conducted but the male failed to fertilize the eggs, probably due to wrong species-matching. I definitely have 1 Baroni female and might have 1 Mada_ female, but the calling sound of males really sounds like only Madas ( though they do look like baroni). -3. So many male adults in a 18 gallon tank. I saw them fight with each other like wrestling. Maybe is interrupted somehow.
> I saw a research paper said that males would still fertilize the eggs several times after the female leaves. So I tried to expose the unfertilized egg clutches, but it seemed the calling males was not interested at all.
> Do you guys have any idea on that?


Do you have pictures and recordings of the frogs? We might be able to help with the ID.

From what I have seen so far, males chasing females doesn't really mean anything unfortunately. Females that are ready to lay eggs come to calling males who are typically close to suitable deposition sites and then move in there together. Usually other males join them as well.

I suspect these are probably stress clutches. When I got my group they also laid a clutch within an week which was unfertilised. Exposing clutches does more harm than good as you are disturbing the deposition site.

Getting fertilised clutches is the hardest thing in baroni. Give them time and hopefully they will figure it out.



Hsp said:


> Besides, Do you know where I can buy those little cute? Just came to Philadelphia.
> Neither Josh's and underwater have them.
> If possible, I would really like to have some WC, for their brilliant color and being always big enough to tell the gender.
> Really hope to see them again.


It is really hard to guess the gender of Mantella baroni. Excluding calling and egglaying (which can be challenging on their own to witness), there is only one way to know and it can only tell you wether it is a male. During the breeding season, active (in breeding mode) males will have femoral pores that are filled with white granules. If you see this, it's a male. Otherwise both male and female is possible as not all males actively breed each season.


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## Hsp (Sep 3, 2021)

Johanovich said:


> Do you have pictures and recordings of the frogs? We might be able to help with the ID.
> 
> From what I have seen so far, males chasing females doesn't really mean anything unfortunately. Females that are ready to lay eggs come to calling males who are typically close to suitable deposition sites and then move in there together. Usually other males join them as well.
> 
> ...


The eggs were laid after a year I bought them, but I do changed the environment quite drastically at that time. So, maybe they are just stress clutches. I actually set up a night version camera to monitoring their activity, and sadly, I don't really see any interactions between female and male. Maybe I will get them better food (Any suggestions? I used to feed them with 80% dusted fruit flies, 10% springtail, 10% crickets from eggs).


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