# super blue auratus



## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Last week I picked up 4 super blue auratus from BlackJungle. They have settled into their viv so i thought I'd share some photos. 

























They are approx 1 inch in length, they still got some growing to do, but they are healthy, active, bold, and beautiful!


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## azure89 (Jan 5, 2009)

Nice frogs, do you have any full pics of the viv?


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

here is their viv









and two more shots


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

I have had these 4 super blue auratus now for 9 months. They are now living in a freshly setup 10 gallon tank. They each have a personality, one is more shy than the others. I see 1 or 2 of them out in the open everytime I look into the tank. When I mist or open the lid to feed them they all come out to the front of the tank. I really enjoy them and think they display well against brown arther than gree, hence the leaf litter, coco huts, and treefern landscape.


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## dendro-dude (Jan 25, 2010)

They look more like Blue and Bronze.

Or is just me?


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## JoshK (Jan 5, 2009)

dendro-dude said:


> They look more like Blue and Bronze.
> 
> Or is just me?


 From what I understand, g&br, b/br, t/br, and super blues are all from the same imports and have been line bred. Most of mine are a turquoise color but have been throwing green, blue and teal colors.


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## dendro-dude (Jan 25, 2010)

JoshK said:


> From what I understand, g&br, b/br, t/br, and super blues are all from the same imports and have been line bred. Most of mine are a turquoise color but have been throwing green, blue and teal colors.


Soo, basically they're from the same line and there's no real morph distinction?


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## jubjub47 (Sep 9, 2008)

That is my understanding as well. The highland bronze are a different population from the others though.


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## JoshK (Jan 5, 2009)

jubjub47 said:


> That is my understanding as well. The highland bronze are a different population from the others though.


Yes, Highland bronze are completely different.


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

dendro-dude said:


> Soo, basically they're from the same line and there's no real morph distinction?


There have been different imports of "bronze" type frogs over the years...so go by year of import rather than subjective color titles. However, what we call "Super Blue" came in a shipment of a few hundred green/turquoise/teal/blue-and-bronze frogs. About a dozen of them had a different coloration, and those were selected out of the group and line bred, producing what we call "Super Blue."


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

That first pic in yesterday's post was taken with my iphone and it definitley messes with the colors, they are not that neon teal!

Two show a pattern of bronz with some blue markings, to show a pattern of marbled teal and bronze. The line of origin is SNDF, they call them super blue so I call them super blue. 

The panamanian importation of bronze and blue/teal/turquoise/green auratus is a mystery to me... But I am curious about the relationship between "highland bronze" and "super blue". Both of these lines/morphs through the variable offspring that I just described. Sean Stewarts "highland Bronze" just tend to show the silvery coloration as they age. Perhaps the original animals taken from the wild were of the "super blue" morph but were individuals with the silver coloring...??? just speculation, I am no authority on the matter. 

p.s. are there no field biologists in Panama!!?? What I wouldn't pay for an acurate filed guide to panamanian auratus morphs.


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## JoshK (Jan 5, 2009)

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/ge...rquoise-bronze-auratus-green-blue-bronze.html

That thread has some good info in it.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

I got some super blues a couple months ago. After doing some searching here to learn more about them, I found this post by Adam Butt. It's a couple years old and I don't know if anything has changed since then, but, I found it interesting.

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/general-discussion/29759-super-blue-auratus.html#post270384


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

jmailhot said:


> The panamanian importation of bronze and blue/teal/turquoise/green auratus is a mystery to me... But I am curious about the relationship between "highland bronze" and "super blue". Both of these lines/morphs through the variable offspring that I just described. Sean Stewarts "highland Bronze" just tend to show the silvery coloration as they age. Perhaps the original animals taken from the wild were of the "super blue" morph but were individuals with the silver coloring...??? just speculation, I am no authority on the matter.


This has been discussed in numerous threads over the last few years...do a search for "highland bronze" and, perhaps specifically, posts by me. Also, for a thorough discussion on the issue of Panamanian auratus and their origins (and how we in the hobby try to classify our animals), there is a great article in Issue 3.1 of Leaf Litter Magazine.

***EDIT***

Actually, if you just scroll down a bit in the link frogface posted above, you can see a response regarding the 'relatedness' the of "Super Blues" and "Highland Bronzes."


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

thanks skylsdale... I read that article in leaf litter when it first came out... it is well done and very helpful.


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

I think it highlights the difficulty of assigning frogs based primarily on physical characteristics/coloration. On a sidenote: the next issue of Leaf Litter (due out in a couple weeks) has a piece about an auratus population in Colombia.


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## myersboy6 (Aug 23, 2010)

do you have all 4 of those guys in a 10 gallon tank??


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## jeffr (May 15, 2009)

myersboy6 said:


> do you have all 4 of those guys in a 10 gallon tank??


looks like an 18x18x24


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Yup, they are currently living in a 10 gallon tank. I have only just recently heard calling, so I am careful to watch for courting, aggresion, and signs of stress in case I need to move one or two of them into another tank.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

jmailhot said:


> Yup, they are currently living in a 10 gallon tank. I have only just recently heard calling, so I am careful to watch for courting, aggresion, and signs of stress in case I need to move one or two of them into another tank.


I'd recommend moving them anyways. 4 in a 10 is pretty tight for larger juvies, sub adults and especially if they are adults. 4 new young froglets in a 10 no big deal, though its better to grow them out separately or at least in pairs... but if half grown or more that is way to small IMO. I'd do a 30gal or larger for a group of 4, you could get by with 20h or 20L minimum any less then that and you are really asking for trouble IMO.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

the other super blue threads that popped up this week encouraged me to update this thread.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Nice! We need a super blue appreciation thread


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)




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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

skylsdale said:


>


Great pics, especially love the 1st...seen that one around some I think. These guys really are as flashy as most frogs that can cost 2x as much or more...I guess us broke kids catch a break every once in awhile


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Dendro Dave said:


> Great pics, especially love the 1st...seen that one around some I think. These guys really are as flashy as most frogs that can cost 2x as much or more...I guess us broke kids catch a break every once in awhile


Hmmm...interesting. I haven't given anyone permission to use the image.

I said this a year or more ago: the coloration on these guys rival many of the histrionica morphs that people drool over. If it had a different species name (i.e. NOT auratus), people would be dropping a couple hundred dollars a piece to get their hands on them.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

skylsdale said:


> Hmmm...interesting. I haven't given anyone permission to use the image.
> 
> I said this a year or more ago: the coloration on these guys rival many of the histrionica morphs that people drool over. If it had a different species name (i.e. NOT auratus), people would be dropping a couple hundred dollars a piece to get their hands on them.


Yup... I just saw a pic on another forum of blue and bronze histrionica and the colors were increadibly similar.


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## Dendro Dave (Aug 2, 2005)

skylsdale said:


> Hmmm...interesting. I haven't given anyone permission to use the image.
> 
> I said this a year or more ago: the coloration on these guys rival many of the histrionica morphs that people drool over. If it had a different species name (i.e. NOT auratus), people would be dropping a couple hundred dollars a piece to get their hands on them.


Oh I just meant you've posted it on forums before....haven't you? I'm pretty sure I saved a copy to my pc awhile back. As far as I can remember I haven't seen any sites "using it".


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Dendro Dave said:


> Oh I just meant you've posted it on forums before....haven't you? I'm pretty sure I saved a copy to my pc awhile back. As far as I can remember I haven't seen any sites "using it".


Ah, I probably have. Good to hear on the latter...I thought you meant it was popping up on other sites. It's definitely a stunning frog morph.


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

jmailhot said:


> Yup... I just saw a pic on another forum of blue and bronze histrionica and the colors were increadibly similar.


I agree, the first thing that popped into my head when I saw Ron's first two pictures was, "Wow, that looks so similar to the blue/ bronze histos. Probably the closest I'll get to owning any "
Bryan


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Well there is no question about it... I caught this GUY calling the other day.









check out the perfect 'question mark' on this guys belly.


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## mordoria (Jan 28, 2011)

So, jmailhot
From the beginning 4 froglets you got from Black Jungle, they were all girls? or all boys?
I just picked up some froglets and cant wait to sex em' (mostly so i can name them).
You saw one calling? Whats that sound like?

Here's my new babies.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

turned out all 4 are males. I should be trading one male for one female to a fellow dendroboarder soon. 
I'll have to update with pics soon


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

A recent update...

This is the male I hope to trade for a female









This is my melanistic Super Blue









And some of the others


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

More pics uploaded from my Iphone today...

This is a 20G vert I recently setup for a pair.



























Here is the melanistic female

















And her boyfriend









They have been laying a few clutches lately!! 

















This guy is eagerly awaiting his new girlfriend whom I traded for this week. They will meet next week and I'll have some pics of her soon.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

just a quick update.

Here's a pic of one of many clutches I have been getting from my two pairs of super blue auratus.









And here is the new female I traded a male for back in June \


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

I had the two pairs breeding in their own tanks for 2-3 months this summer. Both pairs were giving me 3 eggs per week. After about 2 months, the clutches started going south... most of the eggs would mold or begin developing but stop, or develop with malformations. 
So I seperated the pairs. For the past 2 months the boys have been in one tank and the girls in the other. I'm giving them a break from breeding and replacing my supplements. I will reintroduce the pairs sometime toward the end of October.

A few Froglet Pictures





































The first 20 or so froglets that came out of the water were big and healthy. But the froglets that were some of the last tadpoles before I seperated the pairs have been coming out small and/or with SLS.

Are people able to have pairs of frogs continuously breed without degredation in the health of the eggs/tadpoles/froglets? Is this just a supplementation issue?


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

jmailhot said:


> Are people able to have pairs of frogs continuously breed without degredation in the health of the eggs/tadpoles/froglets? Is this just a supplementation issue?


Try giving them a break, it will probably help with quality of eggs/ tads. Cycle them down for a few months and then try breeding, and make sure you keep up with the supplements, and I bet you will get healthy froglets again.
Congrats with the good froglets you already have!
Bryan


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

When I first got my melanistic female, I asked on the boards and some breeders if they knew what would happen genetically if I bred a melanistic female with a regular male. no one had a definite answer and I haven't heard from anyone who has done so themselves.

Here is the pair. 









And here are their offspring from the past season.









All the offspring are bright blue. None are showing melanism

My second pair...









Produced a variety of blue, turquoise, and several melanistic froglets!


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## kickedinthevader (Jan 30, 2011)

These guys are beautiful! I waaaant lol


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## silentRI (Nov 9, 2009)

Will you be parting with some forgets jmail?


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

I will be... But they are too young now, so I won't be posting them for sale with shipping until the spring.


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## kickedinthevader (Jan 30, 2011)

And now we play the waiting game...


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Spring-Time Update:

I let the pairs rest this winter, build fat and nutrition reserves. They started laying again in January. I've had froglets coming out of the water every week since early February. I now have 40 froglets/juveniles and 25 more tadpoles in the water. 

My Melanistic Female. I just like showing her off because she is beautiful









One of my Males









A froglet just a day or two out of the water









Some 3 month old juveniles

















These guys are growing fast. At a little over 3 months out of the water, they are just about 1 inch long.









PM me if your interested in some. I am ready to ship this month.


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## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Nice! Thanks for the update


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

I thought I'd share my heated tadpole setup that I think is great.

It is a 10 gallon tank, false bottom, aquarium heater, and 32 acrylic cubes for individual housing of 32 tadpoles.
The 32 acrylic containers measure 2.35"x2.35"x3.5"
I found them at the craft store, they are used for displaying things or as a storage container. The fit perfectly in a 4x8 grid in a 10 gallon tank!









side shot









a single container with an auratus tad


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Froglet Morph- tanks

this is a 2.5 gallon tank with a glass lid.
I use 1" thick pond filter foam (hardware store that sells pond supplies) to create land. on that I add sphagnum, plants, leaf litter.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Froglet Grow-out Tanks

I use gasketed food storage bins that I found at the container store. They were expensive and I since seen a gasketed container of similar size by a mainstream brand that is much less expensive. 

Here is a container









I used stainless steel tea ball halves for ventilation. Drill the right size hole, and silicone it into the lid or side for fruit fly proof ventilation.









This is the inside of a typical grow-out tank. I first put down a layer of foam air conditioner filter. This keeps the substrate off the plastic bottom and helps keep if fresh (not submerged and swampy decomposition)
Them I put ABG mix, leaf litter, and cuttings of broad leaved vines like philodendron or epipernium 









Here is my small rack with the 10 gallon tadpole tank and 4 froglet contaniners. This has barely been enough room to grow-out tadpoles and froglets fro just 3 pairs of auratus. I have to stop pulling eggs or seperate pairs every few months to slow down production.


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## Jeremy305 (Nov 25, 2009)

Enjoy them, great frogs.


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## Ivan M (Apr 11, 2012)

This has got to be one of the best explained methods for rearing tadpoles to froglets i have seen yet, i am VERY new to darts and just started working on an empty 40 gallon and 4 ten gallon tanks and this here helps tremendously with how to get things going once there are tadpoles around, if no one has thanked you i want to say THANK YOU kindly, great info and even better photos to help out.


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Beautiful aurautus Jmail. Hey, in the post above in your grow out tub...what speacies of plant is that? A philodendron, or a piper maybe?


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Epipernium Cebu blue
I guess it's closely related to Pothos. It has the same trailing growth habit and is just as hardy and easy to grow as pothos.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

*Courtship Sequence*

Here are a few shots taken during courtship. The melanistc female followed the turquoise male around for an hour... later that afternoon there were 4 new eggs under to coco hut.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

*calling male*

Here is a male from a different pair, just a before and after shot of him calling.

He let me get my iphone 3 inches away from him with the tank door open to take these shots.


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

FEMALE TRANSPORTING!! Not a great photo, but this is the female from one of my pairs and she has a tadpole on her back. I stopped pulling eggs 2 months ago, but they haven't stopped laying (I'm going to separate them for a while). The male had transported yesterday, and this morning the female had a tadpole on her back. Maybe she just sat in the coco hut too long and that tadpole wanted out!?


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## Shinosuke (Aug 10, 2011)

Thanks for making this awesome write-up. 

How do you keep track of the froglet's age / parents? Do you put them all together and guesstimate the age based on size, or...?

Also, that Luigi's italian ice is some goood stuff!


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## frograck (May 1, 2005)

Blue masking tape and a sharpie.

I label the Petri dishes when I pull them, label the tadpole cups, label the morph-out container, and label the froglet tanks.


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