# reticulatus, azureus, or galactonotus



## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

I'm toying with the idea of getting more frogs and the species I really like, and don't seem to be ridiculous to take care of, are reticulatus and galactonotus, or azureus. Which do you prefer? Which is easier? Anything I should know? And a more fun question, which do you prefer?

Right now the only darts i've had are my two cobalts. I had two azureus that I lost because I didn't have a handle on what I was doing at first. My methods have improved 1000X over the past couple years.


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## Fishman (Jan 16, 2007)

I would go with azureus personally.


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

First of all retics would not be a good species if you have not kept any thumbs in the past and second they are very hard to come by as well as the fact that they are expensive.They can be difficult to get established , they are very small and are a bit on the advanced end.

Galacts are a nice frog but I would defintily go with the azureus, they would be the easiest.


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## moothefrog (May 16, 2008)

What he said ^. The only reason I chose azureus is because they're cheaper then galacts.


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## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

ggazonas said:


> First of all retics would not be a good species if you have not kept any thumbs in the past and second they are very hard to come by as well as the fact that they are expensive.They can be difficult to get established , they are very small and are a bit on the advanced end.
> 
> Galacts are a nice frog but I would defintily go with the azureus, they would be the easiest.


Good deal. Glad I asked. What's a good thumb to start with then? What makes their care so much more difficult? Just sensitivity?


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

A lot of it has to do with their size as they are so much smaller. Its a lot easier for escapees to happen and a lot of people will start to freak when they dont see their frogs for a couple weeks. When getting used to the new surroundings they will hide like crazy and won't come out until they feel a lot more comfortable. And yes, they are more sensitive to their surroundings. 

-Matt


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## jehitch (Jun 8, 2007)

skips said:


> Good deal. Glad I asked. What's a good thumb to start with then? What makes their care so much more difficult? Just sensitivity?


A lot of people think Dendrobates ventrimaculatus is a good starter thumbnail, but I seldom see ours. However, the D. variabilis are very bold and almost always out where you can see them. They seem pretty hardy as well.


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## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

jehitch said:


> A lot of people think Dendrobates ventrimaculatus is a good starter thumbnail, but I seldom see ours. However, the D. variabilis are very bold and almost always out where you can see them. They seem pretty hardy as well.


Both are pretty cool frogs. I won't be going that route for a while probably. I'll do Azureus or galactonotus first. Thanks.


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

Vents , lamasi and variablis are all good easier thumbs to keep. I don't want to say easy frogs to keep because they can be challenging sometimes, considering that most are very quick, small and hide very well. Depending on your setup and the frogs will depend on if you will see them often. I keep bth green legged lamasi and orange lamasi. My O. lamasi I only see once in a while. The green leggeds are almost always out. I also keep a few vent species. The standard vents I usually see, and the amazonicus are laways out, but my iquitos hides alot. However I have heard different things from different breeders, s it all depends on what I said earlier.

The variabilis though, are very bold and will mostly likely always be seen. Mine are still in QT but are always on the side on the container.


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## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

ggazonas said:


> Vents , lamasi and variablis are all good easier thumbs to keep. I don't want to say easy frogs to keep because they can be challenging sometimes, considering that most are very quick, small and hide very well. Depending on your setup and the frogs will depend on if you will see them often. I keep bth green legged lamasi and orange lamasi. My O. lamasi I only see once in a while. The green leggeds are almost always out. I also keep a few vent species. The standard vents I usually see, and the amazonicus are laways out, but my iquitos hides alot. However I have heard different things from different breeders, s it all depends on what I said earlier.
> 
> The variabilis though, are very bold and will mostly likely always be seen. Mine are still in QT but are always on the side on the container.


So, i guess that begs the question, since I could almost hand feed my tincs, how do you know they're eating if you only see them every once and a while? You just let springtails or melanogaster go in the tank and assume they're being eaten?


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Retics can be tough at times, and rather fragile. 

Galacs are find but tough to breed.

Azureus, everyone loves them and they are great frogs.


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

i agree, retics are challenging frogs and do require a little more attention.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

I chose retics b/c I like a challenge.


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## bksbuddha (Oct 2, 2008)

skips said:


> So, i guess that begs the question, since I could almost hand feed my tincs, how do you know they're eating if you only see them every once and a while? You just let springtails or melanogaster go in the tank and assume they're being eaten?


I'm by far the least experienced person replying here, I'm sure, but I usually check out the condition of each frog as I see them. I try to be confident that if I provide the food, they will eat. I have Auratus & Bicolor so I'm fortunate that they're usually out for me to see them at feeding time. I would imagine that's how everyone else does it.
 I also have Hermit Crabs & they're notorious for hiding their behaviors from prying eyes. I merely note their condition when I see them & have to trust that they are indeed consuming the food that I provide them w/.
At least the frogs don't change clothes to confuse ya! rofl

Btw, how do ya go about "hand feeding" your frogs?


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## pacaAndrew (Sep 8, 2008)

I would go with Galacts, because they are my all time favorite. I don't have any but I will.....soon (girlfriend permitting)


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## Yarak_Eric (Jan 8, 2009)

I'm going to take over as the person with least experience replying (I don't have PDF's yet but am in the planning and researching stage)

From what I've READ mind you, I would recommend the Azureus. All information points to them being bold, active, mostly terrestrial, and easy to breed. That being said, I think they're one of the prettiest frogs and one of the reasons that I was interested in the first place.

As far as the thumbnail comment, I was suprised that no one mentioned imitators. I have a friend in town who has had a succesful outcome with imitators as his first frogs.

Just my unexperienced 2 cents!


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## squishy81 (Sep 13, 2007)

Imi's are nice but go with the Azureus. The imi's can be shy, not usually the case with the Azureus, at least not with mine.


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## jaybr123 (Dec 28, 2008)

retics all the way


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## skips (Dec 15, 2008)

Yeah, really I just wanted some thing different as alot of people seem to have azureus. They are so pretty though. My plans have changed though. I just got into breeding a whole lot of invertebrates so that's taking up my time. New PDF's will have to wait till I can give them the attention they need.


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