# Oak Leaf Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila) good for darts?



## LarryMac (Jun 24, 2020)

Title says most of the question. Would darts like walking on it as it spreads across the floor? Any toxicity concerns that you know of? Anyone keep this in the frog habitat? If a tree falls in the woods and there is no-one to sear it, does it really make a sound?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

LarryMac said:


> Title says most of the question. Would darts like walking on it as it spreads across the floor? Any toxicity concerns that you know of? Anyone keep this in the frog habitat? If a tree falls in the woods and there is no-one to sear it, does it really make a sound?


Lots of people use this plant in dart frog vivariums .

I'm not a fan, personally, I don't like the look of it. I also tend to avoid ground cover plants.


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## Rusty_Shackleford (Sep 2, 2010)

I have used it in the past as a climbing plant to cover the sides and back of a viv. I've never used it as ground cover as I and the frogs prefer leaf litter. 
However I don't use this plant anymore as it grows so fast you'll constantly be trimming it and if left unattended it will take over a viv and cover everything and I mean everything. 

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## Tijl (Feb 28, 2019)

I agree, the ficus is a very agressive grower. I pulled them out of all my tanks


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## Encyclia (Aug 23, 2013)

It's like fine-scale Kudzu. It can just take over and show the shape of everything it envelopes. However, I like that look sometimes so I use it in some of my tanks and am happy with it as long as I keep up with it.

Mark


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

I used to use it extensively in my tanks, but mostly just utilize it in quarantine setups and growouts these days. I like the way it looks when it really gets going, but it outcompetes most everything else.


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## Socratic Monologue (Apr 7, 2018)

LarryMac said:


> If a tree falls in the woods and there is no-one to sear it, does it really make a sound?


Physicist: yes, since sound is a vibration in a transmitting medium.

Psychologist: no, since sound is a perception.

Freudian psychologist: a tree, you say? Tell me more about your father....

Philosopher: Let us begin at the beginning, with Aristotle, who in _De Anima_ noted that "Sound may mean either of two things (a) actual, and (b) potential, sound. There are certain things which, as we say, 'have no sound', e.g..."

Frogger: oh dear, I hope there were no Dendrobatid tads in the phytotelmata on that tree!


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

The stuff grows fast enough to take over bromeliads if you don’t keep up with it. It’s not anywhere near as bad as ficus pumila but once it gets established can be a very aggressive grower.


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## HC1 (Jul 11, 2020)

I actually want to try this plant out in my terrarium, I was under the impression that it’s a much slower grower then pumila?


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## radiata (Jul 24, 2010)

Encyclia said:


> It's like fine-scale Kudzu. It can just take over and show the shape of everything it envelopes. However, I like that look sometimes so I use it in some of my tanks and am happy with it as long as I keep up with it.
> 
> Mark


I'm not familiar with "fine-scale Kudzu". Could you please post a link for some information about it?


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## gonzalez (Mar 28, 2018)

He’s saying it’s like a smaller form of kudzu where it just takes over everything only leaving its shape behind. Here’s an example of kudzu,








it’s stupidly envasive where I live


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## Frogmanjared (Jul 17, 2020)

gonzalez said:


> He’s saying it’s like a smaller form of kudzu where it just takes over everything only leaving its shape behind. Here’s an example of kudzu,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Completely off topic, but I had a shirt about kudzu, it was colored green by kudzu plants!


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## Broseph (Dec 5, 2011)

My experience: 

The oak leaf seems less aggressive than the standard, especially with regards to root growth. Regular ficus pumila has such tough aggressive roots that permeate every aspect of a vivarium, and makes removal impossible. AND if you try to remove it all, each root remnant sprouts new growth.

The oak leaf doesn't seem as bad for me. In line with a theme that has been popping up a lot lately, you have to know how to use it for it to be "useful" in a viv. 

Smaller frogs can use the foliage to hide, but larger frogs just get tripped up in it. But you could use its tendency toward mat-like growth to create shadows and caves which are useful for big frogs.


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## wriggles (Apr 5, 2014)

I ordered some to try and get my background covered. Should I plant it in the soil and let it creep up or should I just toothpick it to the background directly?


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## freezedried74 (Sep 2, 2017)

This plant grows so fast it eventually takes over your viv. I like to stick with slower growing plants.


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## Broseph (Dec 5, 2011)

wriggles said:


> I ordered some to try and get my background covered. Should I plant it in the soil and let it creep up or should I just toothpick it to the background directly?


I would start it in the soil. Ficus likes to stay pretty moist to get rooted, unlike "true" epiphytes which better tolerate moisture fluctuations, even as cuttings.



freezedried74 said:


> This plant grows so fast it eventually takes over your viv. I like to stick with slower growing plants.


You're talking about the oak-leaf variety? This has not been my experience. I have one smaller viv with cork mosaic walls containing several different mini orchids, epiphytic ferns, and other semi-rare slower-growing plants. The oak leaf ficus fills in gaps and behaves nicely.


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