Okay hopefully this hideous little visual aid helps.
Top is current semi-bio set up with pothos plants
My current plan is to reconfigure it to the bottom, where they have more water area:
Pothos is perfectly fine being in water only, and I think they’ll help keep ammonia down
Using rocks instead of soil will be less messy
Yes it won’t be a true humid bio like I have with my isopod colony, hermit crab tank, or land snail terrarium. But I dont think the frogs would use much land area, so I think I’ll prioritize underwater hides and shaded spots? While OF COURSE allowing the main land mass + other large rocks so they can hop up when they want.
As long as I take at least 60% water changes regularly and potentially get more water plants, it’ll stay perfectly clean even without an aquarium filter system?
I probably wouldn’t do that high of water exchange regularly if you want you can get fish take filter material put a layer of activated charcoal and then a layer of the filter you can take up the water and pour it through the filter you can put a drainge hole at the bottom so the water will pour through the filter cleaning the water, the activated charcoal filter you make will be good for about a month then dump that filter and make a nrw one, no need to keep changing new water.
I buy this charcoal and the fiber wi cost abot 10 bucks when you see the fiber looking dark change the fiber. Also you want to condition the charcoal run water through your home made filter system till it runs clear, you are ready to go.
When the water gets kinda yuck never do more than a 50% change out but if you run the filter you should be good for several filter changes before changing water. When i raised fish and ive had lots in many aquarium i had 10 tanks before i only did a 50% like once a year, id do 25% maybe 6 months. You really don’t have to invest in a filter system especially when you can do ot manually its basically what a filter for a tank does anyway. Sucks in the water in the intake tubes runs it over your filter then shoots out the part below the filter. I dont even see a need for a bottom fed filter for 2 frogs unless you went full bio
OMG that’s so cool I never would have thought of making a hand held filter!
Amazing, I’ll absolutely do that.
And thanks for the water change advice, I wasn’t thinking about how more water would stay managable for longer once they are in the frog phase. At 1liter and 2 liter tupperwares in the tadpole stage (lots of protein and growth = LOTS of poops) the water soiled pretty quickly, but that should be slowing down a bit now.
I used to have a small filter that I ran in my fire bellied toad tank many years ago, so they do make them. It definitely worked well but needed to be maintained like any other filter. I believe it was specifically made for paludariums. Serpa Design on Youtube often uses even smaller pumps to fashion very small filters for his custom builds. I think the water/land ratio for me was about 50/50 and it worked well for firebellies. (Sorry I didnt have time to read rest of thread- need to go to doctor’s appt.)
No worries! I love Serpa Design, and I’ll totally revisit some of his paladarium builds so see what he uses. Might be helpful for when the frogs get larger!
So, looks like you guys got alot handled haha, i only wanted to comment fast on this
It is an important point, but not a universal one. If you are connected to city water, this is 100% must follow advice without the use of a dechlorinator like reptisafe. However, if your water is from a private deepwater well (the 30-40ft shallow wells can get contaminated with runoff, so id still be careful with them), then your water is coming filterered through bedrock with no additives and is perfectly safe to use straight from the tap.
If you are unsure which you have, always er on the side of caution.
I just know for me i have a 400 ft deep water well, so i just use water straight from the hose for my animals haha, its a saved hassle if you have the right system.
I for sure err on the side of caution, I live in a super small village most of the year which has well-water, but my campus IN the village seems to have its own water source, and I can’t even drink it unfiltered without getting an upset stomach.
So absolutely not allowable for a creature who lives in the water and absorbs it throught their skin, I’ll be extra safe with reptisafe lol
But I didn’t know some wells were actually safe from the get go, that’s cool!
When all 3 tadpoles were together, they were named after the Scrooge McDuck’s triplet nephews Huey, Dewie, and Louie. But the names never stuck, and of course we no longer have triplets.
I think I’ll interchangably refer to my 2 froggies (no way to tell them apart once I mix them in the larger water area) as Ribby and Croaks, the frog themed duo boss fight from Cuphead!
I think it’s cute, I love the game, and these two are fighters for sure!
Obviously the plan was to wait a month or so before reconstructing the tank to be majority water, but I think the plan is changing.
The froglet/frog are beginning to show signs of increased stress/jitteriness, and seem to panic when I approach because the small water areas don’t allow for ample ‘escape’ room for them to feel safe and there isn’t enough room per tupperware for ample hiding places.
So I’m giving the froglet the rest of the week to continue to mature his lungs/absorb his tail, and then this weekend they are getting their water upgrade.
Plus, when I head home for a weekend later this month, I’ll bring back (sterilized) one of my leopard gecko’s old hides he is much too big for; it would allow for both underwater hiding places and an above water perch.
I can’t wait to show everyone what the new set up looks like!
Lordy, plans cannot stay plans without changing around here!
The frogs are getting increasingly agitated, and trying to force themselves under rocks. So in order to keep them from getting more stressed, the remodel is happening tonight. I don’t have time again until Saturday afternoon (exams, ew), and I don’t want them to be this uncomfy for that long.
So new tank update soon!
They already seem more calm, although the more mature froglet (the more anxious one) has hidden himself so well I can’t find him which is a little concerning, bc I can’t check he’s okay if I can’t find him
