# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) > General Discussion >  FINALLY!!! Say hello to my dart trio!

## Eli

I got them! Today at the white plains reptile expo! Three dendrobates leucomelas. I got them and a tank for them and some fruit flies. Don't worry i had the QT setup done ahead of time. They are a bit bigger than my thumbnail. Here they are!

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## Amy

Yay!!  Congrats, Eli!  They are beautiful!

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## Eli

So, ive had them for about 20 minutes, and i can already tell they are like no frog ive ever had! They are ALL OVER THE PLACE! My other frogs just sit around and wait for food

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## bill

Sweet! Congrats Eli!!


Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world ~ Nelson Mandela

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## Eli

More pics :Smile: !! 
Edit: These two are always together and the other one enjoys climbing walls then jumping off into the water dish then repeat
Edit edit: they have eaten crickets. The crix i got were smaller than the fruit flies btw
Edit edit edit: i rant when im excited

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## Lynn

Eli,
They are beautiful!
I'm sure you know, Leucs are very entertaining, bold, curious, and quite proficient at , well ...........procreating !! 

They are especially out and about at this froglet stage   :Smile: 

Enjoy them 
Thanks for sharing

 :Butterfly:

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## Eli

Thanks! They are orangish toward the middle, dandelion colored on top of the legs and neon yellow on the armpit and inner thigh. Obviously with black everywhere too. Does this mean anything?

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## ColleenT

They are awesome! i love their colors- so vibrant. Congrats!! ( i was at the show today, too. probably bumped into you and didn't even know it. LOL) the show was great today. beautiful animals.

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## Carlos

Congrats on new frogs  :Big Applause:  !  Leucs are one of the most outgoing darts, not shy at all  :Smile:  !

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## Paul

Congrats on the new frogs! Luecs are next up on my list!

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## Eli

I have figured out how to distinguish them! 
Frog number one has a black stripe down his/her head with one black dot on each side
Frog number two has the same stripe but has one spot on one side and two spots on the other
Frog number three lacks the stripe and has one big spot on his/her head.

The seller told me that they are too young to tell the sex but from the shape they look all female.

My mom got pics of some frogs and stuff. Here they are[IMG]http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/
v2/14/09/07/770e99b07be34ea20b40671bc7c54457.jpg[/IMG]




My build has also commenced. The after pic of day ones work 
Hope u like

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## ColleenT

i thought all those baby darts were adorable. there were a few baby thumbnail darts, too. SO teeny. i am glad you can tell your frogs apart. did you come up with names?

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## Eli

I did but im waiting to tell the gender. Dont want a gender mix up like my toads. Btw helios is female and selene is male so now i have to switch the names lol.
Edit: the QT i have now is the tank i originally wanted to use. The only substrate is paper towels so the height is not an issue. The tank i am building for them is an 18x18x24 exo terra

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## Eli

That expanding foam really expands! I will start carving tonight and applying silicone and coco fiber

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## ColleenT

it totally does. i was shocked and i cut away a lot of it. thankfully, it is easy to carve with a sharp knife.

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## Eli

So i had waited and then started carving about 15 minutes. Ok so i admit that i didnt wait 24 hours but i did a great deal. Uncovered some wet foam toward the back so i will wait (hopefully) another 24 hours and then apply silicone and coco fiber to the background. I carved some caves and planters. Here are the pics from the end of day two. Hope you like! 
 here are some more pics of the frogs in action
 everyone out for lunch
 "three" is the most active
 three again
 "two"
 one

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## ColleenT

it looks good. did you plan it to look like a face? LOL. i am sure when you add everything it won't be noticeable.

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## Eli

I must admit that i wasn't planning on it LOL! The "eyes" and "nose will have plants in them with tillandsias pinned on surrounding them so i don't think it will be noticeable when its all done. The "mouth is supposed to be a cave

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## ColleenT

the frogs will enjoy it.

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## Eli

Will expanding foam adhere to expanding foam that is already dry? I know silicone doesn't adhere to cured silicone but is it the same way for the expanding foam?

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## Paul

Yes it will stick to itself. Only silicon works to ruin our tanks with its one shot and then done properties  :Smile: 

One tip with the black/dark grey foam. It does not stick to glass well at all. If you notice it pealing off the glass on one edge it is best to just run your fingers up under it and it will pull free from the glass in one shot easily. Then apply silicone to the entire back of the foam and press it into place. Just a friendly tip. I had a whole side of one tank fall off over night. Learned that lesson the hard way lol.

Tank is looking great though Eli!

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Frogman1031

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## Eli

What I'm going to do is add more foam to the sides and then carve a tunnel which will open up into that big cave in the middle then finally end in another tunnel.  Then carve out ledges and planters and see :Smile: 

Can anyone recommend a good hygrometer company? 

Also, good plant species that will thrive with the temps and humidity needed for the leucs. Yes, i plan to get a 6500k light. And i already have enough pothos so suggestions besides that.

How exactly do you dust the fruit flies efficiently? Ive been dusting but at the same time making a mess.

A couple more pics. 


 sorry if some have already been posted i cant keep track lol

Yes, this thread is my frogs' intro, my build thread, and pics thread. I dont see the need to make a separate thread for all three. 

Will my 18x18x24 be enough? Lets just assume the worst here and say they are all big fat females. 

They are about an inch. I know its too early but besides calling and belly size, is there a way to tell boys from girls? 

They already have their own bedtime places :Smile: ! Three sleeps on the mister head. Two on the glass, and one under a plant.

Hope you guys like!! :Smile:

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## Paul

Fruit Flies Dusting - I have a link to my youtube channel in my signature. There is a Fruit Fly culturing how to video and in it I also included how I dust my flies. 

Foam sounds like it could be really cool. Just keep an eye out for it pulling free of the glass. Easier to address it now than after the frogs are living in the tank.

Some wines would do good in there for the Luecs since they love to climb. Some Repens, Lipstick VIne, Wondering Jew... to name a few.

Begonias, Ferns ... Bill is our resident plant nut. He knows all the cool ones and knows their names. I will see if I can't scare him up for you. 

18x18x24 is borderline big enough for 3. 2 - 3 in an 18x18x24 is doable, but a 24x18x24 the would probably enjoy more.

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## Eli

Here are some more pics of the frogs after a week. I feel bad that they already have places that they sleep every day but when they are put in the viv they will have to do another search LOL!

 "Three"
 "One"
 "Two"


 everyone together
 two off to bed
 one likes to get his/her beauty rest
 hard to get a pic of three where he/she always sleeps 
 the tank. I filled in some holes and the sides and recarved

Hope you like :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile: !

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## Eli

Goes to bed too early, cant get to sleep later ugh

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## Eli

Ok, silicone has been applyed as well as coco fiber. All the bald spots can be covered with plants and moss.
 silicone smells AWFUL!!

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Lady

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## Josh

Wow, the cave turned out really nice actually. I'll store that idea in the portion of my brain that dreams of future tanks, lol. And talk about holy expanding!! It looks really nice, can't wait to see it progress  :Smile:

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## Paul

Looks really good and OMG your frogs are cute! Makes me want to run out and buy some NOW lol.

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## Josh

> Looks really good and OMG your frogs are cute! Makes me want to run out and buy some NOW lol.


Just calm down, Paul, think it through, and don't bankrupt yourself  :Wink:

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## Paul

Sigh ok FINE Josh. FINE lol.

I have a few frogs I would like to buy, but I am going to TRY and wait until the spring. I had some frogs shipped last winter and it stressed me out. Going to be smarter this year and wait. Maybe I will build a tank or 2 instead..... Hmm lol

Anyways back on topic... sorry for the divergence.

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## Lynn

> Thanks! They are orangish toward the middle, dandelion colored on top of the legs and neon yellow on the armpit and inner thigh. Obviously with black everywhere too. Does this mean anything?


BTW - this means healthy !  :Smile:

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## Eli

Well, unrelated, but my mom has made a "supreme parental decision". We are getting red eyes soon. 

Lynn, i thought that most leucomelas were yellow?

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## Josh

Dang, I wish my parents were into frogs as much as I. Dart frogs would definitely be next on the list. *sigh* oh well...

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## Lyda Mae or she mae not

Lovely pics.  I just love little dart frogs.

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## Amy

They look really fantastic, Eli.  I'm glad your parents are helpful and supportive.  Getting as many phibs as you have this quickly, you'll need it.  It can get overwhelming.  The first year that I had frogs, we had 4 grey tree frogs, 7 newly morphed spring peepers, 4 toadlets, and 2 common green frogs.  It was too much too fast and I found myself getting burned out by frog care.  I've learned to acquire them slowly now and bask in the new frog glory a little longer than a few weeks LOL.  Of course, it was me doing the care 100% on my own as a single mama of 2 littles...so that's a lot different than having a supportive family helping you out LOL

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