# General Topics > Vivarium, Terrarium & Enclosure Discussion >  "Source" - Mantella Ebenaui Vivarium ver. 3.0

## Paul

Several months ago I set out to make a home that was better for my Mantella Ebenaui. So I moved them from their 40b home into their new 24x18x24 Exo Terra home. It has been nearly 4 months and they continue to appear stressed. So I have decided it is time to tear their home apart and make a 3rd attempt at making them comfortable. 

All the supplies are gathered, Plants have been purchased, and a design is set. Starting tomorrow morning I will be taking what is arguably my favorite tank apart and redesigning it for the health and happiness of my frogs. 


This should be a fairly quick build. I will work on it all day tomorrow and hopefully put all the final touches on the tank Sunday and call it done.


It is with a mix of excitement and sadness I prepare to break the Mantella tank down and start building "Source".

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## BCollie

Wow, how sad that you have to tear down that beautiful tank!! But you gotta do what you gotta do, eh?

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## LisaGarcia

I loved that tank! :'(  But the froggies happiness comes first and foremost. Good Luck!  Kinda excited to see all the pics of the rebuild.

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## Amy

Booo, but can't wait to see the result of a new build.

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## Paul

No one is more bummed than I am to see it come apart. I am however very excited with how the new layout looks in my head, I just need to try and recreate it or at least get close lol. 


I will get some pictures up tomorrow as I go. I ordered a few Madagascar (Mantella are from Madagascar) native plants that will be going into this tank. It is incredibly hard to source a wide varriety of plants from their, but thank to Bill's help I was able to find 2 ferns and an Orchid from Madagascar. 

The rest of the plants will be a mix of common and not so common plants. Really wish I could of done a biotope of Madagascar for them, but 3 is better than none lol.


Mantella Enbenaui are most commonly found along streams and ditches on an island called "Nosy Be". With this redesign I was going to try and recreate something more similar to their natural surrounding. My 5 Ebenaui are wild caught frogs, hopefully they will appreciate the effort and not judge me to harshly lol.

Stay tuned I plan to upload a bunch of pictures tomorrow. It will probably take me 1/2 the day just to take the tank apart.

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## bill

Rip that sucka apart and get working. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with for this one  :Smile: 


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

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## Paul

Work began this morning around 7:30AM. 

Took the old Paludarium apart (after safely moving the Mantella to a QT tube for the next day or 2. 




Used plumbers putty to create reservoir to hold water while I drill the tank for a bulk head. 




Hole drilled. Phew always nervous drilling big tanks like this. 




Installed bulkhead and began laying out stream bed path and drainage layer






Here is the stream bed still being formed, but I added some Aquatic soil to it. 






Work still continues. Just thought I would step away for a few and share some pics. Going to look at the stream more and see if it needs any tweaking before I add water to check the water level and then move on to soil. 

Paul

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## Paul

Added River Stones along the stream and some Slate pieces for accents. 




Added a piece of Ghost wood - Not that they can't hop across this tiny stream on their own, but this also give me something to mount my Madagascar Native Orchid to. 




Next I messed with plant layouts. Once I settled on locations I planted the tank and stream. Then covered the remaining dirt in sheet moss.






















A loaded the tank with springtails and Isopods and put the glass thermometer in the tank and we are done!

This tank contains 2 ferns both are native to Madagascar and the Orchid is also native to Madagascar. Wish I could of gotten more native plants, but I suppose this will do  :Smile: 

Paul,

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## LisaGarcia

It looks good! Hopefully they will love it!

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## Josh

Awesome build Paul, and quick too. I think you made a stream bed amazingly well. Can't wait to see their reactions to the tank  :Smile:

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## BCollie

Gorgeous!! I love love love that big fern, but then again I am, for some weird reason, obsessed with ferns...

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## Lija

Can't wait to see it grow in :Smile: 

looking good Paul!

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## bill

That baby is gonna grow in nice bud!! Great job!!!


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

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## Amy

That looks beautiful!!   Great job, Paul.  It's going to look even more awesome as it grows in!

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## TKexotics

Awesome, do you know the scientific name of the 2 Malagasy ferns?  :Smile:

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## Paul

The fern on the left is - Asplenium Rutifolium

The larger pin wheel fern in the back middle is - Asplenium Stoloniferum

For good measure the orchid is - Cynorkis Fastigiata

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## Carlos

Excellent work Paul  :Big Applause:  !  Really like those ferns  :Smile:  !

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## Paul

Thanks Carlos, I love the ferns too! Now I just have to not kill them lol. If I can get them to a point where they can be split I plan to share them with some people  :Smile:

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## bill

Gotta love a good asplenium species. Btw Paul, if I am correct, those 2 ferns are not only native to Madagascar, but endemic to the island as well. I don't believe they are found anywhere else. 


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

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## Strider18

Great build Paul! Hope that your frogs like the new habitat and aren't as stressed  :Smile:

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## Paul

> Gotta love a good asplenium species. Btw Paul, if I am correct, those 2 ferns are not only native to Madagascar, but endemic to the island as well. I don't believe they are found anywhere else.



Bill i believe you are right, it is so hard to get any really good information about it though :/ I am sure you have much better resources than i do for finding this stuff out. Thanks again for pointing me to a site that had them in stock!

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## Paul

> Great build Paul! Hope that your frogs like the new habitat and aren't as stressed


Thanks! They seem to be taking to it a lot better than the last setup.. As much as I loved the last version of this tank and hated to take it apart. Just goes to show what we love as the builders is not always what is best for our frogs.

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## Joshua Ralph

> Bill i believe you are right, it is so hard to get any really good information about it though :/ I am sure you have much better resources than i do for finding this stuff out. Thanks again for pointing me to a site that had them in stock!


I have a few papers floating around about them and sources of information out in Madagascar. It is there, you just need to be in the right circles depending on what you are looking for.

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## Paul

My 5 Ebenaui seem to be liking their new home. They do hide some still (which is their nature) but have been seen several times out exploring and tormenting the springtails and fruit flies.

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## Strider18

> My 5 Ebenaui seem to be liking their new home. They do hide some still (which is their nature) but have been seen several times out exploring and tormenting the springtails and fruit flies.


Yay! Hope they do well and I am glad that they are taking on those fruit flies and springtails!

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## Paul

> Yay! Hope they do well and I am glad that they are taking on those fruit flies and springtails!


LoL Thanks! The giant orange Isopods must feel safe with these tiny Ebenaui running around. I saw one crawling within inches of a Mantella today and neither paid the other any attention lol.

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## BCollie

> LoL Thanks! The giant orange Isopods must feel safe with these tiny Ebenaui running around. I saw one crawling within inches of a Mantella today and neither paid the other any attention lol.


I love the look of the Giant Orange Isopods, I really want some but you know...money. Haha!
Do your Mantella's try to eat them, or are they too big to be eaten?
Still can't get over how nice the tank looks. I'm glad your froggies seem to be enjoying it!

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## Paul

The Mantella would eat the babies if they happened across them. Frogs are opportunistic predators and will typically try to eat something they think they could fit down their throat lol. I like the Giant Orange Isopofs because as adults they tend to be to big for most Dart frogs which almost ensures a steady population in the tank  :Smile:

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## BCollie

I may have to look into getting some when I can afford it. You know, a year from now after I get my plants. *rolls eyes*. I wish money grew on trees...but don't we all?

Do you have any pictures of your Mantellas? I'd love to see them in their new home!

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## Paul



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## Strider18

I think that top pic is my favorite  :Smile:  Very nice pictures Paul!

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## Amy

They are so cute!  I'm happy they appear to be adjusting well so far, hopefully this works out well!

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## Paul

If you are also following along in the frog groom overhaul thread you will know I moved all my tanks. The other part of that is the Source must weigh 300 - 400 pounds and was impossible for me to carry up out of the basement. I was left with no other choice than to take the tank all the way apart and haul it upstairs and then put it back together. It did allow me do a bit of changing to the design. Over the week the Mantella were in there I saw things they seemed to like about the tank and things they didn't. So I took the opportunity to add more of the things they liked and remove the things they didn't. Here are some pictures of the tank.


Changes of note - 

1. Right Side Cork Panel was bowing out a little. One Mantella was hiding up behind it so I removed it from the tank

2. Made the stream deeper

3. Removed some of the rounded large river rocks

4. Laid the slate pieces out differently so they overhand some lower land areas to add more hides the Mantella seem to love

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## Tobias

Looks amazing Paul!

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## LisaGarcia

Looks great!!

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## Paul

Cant wait for the Orchid to bloom! Assuming I don't kill it lol. Also very excited to see how this looks once all that beautiful moss grows in.

I have had the moss for a month or more. It has been in a ziplock bag under some grow lights while I was waiting to start the build. I misted it every 2 to 3 days and after misting would blow air into the back until it was full and then sealed it back up. It did pretty good living like this!

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## Amy

You should be able to get the orchid to blossom without a big frog to trample it.  It looks really great, Paul!  I love how some of the ferns grow new leaves, the way they start curled up.  That's a good picture.

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## Paul

I am more worried about me killing it because of over watering or under watering or because plants seem to hate me from time to time lol. 

Thanks for the compliments everyone! Means a lot to me  :Smile:

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## Strider18

Awesome Paul! Can't wait to see this thing grown in, even though it looks amazing right now  :Smile: 

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2

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## Josh

Looks amazing Paul  :Smile:  I can't wait to see it grow in

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