Ants in your biotope

[Deadliestviper7]

I toyed with the idea of making a seasonal tank from what I see around here. The one that has stood out is making a rice paddy shallow tank with frogs, fish and water bugs such as striders, boatmen, and other food chain critters. With slow enough water movement things like freshwater copepods should survive.

Could do something like that rather cheaply, and if it's outdoors little bugs could fly in and be food

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I toyed with the idea of making a seasonal tank from what I see around here. The one that has stood out is making a rice paddy shallow tank with frogs, fish and water bugs such as striders, boatmen, and other food chain critters. With slow enough water movement things like freshwater copepods should survive.

Could do something like that rather cheaply, and if it's outdoors little bugs could fly in and be food probably do something like a shallow wooden tank, with a marshy land area made of heavy earth and worm castings,some wild plants you can collect, and then dipnet for the other inhabitants, and use a simple sponge filter

 

[cockroach]

In a shallow tank the local frogs would be gone in 60 seconds. Also, outdoor space is prime real estate in Taiwan so not much of it. The little I do have is taken up by my bonsai garden.

 

[PYRU]

I can't answer for swami but I'm interested in dart frogs or vampire crabs.
I don't think you can keep dart frogs with fish though? Need to look more I to it.

There's a lot of people that do. Usually in a bigger tank with smaller fish/shrimp. There's concern of cross contamination, but a lot of people do it successfully.

You would need a gigantic display to pull off darts and the fish like the ones from your biotope thread though. Even the arboreal ones come down and root around in the leaf litter for microfauna.

 

[PYRU]

On dendroboard.com people are often advised to make water shallow as dart frogs apparently do drown in deeper water. They are terrestrial frogs that like wetland environments but are unable to swim. But, I do think it may have to do with the steep "high" sides of the water sections. If things are gently sloping, I do not see evolution making dart frogs pull the proverbial Lemmings trick (not real I know) and drowning themselves.

Something like this perhaps:
View attachment 1337824
View attachment 1337828 View attachment 1337827

As opposed to this one:
View attachment 1337826

This looks to meet in the middle-ish:
View attachment 1337825

This would allow many critters safe access to the water and easy-ish access for them out of it.

They can usually get out unless you have a slippery type environment they can't climb out of.

The drowning deal usually stems from people keeping tinctorius females together which are really territorial with a male present. They wrestle and pin each other down. If you have a water feature that's somewhat deep one will pin the other and it's game over

 

[Stanzzzz7]

P PYRU
Have you kept dart frogs? I just wondered how active they are once settled in. Do they tend to hide all the time like the ones I see in pet shops?

 

[PYRU]

P PYRU
Have you kept dart frogs? I just wondered how active they are once settled in. Do they tend to hide all the time like the ones I see in pet shops?

I keep and breed them. Not near as many as I used to, but

It depends on what you get. There's some you won't ever see. Then there's others that you have to move with your hand to trim plants etc.

Considering your love of biotopes darts would be right up your alley. They have very interesting behaviour

 

[cockroach]

P PYRU You make me want to do them more but I already have enough critters and kids to look after.

Do you have a link to pics?

 

[PYRU]

P PYRU You make me want to do them more but I already have enough critters and kids to look after.

Do you have a link to pics?

Heres one I do on here. I posted some pics.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/my-other-addiction.704185/

Heres some. Southern variabilis, giant orange, fantastica, robertus, azureus, Pena blanca auratus, varadero imitator, & red head histrionica

 

[cockroach]

STUNNING frogs.

The varadero imitator is the exact frog I was looking at keeping a few years back.

The fantatica is very interesting looking.

Would dart frogs prey on a non poisonous ant colony in the tank?

Speaking of outdoor "tanks" I found this Japanese guy's videos the other day: