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By rom
Posts:  2
Joined:  Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:56 pm
#373795
So I really want to start keeping carnivorous plants in my frog vivarium but I don't know much about them. There are so many different species and I'm getting a bit lost. I have one tree frog and I keep him between 20-30 degrees C in a high-light tank. He has a 'drip wall' at the back of his enclosure which is just a big sponge wall with water going through it. The water drains into a boggy soil section (soil is just coco fibre and charcoal), where it is then filtered and pushed back up to the sponge.

I'm currently growing moss and other moisture-loving plants on the sponge it looks p cool. I was wondering if there are any carnivorous species I could potentially attach to the sponge. I basically need them to 1. grow hydroponically, 2. not need fertiliser, 3. survive at higher temps. and 4. not get massive

If not, are they any, potentially larger ones that I could grow in the boggy section?

Thanks in advance!
By Benny
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Posts:  530
Joined:  Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:46 pm
#373796
First things first. What kind of water are you using? Carnivorous plants require water under 50 ppm (parts per million), ideally distilled water rather than tap.

Most carnivorous plants cannot grow without soil(hydroponics). People have been able to do this, but it is a very complicated and unreliable way to keep your plants. Carnivorous plants also can be killed by having nutrients put into their soil / roots (fertilizer will kill them).

Soil-wise, you will need to add something to aerate the soil. Perlite would pry work best for you. Not sure if the charcoal will help at all or make things worse. Ideally, soil is a 1:1 ratio sphagnum peat to perlite.

If you still decide that you want a carnivorous plant after all that, you need one that would do well in a humid, enclosed environment. A.K.A tropical sundew. Honestly, I would get a drosera tokaiensis as they are easy to buy, cheap, get decent size, but not at all large, and do not spread too aggressively especially if you cut the flower stalks off.

Cps need a lots of light, but it seems that you said that you have a good amount of light.

I have absolutely zero experience in keeping animals and cps together (or terrarium animals in general). I made this like baseline simple and not super detailed, and I know I missed some things or phrased things wrong. People can correct me as they find out the mistakes.
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By ChefDean
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Posts:  9235
Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#373799
I was kinda thinking along these lines ^^^^, but I was also going to ask how big the frog is?
Tree frogs come in all sizes, and I wouldn't want to put a plant with it that could potentially eat it.
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By Nepenthes0260
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Posts:  1774
Joined:  Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:59 am
#373813
I'd grow some Utricularia section Orchioides on the drip wall. They do very well mounted (especially true epiphytic species such as U. jamesoniana) and look stunning when in bloom.
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By rom
Posts:  2
Joined:  Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:56 pm
#373817
Benny wrote:
elaineo wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 3:52 am hmm...frog.jpg
Looks more like nature's sleeping bag than a pot of death! :lol:
Haha, my frog is about that big.
Benny wrote:First things first. What kind of water are you using? Carnivorous plants require water under 50 ppm (parts per million), ideally distilled water rather than tap.

Most carnivorous plants cannot grow without soil(hydroponics). People have been able to do this, but it is a very complicated and unreliable way to keep your plants. Carnivorous plants also can be killed by having nutrients put into their soil / roots (fertilizer will kill them).

Soil-wise, you will need to add something to aerate the soil. Perlite would pry work best for you. Not sure if the charcoal will help at all or make things worse. Ideally, soil is a 1:1 ratio sphagnum peat to perlite.

If you still decide that you want a carnivorous plant after all that, you need one that would do well in a humid, enclosed environment. A.K.A tropical sundew. Honestly, I would get a drosera tokaiensis as they are easy to buy, cheap, get decent size, but not at all large, and do not spread too aggressively especially if you cut the flower stalks off.

Cps need a lots of light, but it seems that you said that you have a good amount of light.

I have absolutely zero experience in keeping animals and cps together (or terrarium animals in general). I made this like baseline simple and not super detailed, and I know I missed some things or phrased things wrong. People can correct me as they find out the mistakes.
I don't use distilled water, I do have naturally soft water out of the tap. I wouldn't put something like perlite in the soil, it's a potential impaction hazard for the frog. Could deffo add sphagnum though. There are no added nutrients in the soil. Frogs are very sensitive to fertilisers and they like soft water.
Nepenthes0260 wrote:I'd grow some Utricularia section Orchioides on the drip wall. They do very well mounted (especially true epiphytic species such as U. jamesoniana) and look stunning when in bloom.
Might try drosera tokaiensis but I'm feeling Utricularia and Orchioides atm.
Thanks for your help everyone!!
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By Supercazzola
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Posts:  1499
Joined:  Sun Nov 22, 2020 1:57 am
#373822
Benny wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:03 am Ideally, soil is a 1:1 ratio sphagnum peat to perlite.
I’ve read in several places (even in The Savage Garden) that most perlite is slightly alkaline so for any CPs that like acidic soil, you need to be careful not to use more than 20% perlite.

Just pointing it out since one “recipe” isn’t good for all CP varieties.
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By Supercazzola
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Posts:  1499
Joined:  Sun Nov 22, 2020 1:57 am
#373824
rom wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 11:47 am
I don't use distilled water, I do have naturally soft water out of the tap.
Water softness and Total Dissolved Solids are not the same thing. Again, to quote from The Savage Garden (the best book I have read on CP care): “CPs require water that is low in dissolved mineral salts.”
Some water softeners utilize salt in their design. I am not suggesting you have a water softener, as you stated your water is naturally soft. But what exactly does that mean in terms of TDS?
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By Benny
Location: 
Posts:  530
Joined:  Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:46 pm
#373836
Nepenthes0260 wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 4:58 am I'd grow some Utricularia section Orchioides on the drip wall. They do very well mounted (especially true epiphytic species such as U. jamesoniana) and look stunning when in bloom.
Ahh. I didn't think about utrics!
rom wrote:Could deffo add sphagnum though. There are no added nutrients in the soil. Frogs are very sensitive to fertilisers and they like soft water.
Sphagnum could definitely help keep the plant a bit happier. Good that there is no nutrients!

Soft water can have a reduced lesser amount of calcium and magnesium, usually meaning a lower ppm, but not majorly. You can have 170 ppm and have 'soft' water.
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By ChefDean
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Posts:  9235
Joined:  Tue Sep 18, 2018 12:44 am
#373840
Another thing I remembered. Sphagnum, or almost any moss for that matter, isn't the best thing for amphibians. I had some tree frogs, fire bellied toads, and a pacman frog at times. In each of their enclosures I put moss for moisture retention. In the case of the pacman, I put bark chips over the moss.

The frogs and toads would rarely come down off of decorations to the moss, and the pacman would burrow, push all the moss away, and pull bark down to create a barrier between it and the moss. The reason is the same reason we use it for carnivorous plants; it's acidic. Amphibians are more sensitive to acidic environments, so they avoided it. I lost a few critters before I figured it out, so I would suggest you stay with coco coir as any moss used would eventually leach that acid into the water, making your frog uncomfortable.
Just a thought.
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