NEWS104
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gravel or sand ismost suitable) should be
5-7 cm, so that theopenwater isonly8-10
cm deep. The aquariummust be topped
with a cover glass as these little frogs are
accomplished climbers. Gaps in the cover
glass should be blocked with filter wool.
Numerousplantswill growverywell in the
enclosed air space of the aqua-terrarium,
for example swordplants (
Echinodorus
) or
(more biotope-correct)
Cryptocoryne
. In
addition there should always be some
floating plants, for exampleWater Lettuce
(
Pistia
) or Amazon Frogbit (
Limnobium
laevigatum
), which will quickly spread
abundantly. Until the plants are growing
properly a piece of cork bark should be
placed on the water’s surface so that the
frogs have somewhere to rest when they
sodesire.The lighting - a single fluorescent
tube is quite adequate for the tank – will
raise the air temperature to 28-32 °C by
day.Atnight,when the light isswitchedoff,
the air temperature will drop to room
temperature. This closely matches
conditions in the wild and is essential for
the healthof the frogs.Additional heating
is required only if the temperature drops
below18 °C.
Any small insects can serve as food, for
example fruit flies (
Drosophila
),smallHouse
Crickets (
Achetadomesticus
), and aphids. It
is very interesting to watch these frogs
hunting underwater, with Large Water
Fleas (
Daphnia magna
), live bloodworms,
and
Tubifex
being most suitable for the
purpose.
Breeding
GreenPuddle Frogs canbreed year-round,
but our winter (November to February)
appears to be the preferred breeding
season, at least in the case of the
specimens currently imported from
Indonesia. Themale embraces the female
in the hip region. The eggs – which,
dependingon thesizeandconditionof the
female, can number between 50 and
several hundred–haveadiameter of 0.6–
1.1mm.The tadpolesare lightolive incolor
andhaveadarkedging to the tail.Theywill
eat the flake foodsavailable in the trade for
ornamental fishes. By the time of
metamorphosis the tadpoles attain a
lengthofup to3.9cm.A terrarium lifespan
ofmore than fiveyearshasbeen reported,
which is far more than the natural life
expectancy of these little creatures in the
wild.
Ifyouarenow filledwith thedesire tokeep
these dwarf aquatic frogs, then your pet
dealercanundoubtedlyorderthem foryou
from awholesaler of his acquaintance, for
example Tropenparadies in Oberhausen,
Fax+49 (0)208-665997.
Thewayof lifeof theGreenPuddleFrog is the reasonwhy theeyes are sitedhighupon thehead.
Lexicon
Dwarf aquatic frogs
Occidozygameans "oval toad".
lima:not explained; theauthor
Gravenhorst,whomade thename
available in1829, refers it toa
namegivenbyKuhl inanolder
manuscript;perhapsderived from
the Indonesianword limameaning
“five”.
Ranameans "frog".
kl.: theabbreviationkl. stands for
klepton (Greek)whichmeans
"thief" and indicates that this is a
hybrid species.
esculentameans“edible”.
Echinodorus:means "hedgehog
bag", referring to the spiny fruits.
Cryptocoryne:means“withhidden
spathe", referring to the structure
of the flowers.
Pistia: frompistosmeaning
“watery”.
Limnobiummeans "swamp-
dweller".
laevigatummeans "smooth".
domesticusmeans "connected
with thehouse".
Drosophilameans "dew lover".
Daphnia:means "water flea".
magna:means "large".
GreenPuddleFrogsmating.
Specimenwithabroaddorsal stripe.
