The Breeding Tank

Sam Forster

Once you have the basic setup and a general understanding of your frogs the next desire is to accomplish breeding. To succeed with this endeavour it is usually necessary to construct a separate tank known as a breeding chamber, or rain chamber. As the name suggests a rain chamber is a small tank, usually only three feet long with a large amount of rain.

Unlike display tanks these tanks must be heavily populated to allow maximum competition at breeding time. The normal ratio of males to females is two or three to one and in this size tank it is best to put two females and four males. Your frogs will only be spending a couple of days in this setup and it is unlikely that they will need feeding during this time and so the cleaning should be minimal.

To set up a tank of this type the first, and most important part you will need is a small pump that will pump water to a spray bar for nine hours each evening. In these tanks I have a water level of about one third of the total height of the tank, simulating the real wet season and the conditions that the frogs would experience in nature. It is important to be sure to put various branches and rocks above the water level to allow the frogs to 'escape' the water if necessary.

In order to allow frogs to breed you will need to have some partially submerged water plants such as Elodea (Elodea canadensis) or Java Moss (Vesicularia dubyana). This will help the frogs to stay afloat while mating and thus increase the number of fertilised eggs.

On a final note the placement of the tank is of immense importance. The best position for the tank in a quiet area where very few people will be walking past or bumping the tank. If this is not possible an alternative is to hang an old sheet or towel over the tank to minimize the disturbance. It is of utmost importance that the frogs are not interrupted while breeding. If this does occur the majority of the eggs will go unfertilised, and all your hard work will be wasted.