Devo

Thanks Sophia & Twinkles Those LED's came from LED World:- http://www.ledworld.co.nz They had a good range, I got one strip that was already made up, waterproof, & ready to go. Cheers, Andrew.

Your Whistler's got a mini-me :slfg:

Sounds good NZ Natives...let's see it :spop: I decided to... PIMP MY VIV As these frogs are pretty much nocturnal, I wanted to add a moon light of some type. After looking around at options, it seemed that blue LEDs were the way to go. So a few components were put together…a strip of blue LED's, plus a dimmer...now the viv’s all pimped up :sml1: Here’s the viv with the fluro lights, plus the LED’s. And just the LED’s. The frogs seem to like it, and are not bothered by the blue light at all :happy1: They’re often seen out hunting under the LED’s, and are quite active, especially when food is around! Cheers, Andrew.

My first thought was the hiwihiwi, Chironemus marmoratus; We used to catch small ones around the rocks on the Coromandel. http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/res ... eed_fishes Possible that one got up into an estuary, or stranded in a rock pool??? Edit...just found a better pic of the hiwihiwi, & they have no spines on the gill covers, so thornfish it is. Interesting species.

Thanks Jason. Are misters easy to retro fit Fruju? Might be a good option. Hey Sophia, the water section holds about 35 litres. Not a large volume of water, but the fluval canister filter makes sure this volume moved a number of times each hour.

Looks good Jason. Can you give the details on your misting system? And whats that neat little vine with the heart shaped leaves? Cheers, Andrew.

At long last here is the final instalment…planting time... :spop: I’ve had a pond / water feature outside for some time, and when that was set up I spread around a heap of java moss. It has since done well out there, so I had some nice established sections from which to cut out pieces for the viv. I started covering the central branch by cutting a section of the java moss to size, & then binding it on with fishing nylon. I have heaps of bromeliads, so it was a difficult choice what to include in the viv. I settled on just 2 species. This one is Tillandsia somnians, a much underrated brom IMO. It’s one that doesn’t like to be planted, which is ideal for a viv set up. So I just cut a few plants, & positioned them where I wanted. The other brom is Neoregelia lilliputiana. This is a neat mini neo and it fits in with the scale of this viv. Close up of the java moss over my suspended branch. I had run a couple of the home made vines down this branch, & into the water, then covered them with java moss. The plan was that the java moss would allow a sort of capillary action of water up to the branch, & keep the whole area moist…it has sort of worked, but additional spraying has been required. Now the java moss “island” is in place, & behind that (back right corner) is an area of live sphagnum moss. This area was reduced a bit, as it took up too much of the water space. Gravel & a few flat stones are added. And here it is…the finished viv! I've played around with the plants a bit, and added a couple of orchids, but the viv has pretty much run to plan since set up & no major issue so far. I just give the plants & moss a spray of pond water from time to time, & do the occasional water change. I guess the test will be to see how it looks 6 – 12 mths on. Thanks for putting up with my drawn out build! Cheers, Andrew.

Thanks Fruju...yep we're really enjoying it. And the viv has become the centre of attention when the frogs are being fed. We had family around for dinner the other night, and they arrived just as I was adding the days catch of flies to the viv. We all stood around cheering as the frogs got the flies...great entertainment :sml1: Cheers ID, it was some of your frogs pic's that inspired me! Now I want to build another larger viv and track down some of those amazing lutino Golden Bell Frogs !drool: Just sorting out the final batch of pic's showing the planting...should be up soon. Cheers, Andrew.

Wow! Great enclourses...what are you doing with this one now??? The pic of Water Dragons chiling is cool 8) makes me want to get me some...

Nice! What are you feeding them?

:spop: Yes please.....

That's a real complement hovmoller...THANKS! Yep, you got it si sphinx, unheated viv, so no condensation. One issue I do have is that the frogs like to climb all over the glass when they're out hunting for food at night...and they're just like little kids with sticky fingers...so I have to clean up on a regular basis. Hey Twinkles...your biotope build looks amazing...and now you've got me thinking that I NEED to set up a large native aquaria!

...and nek minnit...snake got 'em!

:spop: On with the next stage… The whole background is now positioned back into the viv and an extra piece of driftwood is set into position. This piece was selected to give a nice line down towards the front of the viv, & to also give a suspended branch effect that I could cover with moss. This shot is from a different angle, and shows how the planting pots fit in behind the manuka, the vines are added to give a bit of an edge, & to help hide the pots. I had made space for that green basket. It was to hold a clump of live sphagnum moss, but it proved to take up too much space, so I ended up using a smaller version. Here’s a closer pic of the water fall area, & another pot that is set up to hold the Neoregelia lilliputiana in place. Now water is added, & the fluval filter is turned on to activate the waterfall. A few final tweaks to get the water flow just right. Then the viv is left to run & settle for a week before I begin to plant it. I kinda like this stark look...

Glad I'm not boring you Sophia...next stage on its way...RIGHT NOW... Thanks Caryl…I’ll now give the Paradise Fish idea a miss. Hi Fruju, pleased you like the set up! I’ve use a fluval canister filter, it sits in the cabinet under the viv, so it’s easy to access, and clean if & when required. The filter inlet sits in the back left corner of the viv, & it is positioned in behind a block of filter sponge that also acts as a pre-filter. The filter outlet is a shortened piece of a standard spray bar, & gives me a good spread of water that then forms the waterfall. Have a look at the 2nd & 3rd to last pic’s in the next post, & you can see the filter pipes coming out at the back right corner of the viv.