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The blue frog! Once this frog was regarded as suitable only for advanced hobbyists, but they are actually one of the easiest dart frogs to keep and breed, if you keep in mind that they are best kept in pairs. This frog was only discovered by western scientists in the late 1960's and its habitat is restricted to some pockets of rainforest on the Sipaliwini savannah, in southern Surinam. There has been much debate about whether D. azureus is a seperate species, or a form of D. tinctorius, and recently a concensus has developed that D. azureus is actually synonymous with D. tinctorius. However old habits die hard, and I imagine that this dart frog will continue to be known as D. azureus for many years! |
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In the early days of the hobby in this country, back in the early nineties, there were very few bloodlines of this frog in this country. A few frogs had been released by some zoos, and a few wild animals were smuggled into Europe, and the captive bred offspring made there way to the US. In general though there were not a lot of founder bloodlines. However in the mid and late nineties some new bloodlines made there way to this country and it seems that there is a fairly diverse array of bloodlines out there. I have taken particular pains to document the bloodlines of all my breeder animals, of this species, and I have quite a few different bloodlines, many of which are unrelated to each other. I almost always have sexed sub adults of this frog available, and they make a great introduction to breeding dart frogs. |
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Synonyms |
Locality |
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| none | Several pockets of remnant rainforest on the Sipaliwini savannah, Surinam South America | ||
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Temps |
Humidity |
Terrarium Preferences |
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| Low to mid Seventies | High | Almost exclusively terrestrial, recommend terrarium of 20 gallon tall size minimum for a pair. | |
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Size |
Visibility in the tank |
Groups of these compatible |
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| Up to about 2 inches | Quite bold and active | No, unless tank over 75 gallons | |
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Experience Level |
Compatible with other species? |
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| Excellent beginner frog, as long as kept in sexed pairs, or individually. Will also often do fine with two frogs of any sex in a tank, but more than this should be avoided, in tanks under 60-75 gallons. | Yes, should be ok with other species if not crowded | ||
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Breeding : |
Status in Hobby |
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| Best done in pairs, some pairs can be reluctant breeders, but once breeding, egg and tadpole care is generally pretty easy. | Stable and common. There several different bloodlines in the hobby, and there is a stable breeding population in this country. Hobbyists should attempt to keep records of the source of their frogs. More bloodlines of this frog may not be available in the future. | ||
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Our Availability |
Links for this frog |
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| Regularly available. Juveniles and sexed pairs almost always available, from various bloodlines. Click here to check availability | |||
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An above average representative of a “fine spot” azureus” |
 A courting pair of D. azureus. Female is on right. Notice the larger toepads on this female. Most females have narrower toepads, this just shows how tricky it can be to sex these frogs! |
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