What substrate should you use in your dart frog vivarium?
When keeping dart frogs it is important to set up the right environment for them and a big part of this is selecting the appropriate substrate for your dart frog vivarium. If you’re interested in keeping tropical plants like orchids or poison dart frogs you may have heard of ABG (Atlanta botanical garden) substrate. ABG mix consists of 5 different substrates and provides an ideal balance of adequate drainage, aeration, and moisture retention making it the perfect substrate for high humidity plants and amphibians like poison dart frogs. This substrate offers some key advantages such as being ideal for plants, easily found online, and looks natural.
Here we will discuss the components of ABG mix, what each component does, how to make your own ABG, and whether it is cheaper to make your own or buy from a reputable source such as glassboxtropicals.com
What is ABG mix composed of?
ABG mix is designed to mimic the layers of a tropical rainforest floor. It consists of several components which when combined form a fluffy difficult to compress substrate. The materials come together to provide your plants with a well draining substrate.
ABG mix is composed of 5 key components:
- Tree Fern Fiber (dicksonia) – 2 parts
- Tree Fern Fiber mainly comes from the Dicksonia tree fern found in eastern Australia and is a critical ingredient in ABG mix. It allows for aeration and prevents the substrate from compacting. Unfortunately, tree fern fiber is also the most expensive and difficult to find component of ABG mix.
- Milled sphagnum moss – 1 part
- Milled sphagnum moss is essentially broken-down long fiber sphagnum moss. If you have some long fiber sphagnum moss around, you can throw it in a blender or manually break it down. Milled sphagnum moss is important as it prevents long strands of sphagnum moss from oversaturating the substrate.
- Fine orchid bark – 2 parts
- Orchid bark is named after its use in growing orchids, however it actually comes from a douglas fir tree. Pet grade orchid bark is readily available in most big box pet stores and is great for providing additional aeration and drainage to the substrate.
- Peat moss – 1 part
- Peat moss provides additional moisture retention and humidity while also acting as a nutrient sponge. A good organic peat moss without fertilizers can be used.
- Horticultural charcoal – 1 part
- Horticultural charcoal or activated charcoal is probably the best to use due to its smaller size, however, common lump charcoal can be pulverized and used in a pinch. Charcoal also provides increased aeration and drainage to the substrate while also purifying any water passing through. Charcoal has a high surface area making it a great choice for microfauna such as springtails to live and breed on.
Can I swap out Tree Fern Fiber in my ABG mix?
Swapping out the tree fern fiber for another ingredient that would serve a similar purpose may be a controversial substitution. Tree fern fiber helps provide structure to the soil mix and ensures that the mix is non-compactable. Although it is the most expensive component of ABG I believe it is well worth the cost. For potted plants I sometimes substitute out the tree fern fiber with perlite, but I avoid using it in vivaria. Another substitution which may be done to save on some money could be to add in coconut coir (cocofiber) as a filler in place of peat moss. Coconut coir holds humidity well and is slow to compose, however, it does not have the same ability to provide nutrients as peat moss.
How to improve your substrate for a dart frog vivarium?
Some hobbyists make additional variations to this mix by including leaf litter, worm castings (to provide additional nutrients), or calcium bearing clay. Worm castings are a great addition especially for heavily planted vivariums or potted plants as it provides additional nutrients for your terrarium or house plants. Another beneficial addition could be calcium bearing clay. This clay can add in additional area for microfauna while also giving frogs additional calcium.
How much ABG mix or substrate do you need for a vivarium?
Most hobbyists recommend using a minimum of 2 inches of ABG mix above a drainage layer for use in a vivarium. This should be adequate for the plants and microfauna, although you may want to use more for aesthetics or in a heavily planted vivarium. I usually make more than expected and use my left overs for propagating plants or future vivariums. I prefer sloping back to as high as 3-4in in some areas. For a general rule of thumb I put together a table with some recommendations on the amount of substrate you need based on the size of your vivarium
| Footprint | Amount of substrate needed for a depth of ~2.5 in |
| 20 Gallon long (12x30in) | 4 gallons (12 qts) |
| 18×18 | 4 gallons (12 qts) |
| 18×24 | 5.5 gallons |
| 36×18 | 1.5 gallons (6 qts) |
| 12×20 | 7 gallons (28 qts) |
| 12×12 | 2.6 gallons (10.4 qts) |
How to make ABG from scratch
ABG mix is pretty simple to put together if you buy pre processed ingredients. Just add each component in the appropriate parts, mix, and hydrate!
One way I like to save money is to buy long fiber sphagnum moss in bulk and use a blender to mill it. I found that using a small amount at a time and pulsing the blender has the best result. If using natural lump charcoal instead of horticultural charcoal you will probably have to crush it with a hammer. Using a old pillow case or burlap sack will help contain the charcoal. I have personally used natural cowboy charcoal from lowes. The extra can be used to make springtail cultures.
ABG mix recipe for vivarium substrate
| Components | Link | Ratio of ingredients needed |
| Tree Fern Fiber | https://amzn.to/4iUn9QN | 2 |
| Sphagnum moss (must be milled) | https://amzn.to/4leArcq | 1 |
| Orchid Bark (fine) | https://amzn.to/3FQMvAt | 2 |
| Peat Moss | https://amzn.to/42emMJw | 1 |
| Horticultural Charcoal | https://amzn.to/427ZVPW | 1 |
Is making your own ABG mix worth it?
Making your own ABG mix is a rewarding process and allows you to adjust the recipe to your needs while also giving you an opportunity to make more if needed as you will most likely have left over supplies. If you plan on only keeping one vivarium which is on the smaller end I recommend just buying a premade mix, but if you plan on making multiple vivariums, having a vivarium requiring >5 gallons, plan on growing plants outside your vivarium, or making springtail cultures it may be more cost effective to make your own.
What is the best substrate for dart frog vivariums
Whether you are looking to grow plants or raise some frogs ABG mix is a great choice of substrate. It is tried and true in both hobbies and provides a fool proof way of growing plants, harboring micro fauna, and maintain humidity for your dart frogs. I have extensively used ABG earlier in my frogging journey but have recently made the switch over to filter foam, but objectively I do think plants grow better in ABG and there is greater surface area for microfauna and your clean-up crew. Regardless, ABG is a great choice for first time froggers and a classic substrate in the hobby.
To learn about what I use as a substrate in all of my recent vivariums check out this article: Substrate Series: Filter Foam as a Vivarium Substrate – Monmouthfrogs
Disclaimer: Some of the Amazon links on this page are affiliate links. I will receive a commission if you purchase something through these affiliate links.
