Defining Characteristics:

• Captive Bred to Support Conservation. Josh's Frogs donates $5 to Association Mitsinjo for every mantella sold. This partnership helps directly conserve mantella populations in the wild.
• Great Beginner Frog
• Bright Orange Coloration develops as Mantella ages
• Bold
• Easy to Keep
• Moderate Peeping Call
• Small
• Can be Kept in Groups
• Challenging to Breed

Name: Mantella aurantiaca is commonly called the golden mantella in the hobby. This is 'the' mantella that jumps to mind when people mention mantellas, and is very much in demand.

Recommended Vivarium Size: Housing Golden mantellas can be very simple. A 10 gallon aquarium can house several individuals, while an Exo Terra Glass Terrarium with a footprint of 18x18 or larger could house 4-6 golden mantellas. Golden mantellas seem to be completely passive with each other for the most part (outside of the breeding season) and do great in groups.

A screen top with daily mistings will maintain the perfect balance of ventilation and humidity. Substrate recommendations vary considerably, but coconut fiber and long fiber sphagnum moss work well for Josh’s Frogs. Alternatively, you can set up a vivarium using Josh’s Frogs naturalistic vivarium substrates, similar to keeping dart frogs. Provide items for your golden mantellas to hide under, such as a cork bark flat or leaf litter. Your Mantella viridis will spend much of the time hiding under such objects. A shallow water bowl should be provided, as well. Golden mantellas are not particularly arboreal, but they will appreciate a small bit of vivarium wood or live terrarium plants to climb on.

Lighting is for any live plants provided, and not required by golden mantellas. There is no evidence that Mantella aurantiaca benefit from UVB lighting, but a low level UV bulb, such as a 2.0 UVB bulb, may be beneficial. Based on observations of golden mantellas being active during the day in the wild in partiall sunlight, a low level UVB source would probably be a good idea.

Temperature: They are ideally kept at about room temperature, in the low to mid 70s. Unlike many other mantellas, golden mantellas stress easily in hot temperatures over 80F. Avoid warmer temperatures at all cost.

Humidity: Golden mantellas can handle a wide range of humidity levels, but prefer a humidity level of 60-70%. Routine spraying and a full screen top will aid in providing proper humidity levels. Be sure to provide a shallow water dish so that your golden mantellas will not dry out in lower humidity. During the breeding season, golden mantellas can experience humidty levels of 80% without issue.

Size: Adult golden mantellas are not very large, and there is a small size different between males and females. An adult male may reach about 1 inch, but most will be closer to 3/4 of an inch. A large female will be a bit larger and much bulkier (or 'pear shaped') than a male, and may measure up to 1.25 inches.

All of the Mantella aurantiaca froglets Josh's Frogs sells are well started juveniles, and measure approximately 0.5 - 0.75 inches long.

Age: There is not any good data surrounding the average lifespan of golden mantellas, but wild caught animals have lived in captivity for over 5 years. We suspect this animal is easily capable for living into their teens. All golden Mantellas for sale at Josh's Frogs are well started juveniles, and are 2-3 months old. Keep in mind, at this age froglets will have very different color and patterns than they will as adults.

Feeding: Golden mantellas are microphagus, meaning that they consume small food items. Mantella aurantiaca do quite well on easily procured prey items in captivity. At Josh’s Frogs, we feed our adult golden mantellas primarily hydei fruit flies, as well as springtails, isopods, extra small phoenix worms, and 1/8 inch crickets. Young golden mantellas start life feeding on baby springtails. At the size Josh’s Frogs sells captive bred Mantella aurantiaca, they are eating melanogaster fruit flies and 1/8" crickets. All prey items should be dusted with a quality vitamin/mineral supplement.

Sexing: Sexing adult golden mantellas can be fairly straightforward once they're older, but can be difficult on younger animals. Once the mantellas are about 10-12 months old, they display obvious sexual dimorphism. Females are about 1/5 times larger then males, and much more rotund. Males are smaller, more slender, and typically call when kept in a wet or more humid environment. Reportedly, male golden mantellas tend to be more skittish than females. A golden mantella’s call resembles that of a canary, and is very melodious.

Color/Pattern: Adult golden mantellas are primarily orange, sometimes with a bit of yellow or red. Younger golden mantellas can range from yellow to brown to almost red, with a darker X pattern on their back. Juvenile Mantella aurantiaca will achieve adult coloration at 8-12 months of age.

Social Behavior: These frogs are generally well behaved in groups, but adult females can fight with each other during breeding season. Keeping a group in a large enough vivarium with plenty of visual barriers tends to negate this behavior. Overall, Mantella aurantiaca is a great group frog.

Breeding: Breeding golden Mantellas can be a bit challenging. In our experience, patience is key, as is a decent sized group that is male heavy. At Josh's Frogs, we managed to produce several healthy clutches with a group of 1.5 (1 male, 5 females). Cycling is important. We reduced mistings by half to allow the mantella habitat to dry out a bit, ensuring clean water was always available to the animals in a shallow water dish during this time. Feeding was reduced by about half as well. This artificial dry season was maintained for 3-4 months, followed by a 6 month return to daily misting and heavy feeding. Within a few days of more frequent mistings, the male could be heard calling.

Less than 2 weeks into the artificial rainy season, an egg clutch of approximately 30 eggs was discovered under a piece of cork, buried about 1" into the long fiber sphagnum moss substrate. 2-3 of the females in the group produced eggs, and we were able to get about 10 clutches this season. Eggs are removed and kept on damp sphagnum until they hatch and small, white/gray tadpoles are seen squirming through the egg jelly. Water is then added to the container, flooding the egg clutch and allowing the tadpoles to swin free.

After a few days, the tadpoles are removed with a turkey baster and placed in an aged 20H aquarium with undergravel and sponge filters. At 74F, golden mantella tadpoles will eagerly consume a wide variety of foods, from brine shrimp flake to Repashy Savory Stew. After 6-8 weeks, they will develop limbs and begin to leave the water.

Newly morphed golden mantellas will quickly consume springtails and grow very fast.

Natural Range: Mantella aurantiaca is limited to a very small area in east centeral Madagascar. In the wild, it can be found in very limited localities in swampy areas. With the natural range of golden mantellas so limited, habitat destruction is quickly reducing their numbers in the wild. In fact, this species is now critically endangered.

History in the Hobby:Ggolden mantellas have been available as wild caught animals since at least the 1960s, but captive bred animals remain rare. Unfortunately, most imports were doomed in captivity due to primative importation and shipping methods, as well as a lack of general knowledge surrounding their care. This species is no longer exported in large numbers from Madagascar legally for the pet trade, as it has been classified as endangered.

Links of Interest:

IUCN Redlist article for Mantella aurantiaca

Great pictures of the golden Mantella from ARKive

Wikipedia article on golden Mantellas. Poor information, but a great picture of the yellow/brown phase

Mantella FAQ by Marc Staniszewski, the leading mantella expert in the UK.

Mantella aurantiaca Care by Devin Edmonds of Amphibiancare.com

The Critically Endangered Golden Mantella - IUCN Redlist

Still not sure if Mantella aurantiaca from Josh's Frogs are the right pet frog for you? Read the reviews below and see what other customers are saying!