Epipedobates tricolor is a great frog, well worth searching out. The brilliant colors of many tricolor morphs rival any dart frog, while their boldness make them easily viewed. E. tricolor also have a lively nature and wonderful, trill like, call that make them endearing.

It's hard to put words to the excitement I felt receiving my first dart frogs. I met Todd Kelley and Christina Hansen over the Internet (alt herps ) and we talked over how to breed fire belly toads. The breeding was successful for both our colonies and we kept talking about frogs. It came up at some point that we lived in the same state, though on opposite sides of the mountains and that they would be over here for a herp show. We met up there and after walking the show (it was a pitiful show), they gave me a ride home. They also gave me some Santa Isabel tricolor tadpoles!

I listened intently on their care and with what I'd learned from working with other frogs it wasn't hard to rear them up. I ended up with 2.1 and with the field plankton, I had access to, they grew quickly and took on their bright reds. They soon were breeding and I revelled in their happy calls and brashness. In time I got Todd and Christens F1 breeding group. The parents of these animals were brought in by Charles Nishahara, who said they come from grasslands with small streams and pools made from cow hoof prints.

This line is a large lipstick red tricolor with off-white medial dorsal and lateral stripes. Sometimes flaring over the snout, the three off-white, (usually yellowish) stripes are mostly 1-2mm thick and running unbroken from the nose to the vent. The belly is speckled and the legs striped in the same off white. There are no flash marks.