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Oophaga Anchicayensis "Large Form Redhead" Care Guide

Oophaga Anchicayensis "Large Form Redhead"

Last updated: September 22, 2026

The Large Form Redhead, Oophaga anchicayensis, is a large-bodied obligate egg-feeder from the Río Anchicayá drainage of Valle del Cauca, Colombia. It was described in 2018 out of the Oophaga histrionica complex; older hobby stock and many vendor listings still say 'histrionica Redhead'. The head is red and fades to duller orange toward the posterior, with variable yellow or orange spotting. Females feed unfertilized eggs to their tadpoles, and this is not a beginner frog.

Housing Requirements

  • Terrarium Size: 18 x 18 x 24 Exo Terra or similar minimum for a pair, with vertical climbing structure and bromeliads
  • Tank Mates: Best kept as a sexed pair. A female-heavy trio can work in a larger, heavily planted enclosure if the keeper watches closely for aggression and for any animal getting pushed off food. Do not mix with other Oophaga species or other locales, dart frogs are kept locale-pure, and anchicayensis is known to hybridize with lehmanni in the wild.
  • Temperature: 68-78°F (20-26°C) during the day, 65-70°F (18-21°C) at night; avoid sustained highs above the low 80s
  • Humidity: 80-100% relative humidity
  • Lighting: Standard vivarium LED on a 12-hour day/night cycle; UVB is not required, dust prey with a quality calcium plus D3 supplement instead

Substrate & Environment

  • ABG mix (Atlanta Botanical Garden mix) or similar well-draining substrate
  • Live plants and bromeliads, bromeliad axils double as tadpole deposition sites for egg-feeding Oophaga
  • Deep leaf litter, cork bark, and multiple hides. Large-form Oophaga spend more time in cover than tinctorius, and a densely furnished tank is what gets them to sit out in view.
  • Clean, dechlorinated water source

Diet & Feeding

  • Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) as the staple
  • Springtails, aphids, and pinhead crickets for enrichment; springtails especially for juveniles and for feeding parents raising tadpoles
  • Dust food with calcium and vitamin supplements at every feeding
  • Well-fed females are what carry a clutch of tadpoles, nutrition drives breeding here more than it does with dendrobates

Breeding

  • Mature at 12-18 months; not prolific and only occasionally offered in the US trade
  • Eggs are laid on smooth leaves or in the leaf axils of bromeliads; males call quietly
  • Tadpoles are obligate egg-feeders. The female must remain in the tank and deposit unfertilized eggs into the water pockets the tadpoles live in. Pulling tads for artificial rearing with substitute egg feedings is possible but advanced and not routine for this species.
  • This obligate-egg-feeder biology is the single biggest reason Oophaga are harder to breed than Dendrobates

Special Notes

  • Formerly filed as Oophaga histrionica 'Redhead'; described as O. anchicayensis in 2018 by Posso-Terranova and Andrés. Both size forms of the Redhead locale (Large and Small) fall under the new species.
  • Wild range overlaps Oophaga lehmanni and natural hybridization has been documented; never house the two together in captivity
  • IUCN Endangered; the legal Tesoros de Colombia line is what supports the hobby's access to this species
  • Sensitive to sustained heat, vendors will not guarantee live arrival above 85°F, and the tank should be kept out of warm rooms
  • Extremely sensitive to chemicals and chlorine
  • Handle only when absolutely necessary for medical care or moving
  • Quarantine all new animals for 30+ days

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