Frog comp.  04/07/09
Hi! I have a bullfrog tadpole that is just turning into a frog.
It has it's front and back legs and its mouth is starting to widen, so he is not completely a frog yet. I wanted to know if he could live in a big cage with a fire bellied toad? Please answer.
<Unfortunately no... Most frog species are not compatible... better to keep in separate settings. Bob Fenner>

Tank Diversity... I'll say! And a partridge in a pear tree?! 2/18/08 Hello and thanks in advance. <Hail.> I've jumped in feet first here and I feel slightly overwhelmed. I am trying to be as conscientious as possible and want to offer the best environment possible for the animals I've chosen to support. <For the love of God, please tell me this is research *prior* to purchase. Obviously these animals won't get along. One is big and aggressive, one is soft and easily damaged, and the other is a land animal that drowns when it falls into deep water. No chance whatsoever of these animals coexisting in an vivarium.> I have a new 29 gallon tank with a very young Red-Eared slider turtle, a Fire Belly Toad, a Hermit Crab (species unknown to me). <Oh dear.> I have the tank divided into three distinct "zones"; I have a tall pumice stone which offers a place to climb and explore and where I deposit the food for all of the animals. In the middle I have a 2-2 1/2 inch deep area intended for swimming. And finally I have a raised, dry, sandy area for the turtle to bask and for the crab to burrow/bask. I've also planted a few small aquatic plants throughout each "zone". <Water area too shallow for the Terrapin, but fatally deep for the Hermit Crab.> I have a new UVB light and a new infrared light which keeps the humidity and temperature within nominal limits and I regularly test in each of the three respective areas. I have a new 140 gph filter and a heater in the swimming area. I am using decomposed granite and aquarium gravel as substrate in the wet areas and washed play sand in the raised "beach" area. <Hermit Crabs need moss or coir (Coconut fibre) to burrow into when resting. Sand doesn't hold moisture so well. In any case, the crab can't be kept in this enclosure.> I have been reading as much as I can about the animals and believe that I have provided an ample environment for each of them. While I understand that a new environment and new "roommates" can be intimidating, how do I ensure a good quality of life for the inhabitants? <By keeping each in a tailor-made environment specific to their needs. Firebelly Toads for example need relatively cool water less than 24C, but this is too cold for Terrapins. Conversely, while Terrapins appreciate a gravel substrate for resting on while basking, Toads can swallow gravel and die, and should NEVER be kept in enclosures with gravel. They need bare glass or pebbles in the water side of their tank, and damp moss 5 or 6 cm deep over the gravel on the land side of the system. Again, terrapins are hugely polluting animals that dump a lot of ammonia in the water; toads are highly sensitive to ammonia, developing the amphibian equivalent of Finrot, known as "Red Leg".> I've never seen a tank divided like this and believe there is no reason why it can't be successful. <Many, many reasons. Too numerous to list here, but even a quick read of the literature on each species should make these immediately obvious.> Please give as much detailed information as you can afford. ~ Joel <Separate these animals into their own systems, or else return two of them and specialise on just the one. There is no way these animals can be kept together. Cheers, Neale.>

Mixing Frogs with Turtles   1/9/08 I have a red eared slider turtle and I also have bull frog tadpoles an they are now turning into frogs, can I put the frogs in the same aquarium the turtle is in? Thank You Brenda < Not recommended. Turtles eat frogs as part of there natural diet.-Chuck>

Question... Can two fire belly toads and a red eared slider turtle live together in the same aquarium?  8/10/07 I think the tank is 20gals and is a terrarium. we have a filter, heater and a filter/water circulator. I have had some bad experience with previous turtles and don't want the same to happen. A few years ago two of my turtles that I had for approximately 2 years were eaten by a craw fish that was supposed to be a treat for my painted turtles. the crawfish was living under a rock eating the turtles fish and other food sources for a couple months, ate one turtle then a few days later the other. It was a big surprise when I drained the tank and found a crawfish about three times the size it was when we bought it. Especially since I thought it was already eaten because I didn't see it for two months. Anyway if I put the two toads in the same tank as the turtle which is about 2 and a half inches will they stay away from each other and be able to live healthy? I know the kinds of environments they both need and am just wondering about having a variety of species living together. Is there any species that can coexist with a red eared slider? <Greetings. No, you must not mix frogs/toads with your sliders or for that matter crayfish. Sliders are largely herbivores and 75%+ of their diet should be plant food, particularly when they are adult. But that doesn't mean they aren't opportunists, and in the confines of an aquarium they will catch and eat anything. Even if they don't manage to kill the toads, their nipping are likely to damage them and let fungus or some other infection set in. Furthermore, your terrapins are very messy animals and pollute the water heavily; the toads, by contrast, are largely aquatic and require good, clean water. Bottom line, you can't mix them. Now, you're mentioning feeder fish, and I'm just going to remind you that [a] sliders don't need to eat live fish; [b] live goldfish and minnows especially are a source of thiaminase, a substance known to harm reptiles in the long term; and [c] your terrapins should be mostly eating greens anyway. I mention all of this because of your story with the crayfish; if I'm feeling charitable I'd suggest you hadn't done your homework on how to keep terrapins in captivity. Crayfish don't mix with anything, period. Not even each other. Terrapins and turtles cannot be mixed with anything but other terrapins and turtles of comparable size. Please understand a red-ear slider get to the size of a dinner plate, so before adding "tankmates", consider whether you have space enough already for the ones you have. Realistically, you're after something around 55 gallons for one or two specimens. So, be sure and read the articles here at WWM about keeping red-ear sliders; there are several of them, all good, and brim full of useful information. Cheers, Neale

Keeping Frogs And Newts Together  10/26/06 Hello, I have two Fire-Bellied toads together in a 10-gallon tank.  I feed them guppies.  I was wondering whether it would be possible to place some Fire Belly Newts in the same tank. < The frogs are way to active for the newts. The frogs would eat all the food and leave none for the newts.> Furthermore, I am curious whether the Newts can live off of the guppies, or whether I should  put some other food source in with them? < The newts require some slow moving invertebrates like worms and insects.> My main concerns are the  poisons in each species' bellies, also whether they will be able to  eat the same food.  Finally, I would also like to know whether the  presence of either newts or more toads will affect the breeding  ability.  Am I best with just two toads (I believe one is female but  can't be sure)?  Thank you so much! Jt < For best long term results I would keep each species separate.-Chuck>

Undesired FW snails with amphibians    4/10/06 I have some Firebelly frogs and have noticed that's some really small snails just appeared. this is the second time this has happened to me with different aquariums. I find this extremely odd any info you can give me about these snails and how they manage to appear from thin air would be greatly appreciated <Likely "came in" with some live plant, food material... Can be removed... killed in a few ways, but I want to emphasize the need to remove the frogs if using toxins. Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsnails.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Frog and cichlid compatibility - 11/28/2005 Can Frogs, and cichlids live together, and also a 6" Pleco. If a frog can live in a 55 gallon aquarium, what kind. <It honestly depends on what kind of frog and what kind of cichlids you have, as well as your stocking levels. Two fully aquatic frogs are commonly available in the trade: African Clawed Frogs and African Dwarf Frogs. ACFs get quite large and have the reputation of harming or eating fish. I have two of these in a small, dedicated tank. ADFs remain very small and as such are unlikely to harm your fish, but may be picked on by your cichlids. Both can be quite messy and will place additional strain on your filtration. Despite not appearing to be the brightest of creatures, I think they make great pets, but I would prefer to keep them separately from my fish. Best regards, John>  

Frogs with Crabs? 8/6/05 I have hermit crabs.  I'm wondering if I can put frogs in the same terrarium? Sharon < The first chance they get, the crabs will attack and probably kill the frogs.-Chuck>

Amphibian and Chelonian mix 8.27.05 I keep my red ear slider in an aquarium with 3 Firebelly toads, a tree frog, and a chubby frog. I have the aquarium so one side is water and the other side is land. I have been wondering, however, if the mix of reptile and amphibian is safe.  I do have a filter and light source and the animals usually keep away from each other. Also, I used to have a soft-shell turtle; I had kept him with the frogs (but at that time I had one Firebelly). Sadly, he died in a weird way. A large, black, tube like thing with feathery ends came out of his anus, and hung out about an inch. We suspected that it had to do with the turtles eating habits, for it ate up to six fish a day. Recently, I have been wondering if it had to do with the frogs. I really don't want my red ear slider to die, so please help. Also, we have been feeding the slider a more reasonable amount of food. PLEASE HELP!! <I am not sure what the large black feathery thing might have been, but it might be worth contacting a reptile Veterinarian to find out.  I would not recommend keeping frogs with turtles.  Turtles foul the water very quickly, frogs and toads are very sensitive to the quality of their environment and will not tolerate less than optimal conditions for very long.  I am not sure if the frogs and toads you are keeping are toxic to animals that ingest them but it is definitely something you will want to look into, I am sure a turtle would sample a frog if given the opportunity.  I would definitely keep the turtle in a separate tank. I would also get some care sheets on the different types of frogs you are keeping to ensure that your setup is meeting their needs as well, heating, lighting, feeding, etc. -Gage>

Mixing Amphibians Can fire belly toads live with baby whites tree frogs if they are about the same size? What about adding green tree frogs to the mixture? <I would not mix any of these, they all have different environmental requirements.  If you want entertainment go with the fire bellies, if you want an adorable frog that is not as active, go with the Whites Tree frog.  I like tree frogs as well, but they are really jumpy, open the lid to clean them an BOING! all over the room.  Ok, it is not that bad, but they are really fast.  Do some research on all 3 and go with the one you like best.  -Gage>

Mixing Frogs  5/2/04 Hello there!   <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a northern tree frog. I'm not quite sure how old he is, I found him in a parking lot and brought him home. I have had him for 3 1/2 years in a 20 gallon tank.  Now I have some bullfrog tadpoles, that I am raising, and I was just wondering if when the bull frogs get to be not tadpoles any more if I could keep one or two in the same tank as the tree frog? Or would you recommend getting a separate tank for each? <Bad idea to mix bullfrogs with any other frogs, sometimes even smaller bullfrogs.  They will eat anything they can fit into their very large mouths, even cannibalizing each other.  They also need a very large tank, as they have huge strong legs & can jump very far.  They can damage themselves jumping against the glass of a tank that is too small.>   Thank you for your help.  Allison <Good luck with your froggy friends!  ~PP>

Aquatic Frog compatibility I want a aquatic frog but, will it bother my mollies and algae eater? Love Ellie <Your algae eater might actually bother it. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/amphibfaqs.htm Bob Fenner>

Firebelly Toads 3.28.05 Alright, I'm sorry if my improper punctuation bothers you. <I must have missed the first message, I am sure it was nothing personal, just a lot of emails to edit and post on the website. No worries.><((((º> Anyway, my dad thinks I should get a little fish to live in my Firebelly toad's pond. But I'm worried that the firebellies might eat the fish or poison it with their skin toxins, and the fish food might poison the toads. Is it okay to get such a fish? And if it is, what species would be most appropriate? <I'd leave the fish out of this setup, in my experience firebellies will try to eat just about anything that wiggles. I doubt eating the fish would harm the toad but it would not be very fun for the fish. The fish and fish food will also foul the toads water faster which means more work for you cleaning the pond. Best Regards, Gage >
Bloated Firebelly newt Follow-up Thanks for the information. Any cures for gut impaction other than hoping nature take its course?  <I would think you could use Epsom salts at a rate of 1 teaspoon per ten gallons and if he is still eating you could use vegetables like peas.>

Can a tadpole frog live with tropical freshwater fish?  07/02/05 Today, my sons came home with a tadpole frog they found.   I agreed they can keep it and watch it grow, but it needs somewhere safe to live where our cats won't bother it.  Our choices are: (1) he can join a 10-gal freshwater aquarium with a tiger barb, a Plecostomus, and a couple of plants.   Can the tadpole live in the aquarium with the fish? <Mmm, maybe... but I'd just keep this amphibian in a large jar of its own... with a sprig of truly aquatic plant and sponge filter if you can> The temp is around 78 degrees, which I think is OK according to my internet reading.  I'm more worried if the barb will bother the tadpole or vice versa. <Me too> The tadpole is much bigger than the barb. (2) he can join a 20 gal aquarium with two red-ear slider turtles, but they are much bigger than the tadpole, and I would be afraid they would eat him. <I also> Do either of these situations sound like they might work for the tadpole? <Not really... but if you were really short of space, another possibility is to float a plastic jar with holes in it, or a colander in the turtle tank (if it lacks much in the way of nitrogenous waste like ammonia...)> I don't want my sons' learning experience to be that animals eat each other, and I really don't feel like buying more aquariums.  Besides the 2 mentioned, we have another 3 tanks that are full of gerbils.   We have a plastic "planet frog" that worked for a tadpole in the past, until the cats found they could push the darn thing around and they broke the plastic lid. Thanks for your help! <I'd go with a one gallon jar... and change the water out from the tropical tank... every day or two... big enough that the cats shouldn't be able to knock it about. Bob Fenner>
Re: can a tadpole frog live with tropical freshwater fish? 7/4/05 Thanks so much for your reply.  The tadpole is currently in it's own glass bowl with a lid so the cats can't get him & I think the boys have decided they will return him to the lake. <Ah, good> If we keep him longer, I'm wondering about your suggestion to change the water out from the tropical tank every day or two.  Does this mean the tadpole's water should come from the tropical tank?   Thanks! <Yes... this water is far more safe for use than treated tapwater. Bob Fenner>