Fish Friends

[amphib]

im getting a 30 to 40 gallon tank and have three frog who need a bigger tank any frog friendly fish that you recommend
-Amphib

[mpmistr]

ACF don't have fish friends, they only see them as food.

[SwimminSteve]

I have to agree with Michael.

To incorrectly quote Finding Nemo, "Fish are food, not friends!"

Keeping fish with ACF is not recommended. Some fish (feeder goldfish, rosy red minnows) contain high levels of thiaminase which inhibits Vit B uptake once ingested. This causes a lot of problems for the predator. Other fish have barbs or spines that could kill your frog if he attempts to eat it.
Individual frogs may have different predatory drives. Some of my frogs lunge at every moving object, while others can only be tempted by something dangled in front of them. For this reason it is not safe to house your frogs with most fish species. The frogs will eat anything that fits in their mouth and they will attempt even larger things (which could result in death by choking).

Some people have successfully housed fish with their frogs. You will need to consider the risks and decide if you are willing to accept loosing a frog (or more likely several fish).

My frogs are not real big on hunting. They've grown accustomed to tong and hand-feeding. I have a single White Cloud Minnow that has lived with my frogs for over 2 years. He swims in the top 1/3 of the tank and the frogs seem to ignore him, but they did eat three of his friends.

So to answer your question: No, you probably shouldn't add fish to your tank. But if you do, make sure it's a species that won't hurt your frogs if they try to eat it and that the fish can live in the same conditions as your frogs.
Good luck!

[mpmistr]

My ACF have successfully murdered every fish that they've ever met. They devoured all the ghost shrimp I had and they even ate all the little ramshorn snails that were in the tank with them..

There is a chance to introduce disease with fish but really the biggest problem with ACF + fish is that a volume of 30-40 gallons limits you to smaller fish and they are food to your frogs, larger fish needs more water volume and they will usually attack and kill your or stress them out until they become ill.

Amphibians and fish just don't work 99% of the time. In the wild ACF will seek out bodies of water that contain no fish and will migrate out of fish infested waters to live in a fish-free pond. There are very good reasons for this, they have a better chance (as do their tadpoles) of surviving without fish around. So even mother nature says this is a bad combo. =)

[amphib]

My frogs also behave in such manner but what i meant was were there any fish are the same size that can coexist or would it be better to get another frog once the tank is set up.

[mpmistr]

Go species only, there are really no fish that can coexist with clawed frogs, even if you matched size and temperament you still have to consider temperatures and water chemistry such as pH. Xenopus enjoy cool water 68F-72F and water on the alkaline side, most fish in the hobby are tropical and won't thrive at such low temps.

Goldfish are basically pond fish.. You'd need a large tank.. Xenopus will attack fins of fancies..
White cloud minnows, danios, and rosie reds are subtropical but are too small, will be eaten..
All plecos and corydora are a HUGE no... ACF will choke on them, plecos are territorial as they age too..
Cichlids, super aggressive.. The frogs will suffer..
Oscars will attack frogs, would require 125 gallons for one Oscar and 3 xenopus..
Silver dollars... Tropical, huge, only thrives in schools, needs large tank..
Betta.. Tropical.. Future Xenopus chow..
Mollies, guppies, platys.. Tropical.. Xenoups food..
Tetras, barbs, ect.. Some barbs will nip at clawed frogs, clawed frogs in return will eat them..

You could name more fish but most other fish in the hobby are large, semi-aggressive, or predatory towards frogs. Frogs may live for a while with them and one day an eyeball or an arm is missing.. Species only is the way to go, mixing frogs and fish is just risky. You also have to consider how small aquariums are compared to an actual pond, the presence of fish that are not prey will stress clawed frogs, they may not show outwardly signs but it does shorten their lives in the long run.

[Mentat]

...My frogs are not real big on hunting. They've grown accustomed to tong and hand-feeding. I have a single White Cloud Minnow that has lived with my frogs for over 2 years. He swims in the top 1/3 of the tank and the frogs seem to ignore him, but they did eat three of his friends...

Now imagine yourself's living in a very small place with 3 large predators and no were to escape to. The stress of calculating every single move, of being on guard 24 hours a day, of constantly knowing you could be eaten the next moment.

My point is; even when we make it work... we just created a "hell for fish."

[Mentat]

...but what i meant was were there any fish are the same size that can coexist or would it be better to get another frog once the tank is set up.

No, get some nice plants in there and enjoy your frogs .

[spotfin]

I keep some rosy barbs with my frogs. They do better at similar temps with the frogs. Two barbs went missing after being added, but the remaining ones coexist with the frogs.

[Ron Magpie]

My smaller clawed frogs (Silurana tropicalis) co-exist fairly well with swordtails- those young fish that outgrow being eaten by both the adult fish and the frogs act as scavengers (the frogs are messy eaters!) as well as a bit of visual interest- and the frogs know that if the fish are swarming at the surface, there is food in the offing! ... Enough make it to keep the population stable. In the larger Xenopus, though, my experience over the years has been pretty much the same as the posters above; sooner or later, all of the fish will be eaten.

[FrogWithABlog]

I have two AFC's and one of my girls is very large and eats everything that enters her path. with that being said I have been through a lot of different fish and the only fish I have been successful with are gourami's and that is only because they are to big for her to fit in her mouth. My other frog is not as aggressive but they both will still try to grab the gourami's if they swim in front of them. I think the gourami's "feelers" help them stay out of danger as well because they are able to swim away before the frog can get to their fins.