New to the FBT game and am ready with questions!

[xXPinkFlamingo]

Hey all! Well my now 6 year old wanted a frog for his birthday, and since i was getting out of the fish aquarium hobby I agreed. We have had the frogs for two weeks and they are doing great. Pretty sure I have one male and two females and upgraded them to a 20g long last night from a 10g. After setting up the 20g long and making a waterfall out of a U1 and a peice of drift wood I now have white foamy bubbles around the waterfall. I build my own filter as well and that one has none and is more powerful then the U1. I read on here last night and another member had the same issue and the advice given to him was to do a pwc and i large one this morning because the bubbles had formed a small mountain around the waterfall. They seemed to be a little better but now they are back and but staying on the water surface. Any ideas or suggestions? The pics below are from last night right after adding the frogs to their new tank. I'm going to take some more here in a bit to show the extent of the bubbles. (There were no bubbles in the 10g with the fall.)

Also, how many can we keep in the 20g long?
Is feeding them every other day considered over feeding?

Thanks!

[DirtyBird]

Nice setup! I have 6 in my 20L and they seem to have plenty of space. I feed them about 40 small crickets with carotene vitamin powder coating every few days. As for the bubbles... Did you clean the tank first? Clean the rocks and gravel really well? Or use soap on anything in there? I would let it mature for a week,provided they are still doing well and healthy, and do a 2/3 water change with conditioned tap water. Check the filter sponge itself. But thats just me! Im a newb to frogs and fbt all together too. Somone with more experiance can jump in and confirm or deny what i said! Good luck!

[Heatheranne]

Nice home for them! Great job! Although I am not sure about the bubbles. I've never had any bubbles in mine. I'm sure someone will have a suggestion. Good luck!

[xXPinkFlamingo]

Thanks! Since I have a bit of a background in fish and aquariums I know what to use and what not to use in the tanks, and I'm assuming its the same with the FBT. By saying that I mean I didn't use soap or chemicals. The only chemical I used was declorinator and I'm wondering if I should use a different type because it is a bit old, though my fish didn't mind it and i didn't get the bubbles with them.

More questions

Do I need to cycle the tank like I would with a fish tank?

Can I use aquarium plant fertilizer in the FB home?

I've been doing pwc weekly, do I need to pull everything out on a monthly basis and clean it? - I don't want to pull up plants and kill the good bacteria.

How many large (though they arn't very large) crickets should each get and how often? I've read 2-3 crickets per frog 2-3x a week, but they seem starving.

How often should I clean the filters?

Any other advice would be great to!

[DirtyBird]

Id stick with small crickets. 10-12 crickets 2 or 3 times a week

[Firebelly love]

I feed mine about 2 mealworms and 3 crickets (for variety) every 2 or 3 times a week. I don't think the foam is good for the toads, you might consider taking everything out of the tank rinsing it, and putting it back. I do this monthly, as well as a filter change. Welcome to the forum!

[xXPinkFlamingo]

Well I took the waterfall down and positioned the filter so it was all underwater and the foam is completely gone, so I'm chalking it up to too much surface agitation. They are happy and Hippity is loud and wont stop trying to breed so I'm not to worried about it now. However, I still have more questions on the thread from earlier that have gone unanswered, should i start a new thread for them?

[Lacibeth]

Well I took the waterfall down and positioned the filter so it was all underwater and the foam is completely gone, so I'm chalking it up to too much surface agitation. They are happy and Hippity is loud and wont stop trying to breed so I'm not to worried about it now. However, I still have more questions on the thread from earlier that have gone unanswered, should i start a new thread for them?

Which questions didn't get answered hon?

ETA: Not being facetious, just a little too mushybrained to pick out what still needs answered. :sigh: Which might also mean I'm too mushybrained to answer.

[xXPinkFlamingo]

Which questions didn't get answered hon?

ETA: Not being facetious, just a little too mushybrained to pick out what still needs answered. :sigh: Which might also mean I'm too mushybrained to answer.

Do I need to cycle the tank like I would with a fish tank?

Can I use aquarium plant fertilizer in the FB home?

I've been doing pwc weekly, do I need to pull everything out on a monthly basis and clean it? - I don't want to pull up plants and kill the good bacteria/Nitrates.

Is feeding them every other day considered over feeding?

[Lacibeth]

Do I need to cycle the tank like I would with a fish tank?

Can I use aquarium plant fertilizer in the FB home?

I've been doing pwc weekly, do I need to pull everything out on a monthly basis and clean it? - I don't want to pull up plants and kill the good bacteria/Nitrates.

Is feeding them every other day considered over feeding?

Overfeeding has more to do w/ quantity, rather than frequency. One of the rules of thumb w/ feeding is as much as they'll eat in 15 minutes.

20-25% partial wc every second week should be sufficient. You'll need to monitor nitrates/nitrites etc just like w/ fish.

There are some things like isopods and springtails you can add that'll do most of your housekeeping on the terrestrial parts--not sure which would be better w/ a FBT setup. Hopefully someone will answer that. But no, no need to yank out plants and the like.

I wouldn't use any sort of fertilizer around amphibs due to the permeability of their skin. Between treated tap water and the waste products from the toad your plants should be getting most of everything they need.

If you haven't already give the care sheet Frog Forum - Fire-Bellied Toad Care and Breeding - Bombina orientalis and relatives a read.

[Jace]

I fed my toads a base diet of crickets 3 times a week with one feeding of mealworms (2-3 each) once a week. You want your toads to be plump looking but not obese and if you have one that is skinnier, feed it separately and with an extra feeding or two per week to bring it up to par.

If you do regular maintenance every two weeks and spot clean the land portion, I doubt you will have to completely dismantle your tank to do a full clean. I have heard that springtails can really help in such a setup, though I have never used them personally.

I agree-no fertilizers around your toads, even ones that say they are safe for fish. Toads and fish are too different to be able to trust it will not hurt your toads.

Great looking setup-I am sure your toads will be very happy for a long time!

[xXPinkFlamingo]

I looked up springtails and they are creepy! I think I'll stick with cleaning myself thanks!!

[xXPinkFlamingo]

Are the small crickets suppose to smaller then half an inch? they are tiny!

[bobrez]

I like your tank, you have lots of water for them to play in. My toad spends most the time in the water
he would like it in there

You said you had 2.1 , can you tell me how to tell what sex they are ? I'm guessing the male will call
does the female make noise also? Don't mean to hijack, but im new and cant answer any your questions
sorry. Thanks

[xXPinkFlamingo]

The male is incredibly loud! He started off quiet but once i got the bigger tank and he had more water, he got so loud you can hear him downstairs across the house. The other two never make noise. My male-Hippity- is also thinner then the females, no matter how much he eats. My two females- Hoppity and Fatty- look smaller with round bellies- Not large from the underside, but more like round middles. I've read mixed things on sexing FBT, so my babies build might just be coincidence, but if they call constantly, not just when being attacked, they are males.

[DirtyBird]

The females do not call... As far as I know! It is nearly impossible to sex them outside breeding season. Size, color, texture, shape, and behavior (other than mounting) have no differences with male and female. ive noticed fbts have two glands at the back of the head, which are lighter in color. The male lighter patches are more pronounced than the females. May be something, or just a coincedence....
I use a Flourish plant supliment for aquariums, VERY deluted once every few weeks, careful not to get it on or near the toads, and them mist straight conditioned water over it to soak it down in.

The bubble may be from old, or stale conditioner, try a new bottle?