My Bell frogs are fighting, I need help!!!!

[Jaxon Hardy]

ok, so i got 7 frogs from a lady today that was upgrading to perons, i got a tank and all that i added to my collection but whenever my 2 bell frogs go near eachother they kick and push eachother away. I have a feeling one is a male and the other female as one has olive patches and the other is a dark coppery colour. they are green and golden bell frogs I am wondering if they are fighting because of stress? . cheers, Jaxon

[Whistly]

I would say they are fighting because of stress, what size is the tank? Maybe the enclosure is too small causing stress.
The males will be smaller and have a yellow tinge to their throat the females will have a white/cream throat and be bigger.

[Jaxon Hardy]

about probably 3 foot long 1 foot wide and a foot deep, there is only two bell frogs in this tank and my others are in another tank

[Whistly]

I don't want to sound harsh but the enclosure setup is unsuitable probably causing the stress.
The size is great but stones are a BIG NO as they can be swallowed causing impaction then death.
You will need to replace the substrate for organic soil (no fertilisers), this will greatly reduce the chance of impaction. For water you could use a water bowl or use a perspex/glass strip and use aquarium safe silicone to seperate the land and water areas.
Live plants are best but fake are fine if you want to use live plants I suggest bird's nest ferns or brazilian ferns as they are hardy plants.
You will need branches, logs etc (boiled or cooked in the oven to remove any nasties) as Bell frogs love climbing and hiding under objects.

[Jaxon Hardy]

ok, thankyou for your honest opinion! where will i find such substrate? will they be ok with stones and pebbles for now? as i am waiting fo rmy next pay day to get some other things

[steampunk]

Bunnings mate, has everything you need. You can grab blocks of coco peat there for about 10 bucks. I used a mixture of washed forest sand, vermulite (I think that's how you spell it), moss peat, coco peat and organic potting mix. And then put a layer of spaghnum moss ontop, making sure there's no fertilizer and its all organic. It's all down the one isle, I work there part time lol.

If you go the live substrate way, you will need to put either a false bottom in or have very good drainage ie. The gravel you have at the moment, under the soil. This is needed to stop root rot on the plants and stopping it from smelling funky after awhile as well as breeding harmful bacteria.

My frogs always go live plants over the fake ones in my viv, and they look great.

Hope that helped :-)

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[Whistly]

As Scott said you should put the pebbles under the substrate for drainage.
It should be ok for a few days just remember if they are fighting they could swallow the pebbles so it would be best to get it all asap and move them into a holding container for a couple days so you can sort their tank out.
Just wondering what water do you use in your tank?

[Jaxon Hardy]

ok i might go to bunnings thursday afternoon when im not working and get it.
i use water from my 6 stage filter with ceramic balls and let it sit in a bucket for a day with some water ager in it, theni pour it in

[Whistly]

Looks like you really know your stuff on water I just use rain water lol. But now it's no longer raining I need to buy some de-chlorinating drops.

[steampunk]

ok i might go to bunnings thursday afternoon when im not working and get it.
i use water from my 6 stage filter with ceramic balls and let it sit in a bucket for a day with some water ager in it, theni pour it in

How'd ya go? Get everything you needed?

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[Jaxon Hardy]

yes, sorry i havent had internet lately, going all well and finally the bells are eating from my hand, the lady that had them never had success in feeding them. am using 100% organic soil on top of gravel and they are fine now. thanks for all the help

[Whistly]

No problem, just glad your frogs are happy now.

[Nick Major]

I have gone with the coco peat stuff as well with some gravel underneath. Final layer is sphagnum moss. I have live plants but they are all in small pots so no root rot issues. Water is in a Noodle Canteen container with a plastic plant up the side to ensure they can get out/ to make it look better!