New to forum and frogs

[cjacob316]

Hey guys, long time fish keep here, and i've been toying with the idea of setting up a paludarium with frogs and a few fish

kind of just looking for some ideas, what types of frogs are easy to keep, very attractive, might like to swim a bit, how to care for them

what kinds of set ups do they like, do they need land? or do they do fine in branches and such

thanks in advance

[Kurt]

Welcome aboard. Treefrogs generally do well in that kind of enclosure. You will have to feed the frogs outside the enclosure as crickets will drown with all that water. White's, green, gray, and barking treefrogs are good choices to start with. Pick one species and stick with it, as its a real bad idea to mix amphibian species.

Another direction you can go is with Suriname toads or African clawed frogs. These are totally aquatic frogs and can live with fish as long as those fish are not too small enough to even be considered as a food source by the frogs. They will eat small fish and try eat smallish fish, choking on them.

[cjacob316]

ok, so none of the really colorful guys huh?

i don't want a completely aquatic frog, i was thinking about getting two of the tetra water fall filters one for each back corner, have a pictus catfish, maybe some bolivian rams in the water, maybe a branching log coming out of the water along with some plants (hopefully i can find some that will root in the water and grow tall out of the water)

[Kurt]

Grays have bright yellow thighs. Greens and barking treefrogs are attractive as well.

[John]

The more interactive tree frogs tend not to be very showy in colour. I like the fact that my Gray Tree Frogs can be dark brown one day and white the next.

[cjacob316]

what about cleaning waste and what not, is it hard to do? or since i want a complete water bottom will it most likely fall into it and get cleaned up by the filters and water changes?

and you said i need to take them out to feed them, i'm guessing all you guys feed them are crickets? how often and what do you feed the crickets?
i saw a bowl that hangs in the terrarium, what about using this to feed them in the terrarium if i pull the legs off the crickets of something, or is that just too cruel to think of lol

[Kurt]

Crickets can still climb, fall into the water, and drown. Yes, the filter and water change will help keep the poop from becoming a problem.

[cjacob316]

i guess i could just feed them in a sterilite box, is it a daily feed? and i think i've seen that you guys dust them with calcium? is that also daily?

[Iceni]

the litoria family springs to mind, If you've never had frogs then the Whites tree frog Litoria caerulea is a very hardy frog indeed. They take minimal looking after but things can go wrong with them just like with any amphibian. There tree frogs so they can both swim and climb. Enjoying both. meaning you could run a very shallow tank Up to 6" of water with some high exposed land done with a divide, and a high waterfall/log.

For something that would allow a larger area of water and less dry land or high areas then fire belly toads Bombina bombina are a good starting point with amphibians. There a communal frog with a brilliant red black underbelly and if you get an orental one they should have striking green and black uppers. The ones sold as European tend to be brown and black uppers. They love to swim and you can happily have a tank filled 2/3 to the top with water. Then make a shelf with clear plastic and aquarium seal it in place. With some substrate this gives the frogs somewhere to sit and feed, but a lot of space to swim. I have mine in a 2 foot tank with 2 shelves both shelves been about 8 inches into the tank with a lip to hold back substrate. Unfortunately mine developed a taste for small fish and 2 of them managed to eat 30 tetras, gold fish and guppies in the space of 4 months! Larger fish would stop this.

Terrestrial frogs tend to be bad swimmers. Pacmans for example will drown pretty easy so you want them keep them in a Non aquatic environment.

Tree frogs tend to be able to swim or get out of water, some will go for a swim others will not bother, But there feet generally mean they can escape the water.

Semi aquatic frogs tend to either like more land or more water depending on species and frog. Bombinas are one of the easiest to please in this regard, there also very quiet when they call sounding like small dog toys!!

Totally aquatic frogs will never leave the water at all. So having land can be a waste.


Bombina bombina would be my choice again for a first frog. Or litoria caerulea for a tree frog. There's a whole world of information for them on the net. Provided you stick to the basics and use the internet like a tool then neither frog will have many problems.

On a final note unless you are confident in keeping a live plant enclosure, have done it in the past or have a test tank that has been setup and running for a few months then stick to silks. Live plants have cost me a frog recently and i feel although they look great they fall into the expert level of care level. For a beginner stick to silk plants and coconut fibre substrate.

[StephenLS]

If you can get hold of them you could try a species of Reed Frog! They are quite small however, and whilst you may see them resting during the day they are primarily nocturnal.

Also they require small food e.g. flies/small crickets and the chances are if these fell into the water your fish would enjoy them too!

[Kurt]

Keep in mind any frog that feeds upon live insects needs to be fed out the enclosure if that enclosure also houses fish. In this respect, White's, green, gray, and barking treefrogs will be the easiest choices to care for.

Bombina bombina are generally not available on this side of the "pond", but Bombina orientalis is and in my opinion, they much more attractive. Also, feed this species out side of its enclosure too. And keep in mind that fire-bellied toads are quite toxic. If Bombina are known to eat fish, then I would pass on them in this situation.

Reeds may be problematic in this situation as then generally feed on smaller prey items, such as fruit flies. Fruit flies are capable of scaling the side of any Rubbermaid or Sterlite box, so what ever box you use to feed them in needs to be escape proof for these minute insects.

For the most part all the frogs listed above are usually only available as wild caught specimens. That itself can present problems for the beginner. Wild caught animals need to be treated for GI parasites and that involves a vet visit. So, when it comes down to it, I see two paths you can choose from. One, get CB White's treefrogs or two, buy CB barking treefrogs available from Salty City. A third possiblity is John mentioned he was going to try and breed his gray treefrogs this spring. Maybe you can get some from him, but that would be several months from now.

[cjacob316]

i like the firebellies, and the fish i think i would keep if i do, would be catfish, so i might lose the frog before i lose the fish. i might nix the fish idea, and just do fire bellies, i still think i'd prefer a full water bottom with some ledges and vines, because i think it would be easier to clean, but feeding seems problematic

thanks for all the help guys, been great, obviously i think i need to do a lot of research before jumping in