Bullying Problems

[Amber Gyore]

Hugo has been turning into a little *** lately. He's constantly calling, which I don't mind, but he's patrolling the water in the tank. As soon as any of my females even get remotely close to him, he mounts them and fully submerges them, where they struggle to get air. None of them want him there. They are always trying to crawl away. I'm worried that my other four frogs aren't getting enough water time, because they are all stuck on land. Hugo has even started mounting them ON LAND, which I thought was incredibly bizarre.

The ones that he picks on most often have turned dark again. Nothing else has changed in their environment, so I'm thinking the constant torment that Hugo brings upon them is taking its toll. I don't want to separate them, because I love Hugo dearly, he was one of my original frogs. And to not hear his mating call at night would break my heart. I'm not sure how else to get him to "keep it in his pants", so to speak.

The other frogs are eating just fine, but I'm still concerned. I have rearranged the tank so there is more land than water, so Hugo doesn't rule so much of his tank. I've also dropped the temperature in the tank as much as I could, and reduced the amount of water I have in the tank. He just doesn't seem to care and goes at it anyway.

Any other suggestions?

[MantisMan]

i would decrease the daylight cycle by an hour and take the females, put them in a smaller cage away from him with moist moss or paper towels for a few days to recouperate, feed them well and then reintroduce them

[Gnag the nameless]

Adding more hiding spots such as fake plants, lily pads, small rock caves, moss hills, and flower pots could help the females rest, and also adding a little water dish on the land area could possibly save the females from drying out. I would make more barriers, plant, driftwood, log or otherwise, between areas so it's harder for Hugo to reach the females, and more peaceful for the females. If nothing works, move Hugo into his own tank, and place the tank beside the main tank so he can see the females, but not reach them. Of course, another solution is to get an even bigger tank, but I'm confident you won't have to resort to that.

I like Alex's idea of putting the females in a separate tank for a few days in order to recuperate.

[Helena]

My frog does this sometimes too. When he goes on top of the females, it is called amplexus. This is the mating position that fire bellies use. Basically your toad is horny
even though your toads aren't ready for mating or aren't even the right sex, he will still try. I have never heard of patrolling the water though, I would recommend the same thing that Caspian said, add a separate water dish so that the females, or other frogs don't dry out. I don't know if amplexus is what your toad is doing, but I attached a picture of what it looks like.

Can you identify if this is amplexus, or something else?