Bullfrog viv with fish?

[Calubob]

I am about to purchase 120 gallon or larger terrarium for my baby bullfrog (Chris Frogley) he is around 3.5 inches. I have a pretty good idea on how I want my tank setup but I feel it will kind of be a lifeless tank because my frog only cares about food and will sit at the edge of his water the entire day and wait to be fed, which is fine I think it looks pretty cool to just being barely able to see his head sticking out of the water and wait like a mini alligator. The water depth in my new tank will be very deep and besides goldfish that he will eventually eat is there any type of bottom or middle swimming fish or other aquatic creature that may be able to live peace? The frog only seems to go after fish if they swim to the top of the water and he is a pretty terrible fisherman he averages around 3 goldfish every 6 weeks. I understand there is always a risk he'll go after the deeper fish but I was curious if anyone had experience with a similar setup?

[plasticfaye]

I don't have semi-aquatic experience, but I have extensive fish-keeping experience. Gouramis would make good tank mates. However, they are labyrinth breathers like bettas, so they'll head to the top frequently, but they are more clever than goldfish. They may be able to reach a size large enough to be safe from your frog, but it depends on the species. You can keep lots of the schooling fish like tetras in there. They are too fast for him to catch and they look pretty. Any "tropical" community fish at PetSmart that isn't labeled "cichlid" will be safe to put with him, but you will have to add a heater if you don't plan to already. If you don't want a heater, white cloud minnows are also carried at PetSmart and do great in unheated tanks.

[Lija]

Wowwwwww! Sorry of topic, couldnt contain myself lol
alexis your signature rocks! Brb are awesome!

calubob, sorry don't know much about bullfrogs, but gold fish are big no-no feeders. They contain big quantities of thiaminase, feeding feeders like might lead to vit B deficiency, also knows as short tongue syndrome. You don't want to do it.

[plasticfaye]

...he is a pretty terrible fisherman he averages around 3 goldfish every 6 weeks.

I think it's okay for variety. If Chris Frogley is getting one fish every 2 weeks, and a staple diet of crickets or roaches otherwise, right? But switching from feeder goldfish to feeder minnows would be healthier too. =)

And thank you, Lija! =D
I am proud of my rainbow boas.

[AbranV]

Calubob, be careful with what you put in there, it will eventually get eaten. My bullfrog, Mija, has eaten goldfish, rosey red minnows, and just recently a CICHLID! I've never seen her actively hunting fish but they keep disappearing. I had two mbuna cichlids in her tank as a temporary home and only one is in in there now. I thought they would be safe because they were always hiding. Guess I was wrong.

I've tried big fish, small fish, fast fish, bottom feeders, top feeders, fish that hide, aggressive fish.....all have either evaporated or been eaten.
The only thing she hasn't touched yet has been my pleco's......so far. ; )

I've been having a snail issue since I've pulled the goldfish out, and now having trouble finding something to eat the snails, that won't get eaten by the frog. My only suggestion for you is really, really big fish or very inexpensive fish.

I am planning on rebuilding her tank and I'm thinking of building some sort of divider/split tank type of thing where she can't get to the fish, but that's a while down the road.

Please let me know what you end up doing, I'm always looking for what works

[plasticfaye]

That is interesting AbranV. I would not be surprised if the remaining cichlid actually killed the other. Mbuna are usually kept in overcrowded communities together because they are hyper aggressive towards conspecies and this confuses them, distributing the behavior so that no individual will be singled out and killed, leaving no remains. Keeping only two will result in a single fish. Let us know if the one left goes missing too. That would prove it's the frog eating them.

I've tried big fish, small fish, fast fish, bottom feeders, top feeders, fish that hide, aggressive fish.....all have either evaporated or been eaten. The only thing she hasn't touched yet has been my pleco's......so far. ; )

And I'm curious about specifically what other fish you've tried. Can you remember?

[AbranV]

That is interesting AbranV. I would not be surprised if the remaining cichlid actually killed the other. Mbuna are usually kept in overcrowded communities together because they are hyper aggressive towards conspecies and this confuses them, distributing the behavior so that no individual will be singled out and killed, leaving no remains. Keeping only two will result in a single fish. Let us know if the one left goes missing too. That would prove it's the frog eating them.



And I'm curious about specifically what other fish you've tried. Can you remember?

That is interesting. My only real reason for blaming my frog is how the fish disappeared overnight. I have the luxury of being self employed, and I spend a good part of my day hanging in my "frog room" which is basically my office. The one cichlids vanished. If it was attacked, there would be some sort of sign. The remaining cichlid is a little bigger, but also very aggressive. They were part of a Craigslist deal for a tank and were housed in a 20gal with a Pleco. I moved the three into the much bigger bullfrog tank that already had a small Pleco, and 9 white cloud minnows. The weirdest thing about it all is that they all lived peacefully for months, then one day, I'm missing the cichlid and four minnows.

Now I've moved the minnows to the pond, and only have the two plecos, cichlid, and a truck load of snails in the bullfrog tank. Eventually I'll get rid of the newer Pleco and cichlid and start over with my original Pleco and whatever I can find that will survive my little monster.