New to Frogs/Toad - Question?

[rhunter513]

Hi first time toad keeper here - long time fish and reptile keeper. I am setting up my fire belly toad tank and I was wondering if I can keep them with fiddler or red clawed crabs?

Here is a pic of my set-up so far



I want to add more green with more plants and moss.

I have done a lot of reading about FBT and I am confused about temperature. Do they need a basking light and a heater for the water? I live in Ohio so my room temps vary from mid 60's in winter to mid 70's in summer.

I welcome any comments on my set-up for far..

Thanks!

[s6t6nic6l]

hi rhunter. first thing, well done on the setup for them.

1st point: i personally would'nt keep any other type of animal with these due to the toxins they release which could well be harmful to the crabs

plants and esp' the moss will be most appreciated by them

no heater required with indoor tank and lighting for plant growth is best, check for options or another poster will advise what they use. ( i use 60w uva dayglo for 8hrs).

make sure you have shelter and hides for them to escape the light.

good luck with the upkeep.

[clownonfire]

Great setup. I actually have a question for you: What do you use to filter your water. I have 2 FBT and I hesitated creating this environment because of the toxins they release, which can be harmful to them if the water is not changed occasionally. But I must say I'm quite tempted to reproduce yours... Thanks.

[rhunter513]

s6t6nic6l - Thanks so much for your reply. I am getting a consistent message that keeping multi-species in general is difficult and so since this is my first time keeping frogs/toads I will stick to just one species in my tank. I am good with light for growing plants, left over equipment from my plant tank days. One T5 strip with two good bulbs and then one basic single strip lamp. My concern is that it might be too much light for the frogs. I have read that they will hid all the time if the light is too bright. I plan to add more aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, moss and hides. Then the toads once things settle more. More pics to follow...

clownonfire - Thanks for the compliment, creating these terrarium designs is my artistic outlet, I love to aqua-scape fish tanks too. I have two water filters running in there. One is a Fluval 1 - underwater filter - its just a very small water pump with a sponge and then the land area on the left is a "turtle beach" that I picked up at clearance and it has a small pump running through it acting as a sponge filter. I come from a fish keeping background and I am well versed on how to keep good water quality. Given the toxins and general waste these toads produce, I plan to add activated charcoal to my filtration system - probably a small bag hidden behind the rock on the right next to the filter and do weekly partial water changes. Also before I add the toads I will "seed" the water with gravel and a sponge from my freshwater fish tank to start the biological filtration which will help breakdown waste.

[clownonfire]

Beautiful. And impressive.

[rhunter513]

Update. I added moss and a couple plants. I might add a few more aquatic plants later. I am new to the moss and so I am not sure what its going to do and look like in a few days/weeks. The water is still a bit cloudy and so I will probably wait a couple more days before I consider adding the toads - and right now there are not many available in my area.

I am open to any comments...

[Jace]

I am lucky my FBTs can't see your setup from where they are or they would be on the next plane across the border!! Well done-your new toads will be very happy.

[rhunter513]

Jo-Anna - LOL thanks for the compliment. I am very happy with the design and anxious to add the toads. I will wait until the water quality is better. Plus I have more research to do.

[Wormwood]

Compliments on the set up as well! My only suggestion is maybe to get a little fish tank air pump, as tiny as you can get just to pump some oxygen into the water and keep it moving. Hide the little pump under the rocks in the pond and the air bubbles will push up from under them and keep it from going stagnant. Red Bellies do great with those little waterfalls as well that filter themselves.

It shouldn't stress the little toads and even might make them less skiddish when you approach in the end.

Oh! And don't put them with crabs - crabs will try to pick at anything you put them in with, landing you with toads with holes in them. If you do set up that air pump try some little guppies, the toads might even try to chase and eat them. The guppies should pick at left over food and waste in the water.

[rhunter513]

Wormwood - I actually have two water pumps in there. One on the right side - fluval 1 underwater pump and one on the left that runs through the sponge/foam "turtle beach" - which is covered with the moss now. Yet the water is still cloudy after two days and so I might need to get a stronger pump. Thanks for you advice! I was thinking of adding fish but only if I can maintain good water quality and probably not guppies but white cloud minnows. Toads first though...

[Wormwood]

Good deal!

Unless you have a filter in there the water might stay cloudy with the moss/frog waste/dead crickets and what not.

They have a great home in any case.