# Frogs & Toads > Fire Belly Toads (Bombina) >  Fish with Oriental Fire Bellied Toads

## Tom

Are there any type of fish that you can keep in a tank with FBTs? I mean it is a half filled 10 gallon filtered very well and has two FBTs in it. I will do a 10% water change every week.

Maybe some type of goldfish, aren't they from similar areas?
Or Bamboo Shrimp or Ghost Shrimp. Or a pleco to eat any algae.

I just thought that adding something else into the cage would be nice.

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## Jace

Just remember that FBTs are slightly toxic.  Anything that you place in there with them will absorb that toxin.  It might take a while, but it will eventually shorten the life of whatever fish you put in there.  Goldfish I would really not recommend as they create a lot of waste and would require you do more frequent water changes that could cause stress to your toads.  I've seen shrimp harrass fish, and I can imagine they would do the same to anything in the water-they can also be sensitive to toxins or extreme changes in the water.  Pleco I would aslo advice against.  Plecos will easily outgrow the shallow bit of water of your half filled tank and like more room to swim around and explore.  You can get certain kind of plecos that stay on the smaller end (ie. clown and rubber plecos) but again, it comes down to the toxins from the toads.  If you want more action in the tank, add another toad or two.

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## John Clare

I really don't think there's anything you could safely keep with them.  Maybe guppies but that's about the extent of it.

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## Tom

Really ok is there anything that I can put in there that won't even have a chance at harming the toads? The water is like 5 inches deep.

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## Jace

Guppies would add a bit of colour...for however long they lasted before they died from toxins or got eaten by the toads.  Male guppies come in a variety of colours and flowing fins......they are kind of like floating neon signs that scream "EAT ME"....and most things do.

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## Jace

> Really ok is there anything that I can put in there that won't even have a chance at harming the toads? The water is like 5 inches deep.


Sorry, Tom, but I think you are out of luck.  Most fish are either too sensitive to the toxins of FBTs or invitation to be eaten.  And 5" of water is just not enough.  Anything small enough that can do with that little of water is small enough for your toads to eat.  Either way, you will be putting out money for it to either die or become toad poop.

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## Tom

Will they really go after fish?

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## Kurt

> Are there any type of fish that you can keep in a tank with FBTs?


Yes, fish you plan on killing. You have received plenty of good advice so far, but I would add that fire-bellies are little more than slightly toxic and guppies require salt in their water to maintain optimal health, and salt can kill amphibians. With fire-bellies it a single species enclosure.

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## Azhael

Goldfish and plecos are terrible choices. Both will outgrow the aquatic area of your tank..in fact they would outgrow the whole tank even if they had it for themselves.

I personally don´t think the big issue here are the toxins from the toads. After all the toxins are released voluntarily by the toad if it´s threatened or injured, it´s not something that is continously exuded from the skin. Partial water changes would also be sufficient to maintain toxin levels under control.
The problem with fish and amphibians is the fish´s urine. It´s pure ammonia, which as you know is highly toxic for amphibians. 
This said...a well planted, well filtered, cycled, stablished, and sufficiently big aquatic area should be able to manage a couple of white cloud minnows without problems. This species of fish is completely harmless, is tiny, and therefore produces very smal amounts of ammonia that the tank itself would manage, and are very resistant to both water quality and temperature.
About the toads eating the fish....i find it unlikely. They don´t hunt under water (at least normally) and are not particularly fast.

Cherry shrimp might do ok, the only problem being overpopulation (they breed SO fast). Again, toxins are extremely unlikely to be an issue if proper maintenance is done.

It´s always best to keep monospecific tanks, since that entirely avoids the risks that invariably come with any mix. But the two mixes i mentioned would be the less likely to create any kind of problem in my opinion.

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## Tom

Do are these two things available at common pet stores?

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## Kurt

That may vary from state to state. In Massachusetts, I beleive the white cloud minnow to be illegal to sell or possess.

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## Wyomingite

> Goldfish and plecos are terrible choices. Both will outgrow the aquatic area of your tank..in fact they would outgrow the whole tank even if they had it for themselves.
> 
> I personally don´t think the big issue here are the toxins from the toads. After all the toxins are released voluntarily by the toad if it´s threatened or injured, it´s not something that is continously exuded from the skin. Partial water changes would also be sufficient to maintain toxin levels under control.
> The problem with fish and amphibians is the fish´s urine. It´s pure ammonia, which as you know is highly toxic for amphibians. 
> This said...a well planted, well filtered, cycled, stablished, and sufficiently big aquatic area should be able to manage a couple of white cloud minnows without problems. This species of fish is completely harmless, is tiny, and therefore produces very smal amounts of ammonia that the tank itself would manage, and are very resistant to both water quality and temperature.
> About the toads eating the fish....i find it unlikely. They don´t hunt under water (at least normally) and are not particularly fast.
> 
> Cherry shrimp might do ok, the only problem being overpopulation (they breed SO fast). Again, toxins are extremely unlikely to be an issue if proper maintenance is done.
> 
> It´s always best to keep monospecific tanks, since that entirely avoids the risks that invariably come with any mix. But the two mixes i mentioned would be the less likely to create any kind of problem in my opinion.


Pretty much hafta concur with this. Definitely stay away from goldfish and plecos. The biggest problem with both the toxins and the ammonia would be maintaining stability in that small of a volume of water. The smaller the volume the less water there is to dilute toxins or ammonia if things do go south, so it's not gonna be too forgiving if ya overfeed or other problems arise. Ya'd hafta be diligent in water changes and filter maintenance.  

White cloud mountain minnows are legal in Colorado, Tom. Another fish I'd recommend is the zebra danio, either the striped wild-type and it's morphs, or one of the colored, genetically-engineered  "glofish" morphs. Regardless of the variety, they are always active, hardy and disease resistant, not finicky eaters, and are fast enough that a toad that wanted a fish stick snack would be challenged. They are slightly larger than white clouds, but not enough so that you'd increase the bioload significantly. 

WYite

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## Tom

Thanks. What does everyone else think about the Danios?

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## Kurt

They're ok. I had giant danios, for a while. Basically the same as a zebra danio, just bigger. I got rid of them so I could keep slower moving fish. They are aggresive at feeding time, so any slow moving fish are likely to starve.

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## Tom

Will they attack frogs?

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## Kurt

Not likely.

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## Tom

Thanks that has helped a lot.

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## Kurt

You're welcome.

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## Milkman

Are Guppy's good for FBT's to eat. It's easy to supply about 50 every 3 or 4 weeks..lol It's fun watching them chase crickets around but it might be fun to watch them dive after some sushi also.

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## Kurt

Fish aren't really a good food source for frogs. A lot of the time they do carries GI parasites. I would stick to crickets and supplement them with waxworms, mealworms, and bean weevils.

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## Ribbet

Thanks for the input, I was thinking about fish as well. Now I know. No fish.

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## Amy Adams

I have guppies in my tank. I am having problems with the frogs not going in the water with little movement. I am removing the guppies and hoping this will solve the problem....

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