# Frogs & Toads > Aquatic Clawed Frogs >  Can a Gold Fish and an African Clawed Frog Live Together?

## FrogLoverSince5

Hello. I currently have an ACF in a ten gallon tank. A few weeks ago my teacher got a gold fish from a student (who was carrying the poor thing in a plastic bag all over the school) The gold fish, named Gold Dawg, now lives in a tiny tank in our physics class that only has a filter and gravel, but appears to be doing much better. My teacher said he would probably give Gold Dawg to a student before summer vacation, which is just around the corner. I don't want this gold fish to end up in the same conditions as before, do you think he/she could live in the same tank as my ACF. Both are about the same size, (Gold Dawg might be a bit bigger than Stitches, the ACF). What do you think?

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## Michael

How big of a tank do you keep your frog in? Depending on the species of goldfish (fancy goldfish are smaller) a 20 gallon long with a really good filter and weekly 50% water changes would be needed to keep both these animals together, at a minimum.

*Here's basically the worst case scenario assuming the tank is large enough to sustain both species:*
1. The frog will eat the goldfish. Do not underestimate Xenopus, they are capable of eating fish you would otherwise assume are safe.
2. The frog will attempt eat the goldfish, not be able to swallow it whole and both species will die as the frog suffocates the fish and the frog chokes on it. (this can happen)
3. The frog will maim the goldfish (especially fancy goldfish) by latching on to a fin and raking it with it's claws. African clawed frogs are 'upper' eaters, you have to assume they will TRY to eat it. If they cannot fit in the mouth whole, they will bite and use the claws. I've seen my frogs tear large nightcrawlers apart like this and those claws are serious business.
4. The fish introduces a parasite/disease and infects the frog (quarantine this animal first in a hospital tank) .

I applaud your desire to save this fish, just be careful here as some scenarios may doom both animals. It is _possible_ for them to co-exist, they can both tolerate the same water parameters. You realistically would need a 30 gallon or higher though to properly keep both and you have to hope the frog isn't overly predatory towards the fish.

My own personal bias is this, I think goldfish are really fish that belong in ponds not aquariums. They tend to grow very large and are very messy animals. They like colder water and probably are happier in an outdoor pond than a fish tank. I don't recommend housing these animals together, it would be better to establish the goldfish it's own tank or re-home it. Again I must reiterate that I am not a huge goldfish person, I find a lot of people get these fish and keep them in insanely small tanks (as you have witnessed first hand). More often than not they die prematurely due to some illness or succumbing to ammonia poisoning or what have you.

Conventional wisdom says to house these guys separately. I cannot say 100% it cannot or will not work but I personally would not put them in the same tank.

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## Necromencer

Hey, 

Sometimes these things happen in life. Here and in most fish forums, many people will tell you to not put them together, and most will moan at you for not having a big enough tank for a goldfish (go to Yahoo Answers Fish, for example)

But as I said, sometimes you simply cannot anticipate these things and you have to make do with what happens, much like I did. A few months ago, I had to have 3 goldfish and two ACF in a mere 60L tank. Every website I went to only moaned at me, or told me to send the fish back, only a few actually listened to me and tried to help me under the current situation. 

Here is my experience: 

In a 14g tank, the goldfish was attacked, he is at least 3-4 times bigger than the frogs I had, but nonetheless the claws got him. To this day, he is still 'missing' these scales and they're slowly growing back. Once I saw how violent the frogs were, I had to take the fish out and put it in the largest water-container I had, until I got a bigger tank. 

Eventually, my 260L tank arrived, and I put my frogs and the one fish in there. To my surprise, the frogs still tried attacking him. So, for his own safety, I put him, on this own, in the original 14g tank I had. He is still there, I have nowhere else to put him. He is the family fish, so I can't really put him in my grandfather's pond, no matter how much I explain this to my family. 


Follow Michael's advice. Understand that the frogs will attack the fish, even in a 260L tank. So be careful.

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## Felis

Hi,

please don´t forget that goldfish are schooling fish- they just aren´t happy without conspecifics. As already mentioned, both species are quite messy, so it wouldn´t be a good idea to keep both of them in the small tank you own. I think it would be better if you´d try to find a species-appropriate new home for the fish.

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## Carlos

> ...I don't want this gold fish to end up in the same conditions as before, do you think he/she could live in the same tank as my ACF. Both are about the same size, (Gold Dawg might be a bit bigger than Stitches, the ACF). What do you think?


Do Gold Dawg a favor and don't have him end in worse conditions than before!  A tiny tank might not look good but it's a lot safer than a 10 gal. with an ACF in it  :Mad:  .

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