# Can i keep Dart Frogs with Fish?



## Moone (Oct 21, 2021)

If i get a long aquarium with a mesh lid and make a land portion + aquatic section?


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

The vast majority of us are very strongly against building a paludarium for dart frogs. It brings zero benefit to the frogs and introduces several significant risks such as: drowning and disease / pathogen / bacteria spreading from the fish to the frogs and vice versa.


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## bulbophyllum (Feb 6, 2012)

There is no reason why it can not be done successfully given a tank of sufficient size. But, a beginner probably doesn't have the skills to pull it off. Chances are you won't end up with a disaster. Just, poor living conditions for the frogs where they can live but not thrive.


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## Moone (Oct 21, 2021)

i see


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## Eurydactylodes (Sep 7, 2021)

It has been done successfully, but there is no reason to do it. It poses a few risks, such as pathogen transfer, drowning, and overly high humidity. Also, when keeping animals in captivity, we have the responsibility to give them as much space as possible. There is no reason to restrict space for the fish, or the frogs. You will see many people using repurposed fish tanks as dart frog enclosures. This can work, but it poses a few challenges. Namely, it requires an active ventilation system. If you are keen on getting into dendrobatid herpetoculture, I reccomend starting with a front opening enclosure that is designed to have a passive ventilation system. 
-Oscar


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## Moone (Oct 21, 2021)

Oh ok soooo
- difficult + risky
yea...im not taking those chances


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

The only frogs that seem to do okay with deeper water features seem to Epipedobates anthonyi, provided there is a gradient / slope to land and that the land portion is larger than the water feature. However, as a beginner this is not recommended and a bigger concern than drowning-- particularly when you buy fish from a pet store-- is disease transfer like chytrid because often African clawed frogs and dwarf frogs are kept in the same aquariums as the fish. You would have to use a very large tank-- think 100 gallons or more-- to provide sufficient land area for the frogs and shallow water for the fish since you couldn't fill the tank more than about 4-6 inches deep to be on the safe side. Most tropical fish prefer temperatures warmer than what most dart frogs like too, as frogs like a drop in temperature at night whereas the fish would not like it. Anthonyi also prefer cooler temperatures which makes choice of fish more difficult.

The other issue is if you plan on breeding your frogs. Do you really want the fish to attack / eat the dart frog tadpoles? That's a possibility depending on what fish you kept. 

A better option is to have a very shallow water feature of that is more or less a stream that would prevent any drowning from fighting to keep the humidity high and also allow moss and marginal plants to grow.


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## Moone (Oct 21, 2021)

I srsly dont wanna new post so 2nd question hopefully u can answer : should i have 1-2 small puddles of water


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## fishingguy12345 (Apr 7, 2019)

Moone said:


> I srsly dont wanna new post so 2nd question hopefully u can answer : should i have 1-2 small puddles of water


"Puddles" of water most often mean you are going to have soaking wet substrate which isn't good for the frogs. As a beginner, the best thing to do is "keep it simple". Water features, puddles, etc , just complicate keeping dart frogs


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## AGirlKeepsFrogs (Oct 23, 2021)

Moone said:


> I srsly dont wanna new post so 2nd question hopefully u can answer : should i have 1-2 small puddles of water


I use reptile water dishes that I fill with pretty rocks and dechlorinated water. Sometimes the frogs sit in the water or on top of the rocks and they do appreciate their water dish.


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## photoj (Apr 1, 2020)

I would recommend looking at dart frog requirements closely. Starting off with a mesh lids means fundamentally you are missing the principal of high humidity thus the need for a glass top. Dart frogs are terrestrial nit aquatic, you run drowing risk and risk of frogs being drown in territorial disputes. Water quality is huge for dart frogs. Trying to maintain pristine water with fish is not likely. I recommend a terrarium, not a palladarium for the best chance of success.. gl


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