I jokingly suggested we get a frog— and now my sister wants to make it a reality

[biofish]

Hello! So I have an empty 10 gallon tank (full of brackish water from my failed attempt to get nerites to reproduce) that’s just collecting pest snails and never really could figure out what to do with it.

Today my sister asked me to take the tank down and I jokingly said “If I do that then we can put a frog in it” and long story short we’re now looking at fire bellied toads. And I just had some questions lol since I’ve only ever had judgmental fish and screaming dogs.

1. We were thinking on filling the bottom 2-4 inches of the tank with water and having a bunch of driftwood sticking out as the platforms/ladder out of the water with even more pothos since we have more rooted clippings than what we know what to do with. Will this be sufficient for keeping the tank moist?
2. Will the toad need some sort of cave?
3. Should I get some of that moisture retaining moss to sort of decorate the wood with?
4. Does that moss need changed? Or will the poo mostly be in the water that will need a filter and water changes?
5. Is the fish dechlornator or however it’s spelled be ok or do I need a toad version of it?
6. Does the water need cycled and can I just use my fish tank water?
7. Will the toad need substrate under the water? Google searches showed pebble substrate but I prefer the look of sand, is that okay?
8. What kind of lid?? A mesh lid that doesn’t have any openings?
9. For the filter, I don’t like using those replaceable charcoal filters things and tend to just fill my filters up with spong and lava rocks— is that okay for a toad?

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hello! So I have an empty 10 gallon tank (full of brackish water from my failed attempt to get nerites to reproduce) that’s just collecting pest snails and never really could figure out what to do with it.

Today my sister asked me to take the tank down and I jokingly said “If I do that then we can put a frog in it” and long story short we’re now looking at fire bellied toads. And I just had some questions lol since I’ve only ever had judgmental fish and screaming dogs.

1. We were thinking on filling the bottom 2-4 inches of the tank with water and having a bunch of driftwood sticking out as the platforms/ladder out of the water with even more pothos since we have more rooted clippings than what we know what to do with. Will this be sufficient for keeping the tank moist?
2. Will the toad need some sort of cave?
3. Should I get some of that moisture retaining moss to sort of decorate the wood with?
4. Does that moss need changed? Or will the poo mostly be in the water that will need a filter and water changes?
5. Is the fish dechlornator or however it’s spelled be ok or do I need a toad version of it?
6. Does the water need cycled and can I just use my fish tank water?
7. Will the toad need substrate under the water? Google searches showed pebble substrate but I prefer the look of sand, is that okay?
8. What kind of lid?? A mesh lid that doesn’t have any openings?
9. For the filter, I don’t like using those replaceable charcoal filters things and tend to just fill my filters up with spong and lava rocks— is that okay for a toad?

I am an utter failure at fire belly toads, as all of mine have vanished. But I've read a lot about them and spent some time talking with breeders, so here's my $.02 worth.

1. That should work fine. They spend more time on land than in water, so give them plenty of land area.
2. Yes, but the pothos leaves would probably provide more than enough hiding spots.
3. Go for some walks and collect terrestrial mosses. Place them in various places on the wood where they'll stay slightly damp. They'll probably take over the place in a couple months.
4. Not if it's alive. You can also add isopods and springtails which will pretty much deal with the poo for you. If you're lucky, some will find their own way in on the moss.
5. Fish water conditioner should work fine.
6. Yes and yes. Personally I would keep the water area well-planted to deal with frog waste. But what do I know? My frogs are all MIA.
7. If my experience holds up, your frogs will spend very little time in the water, and hardly any on the bottom. So I'd say do whatever looks good to you.
8. I recommend half glass and half mesh. Fire bellies like it humid but not TOO humid. They climb well and can squeeze through very small openings, so make sure it's tight.
9. Yeah, that's OK, but in a 10g, I'd just put a little sponge filter in one corner.

Good luck! If you find an affordable source, please share--I'm in the market to try again.