# Is it possible for a male betta to kill a dwarf frog?



## amy84

i bought a 5 gallon acrylic hexagon tank yesterday so my betta would have more room (vs. a vase) and bought a little dwarf frog to put in with him. i set up the tank at my boyfriend's place and left last night, and today he told me the dwarf frog was floating at the top by the filter and not moving. when he came back a couple hours later, the froggy was in the same spot. he even lifted the hood to get a closer look and said the little dude looks dead. now, i read today that these frogs can look dead like that for a couple hours if they feel like being lazy bastards, so that might be the case. when i get there, i'll definitely be giving him a good poke. relax, i would never poke him hard. :wink: i hope he isn't dead. anyway, is it at all possible for a betta to kill a frogger? if so, is it likely? i also want to add an albino cory catfish and maybe 3 or 4 neons. okay? or not good?
thanks to all who respond.


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## hogan

The betta definatly could have killed the frog, and i would not put any other fish really with the betta in that tank unless its 3 cories


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## amy84

*bad news*

the dwarf frog i put in my tank didn't survive.  he was fine yesterday when i put him in, and my boyfriend said that after i left, he was still swimming around and stuff. my betta is fine, so i don't think it's the water. (or could it be?) i also don't think my betta killed him. the frog had been floating by the filter probably most of today, and Kuzco didn't mess with his body. i even saw Kuzco just hanging out by the frog's body, but didn't nip at it at all. could he just have killed it bcuz he doesn't want tank-mates and was happy once the frog was dead? i've read that bettas are ok to put with dwarf frogs, so i don't know. i also read today that when dwarf frogs die, they sink to the bottom unless they have bloat or another noticeable disease, but i couldn't see anything wrong with his appearance, even after he was dead, and he was floating the whole day. i don't understand. i'd like to try another. they're inexpensive, but i certainly don't want any more to die. could the frog have had a disease? if it did, does that mean the water's now contaminated and needs to be changed completely? i don't know who to ask about dwarf frogs.


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## osteoporoosi

Probably it was the moving stress, either it was that or the betta chased him to death.
I would recommend not to mix frogs and fish again, frogwaste irritates fishes skin and gills.
It is also difficult to feed the frog, because fish tend to catch the food dirst :roll: .


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## MB75

Frog feces is quite toxic to fish. It is not recommended to mix frogs and fish. Especially in a tank as small as 5 gallons, the frog waste can pollute the water quite quickly. Also if you did not cycle the tank the frog xcould have died of nitrite poisoning. Betta might have tolerated it better.

Get a nitrite test in stead of new fish right now. Do not get anything else in the tank before it is cycled. Change water immediately and then very often if test shows there is nitrite. 

Corydoras should not be kept alone. They like the company of their own species so at least 4 in small tank and preferably 6-8 is there is more room.
Some little corydoras could make it in your tank (once cycled), like pygmy corydoras.

Neon tetras are schooling fish so it adviceable to get 6-8 individuals at least, but your tank is too small.

Good luck with the hobby and hope the betta is ok.


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## amy84

*Frogs & fish*

lots of people here have mentioned frogs not doing well with fish bcuz of their waste, but i've also read on sites that dwarf frogs do quite well with community fish, even in a nice bowl with a betta. nothing about frog feces is mentioned. i mean there is a filter after all, water changes will be made when necessary, and pet/fish stores even keep the little frogs with a lot of other fish, and the tanks aren't that big. plus there are those stress defense/slimecoat enhancers you can add to the tank and whatnot. i talked to a local fish store (rather than a Petsmart or Supermarket which don't specialize primarily in fish) and the guy said i most likely just got an unhealthy frog (poor guy). he probably was too unhealthy to handle the transport and adjustment to a new environment. i got a pH kit and water's fine. guess i should get ammonia, nitrite and nitrate kits as well to be safe!
my betta's doing great, he seems to like the tank. and bloodworms. which by the way, i bought frozen ones that are cubed, but once i let a cube thaw, it was WAY too much to feed Kuzco. can you keep freezing and thawing until the cube's gone? we don't do that with our food so i figured can't with fish either, even if it is larvae (gross). i'm attaching a picture of Kuz that i took tonight.


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## osteoporoosi

I wouldn't risk the bettas health by getting a new frog :roll: .
It is extremely difficult to keep the water conditions optimal for even for the betta. Just thinking about what is best for the fish (and the frog).
If the wormcube is too big, just get a small chunk out of it, never unfreeze it and the freeze it again, you might end up poisoning the betta .
It is always best to get all the testkits.
good luck with the betta!


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## Caitlin Rose

Also you can sometimes get your water tested for free at the pet store, possibly the lfs, but I know that both Petco and Petsmart will give a free test if you bring your water in (at least the ones in my area do). Just note that you probably don't want to get tempted by their fish... if you have a local fish store to buy from that is usually better than a big chain.


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## msdolittle

Guys, I think she is deadset on getting another frog and ONE cory.......even after many of you have advised not to............


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## ultasol

First, many of the aquatic frogs they sell at pet stores get quite large. Another issue is the feeding issue, another is the small tank, and you haven't told us about your temperature or nitrate/nitrite/ammonia situation.
Please consider leaving your tank set up as is for a couple weeks before adding new fish. A tank goes through some water chemistry changes as beneficial bacteria begin to grow and colonize. In the meantime, the water conditions can be unstable and unfavorable to some critters. Use your betta as a cycling fish. The rule is one inch per gallon, and I would say your betta is a good 2 or more inches of fish. If you want a frog, get a seperate tank or return your betta. In with your betts you could possibly put a few (three) pygmy cories **once the tank is cycled**. 

If you do things right and practice patience now, you will receive payback in the form of a healthy vigorous fish and a beautiful aquarium. Also, please remember that the LFS may not give the best advice. Not all LFS employees, even at small places, are well educated in all aspects of the hobby, or all types of fish. 
If you listen to people here, you'll have such a good experience that you'll end up with a fish-addiction!
If you really want to add something now, you could try adding some plants, like java fern or java moss, or possibly some watersprite or floaters, instead of fish. Your betta will love you for it.
I occasionally have floaters available, and if you're interested PM me and I can send you enough for a five gallon for the cost of shipping.

Also remember your 1x per week water change (20-50%) with dechlor.

Also, stress defense/dechlor is not a way of removing ammonia, nor is it truly a way of preventing fish stress. Bad conditions will stress fish. Period. Nothing short of alleviating the source of the stress will solve the problem.


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## Echo

Are you trying to cycle this tank or are you just planning on changing the water when needed? I would recommend atleast buying an ammonia test kit if your going to be changing all the water. Whenever you get an ammonia reading you know it's time to change the water. Testing everyday after you do the water change is a good way to find out how long inbetween water changes you can go.

Most of the LFS don't know what there talking about, and just because they keep there fish all piled together doesn't mean it's ok for us to do the same. I would recommend getting a hospital tank/one gallon bowl if you planning on getting anymore fish from your LFS. It's best to isolate your new arrivals for a few weeks before adding them to your tank to make sure they don't have any diseases. I know it sounds like a hassle, but I'm sure many of us on here can say we have defeintly learned our lesson about just throwing a new fish in our tanks.

I've always heard ADF's were great for bettas. But make sure what your petstore is selling you is actually an African Dwarf Frog and not an African Clawed frog, which can get really big and eat your betta! If you do decide in the future to get a frog I would recommend getting 2 because they love to play together. Feeding is a problem, so you'll probably have to take them out of the tank a put them into a small cup to feed them. I take a pair of tweezers and wave the bloodworms in front of there face. ADF's can see well and if you don't take them out to feed them your betta will probably devour all the leftovers and they won't get any


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