Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw thinking about getting some fire bellied newts and I have a spare 5, 20 and thirty gallon that I could put them in. I was wondering, could they be kept with african dwarf frogs and ghost sprimp/algae eatin shrimp? i know they are toxic in the wild, but are they in captivity? also, could I add fish to the mix? guppies, or other non-agressive fish? i would have 1/3 water with tons of live plants and about 8 inches of water w/ small aquatic plants. thanks!

I wouldn't house the newts with anything but another newt. Even then, you have to keep the tank clean because the toxins can build up and be harmful to each other. Yes, they are just as toxic in captivity. Their toxins are built in, as opposed to aquired from food as with darts.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:3

With such little water in your tank the toxins would accumulate rather quickly. How long - two weeks to a month, I do not know. Now if you had much more water in the tank then it would be fine.

On a side note, I have a sort of test going on right now where I have 3 firebelly newts in about 2 gallons of water and I have some fish in there. I never refresh the water, and I am timing to see how long it will take the fish to die from accumulated toxins. It has almost been 8 months now, and everything is still very alive. Toxin buildup is much more of a myth than it is a reality. Sure there are toxins there, and sure they do build up, but as soon as toxins get diluted in water they become extremely ineffective.

ok, thats what i thought, but just wanted to make sure. i want fish and newts and other stuff. wouldn't it be nice if everything could live together in harmony... thanks.

Toxin buildup is not a myth. Maybe it does get diluted by the water, but i have read many posts of people who inadvertantly kept their fire bellies with other frogs and the toxins have killed or seriously harmed the other frogs. (were talking seizures, paralysis, death)
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:3

Yeah thats because they never refreshed the water and didn't take any of the sanitary precautions that are supposed to be taken when caring for amphibians. I can't help people that don't have common sense I am sorry.

Canadian frog: Aren't you contradicting yourself a bit? didn't you just say that the toxins dilute in the water and now your saying that its the waters fault that the other frogs died?

You need to think about what you are saying before saying it. If they don't know any better, than you need to teach, not preach ^^

Anyways, it was a good decision to keep one species per tank. I'm not the type to say that mixing can't be done, but it should be done with time, experience and research. Not on a whim.

Have fun with your frogs!
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:3

Like I have said daystorm, if you don't have any common sense, or you cannot read properly, then I cannot help you...

hmm.. I don't recall asking for any help? Anyways, this is a waste of time to argue. I'm sure there are plenty of posts out there about fire belly toxins that you could try and prove wrong. Bye la.
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I think my frog owns a megaphone....

White's tree frogs : 1:1
Mantella viridis : 1:3

You don't recall asking for help because you did not ask for any. Perhaps I can share some of my common sense with you cuz it appears you are lacking.

common sence is not saying that a TOXIC newt isn't toxic. daystorms right, u r completely contradicting yourself.

ok, thanks, as is said, i haven't gotton anything yet and it's always nice to have more than one species per tank, but i'm not going to do it, thanks for all you help!