I think you will find here that fish and, herps and amphibians are totally different. Why are the fish and, herps being compared based on their temperament and defensive mechanisms respectively? The scenarios seem completely different to me.
Thank you Lup! It's like comparing apples to oranges.
I'm sorry but for someone who claims to know these animals so well, you'd know then that mixing them is still the wrong thing to do. If you were to post this on some herp site, you'd totally get chewed out and you know it. Lucky for you this is a fish site and well.....most of the people here know fish, not reptiles and amphibians.
Sure, different animals can live together in dirty, cramped, confined spaces for years and "appear" fine but unless they learn to talk, you can't always know what's going on inside. Lets pretend for a minute that these animals all live in the same part of the world. Do they live at that density in the wild? No, they have space to escape each other and places to stake out territories. As mentioned before these animals look at each other as competition for food and space. Even if you think they're not stressed, they can be.
But pretending all aside, you and I both know that these animals do not come in contact with each other in the wild. Each species has grown up to become immune to one or more pathogens in it's native environment that might be quite deadly to the other. For instants the gut bacteria in some Old World tortoise species can make New World species sick if kept in the same enclosure. Amphibians are far more sensitive to pathogens, pollution, viruses, bacteria, etc then reptiles. So why would you want to put your animas at risk?
I know it looks "cool" when you can mix these animals together but we have to learn to rise above the "wow factor" and consider the animals well being. What happened to the other animals you had in your old setup? All of these species have the ability to live 10-15 years with very good care believe it or not. My old breeding colony of Bombina orientalis contained 5 individuals ranging 6 to 13 years old. Unfortunately I had to part with them when I went to college. But from what my cousin has told me they’re all doing great and still breeding for him.
Please take what I’ve said into some consideration. You seem like an intelligent enough individual who enjoys his hobby and pets. But why make a mistake if you already know it’s possible consequences? We’re all here to learn and share knowledge with each other and even the best of us make miscalculations. We just have to rise above it, except our mistakes and change our ways sometimes.