# African Clawed frogs



## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

This is Freddie, my chubby albino ACF:









And this is his friend, Frankie, a wild-phase ACF:









Like most babies, they're in a growout tank, #1 in a 3 tank series. They're still pretty small, so to make it easier for them to find food, and get to air, they're in a 5 gallon for the time being. The next tank is a 10 gallon, and when they outgrow that, their final tank will be a 55 gallon planted tank stocked with common guppies, platies, ramshorn snails and shrimp. I'm really excited and looking forward to that setup! ^_^

I was trying to keep them on a natural live diet, but they're both too lazy to catch anything bigger than the guppy fry Mike puts in for them. I'm sure that'll change eventually, but until then, they prefer microcrab pellets, freeze dried gammarus, guppy fry, and occasionally spirulina flakes.

Freddie was my pity purchase frog, he was so severely emaciated by the fish store. They had him in with fish and weren't overfeeding to make sure he got any food at all. I thought he was going to die when we got him home, but he's bounced back really well.









These guys are one of the few pets I literally had to fight with my fiance to keep when I lost my home, there was no way I was going to give these guys too!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

The 55 gallon is a bad idea. He will eat them all.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

They're supposed to be a feeder colony. It replicates their natural diet as much as possible, because there aren't many nutritionally complete pellets out there for these guys.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Tilapia meat. They will eat them too quickly.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

tilapia meat can't really be hunted. I'm also setting up a 50 gal for my platies, this will be where most of their fish will come from.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It was suggested on the care sheet. http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/African_Clawed_Frog


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

OMG I've never seen a wild phase before! D:
Lucky. He's awesome!


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Olympia, Thank you. It actually took me a few months to find him! Everyone is carrying the albinos or the dyed frogs. (which I strongly dislike) So when I saw him, I pounced! lol
Chocolatebetta,
It's a good "dead food" for a lot of piscevores, BUT, it doesn't do anything for mental stimulation of the frogs. I'm a member of a amphibian forum where there are plenty of other frog keepers who have their frogs on a similar enrichment plan, and their frogs thrive. Also, I've used tilapia and other filets with the piranha we used to have, and more often than not, the filets end up not being eaten. That wasn't just the one fish either. So I don't like using filets if I can avoid it for anything more than an occasional treat.

If you ever plan on feeding your betta live foods, this is absolutely no different. And if you announced your intentions, nobody would be as determined to tell you that you're wrong as you've been.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Platies and guppies should not be the whole diet. Varied diets the best.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

In the wild, the majority of their diet is snails and crustaceans, along with whatever fish that they can catch, and worms. That's exactly what I intend to feed them, and with the exception of the worms, is all mentioned in my original post.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I know he is feral. But I suggest more food than metioned more rpotien and other nutrients. Tearing up a large piece of meant is stimulation.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

"gut-loaded" prey items will cover that. Reptile keepers manage with the same kind of situation, and it's not impossible.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It will also be interesting to watch it tear up large food. Did not know it was gutloaded. ACFs are in my book on live food.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Feeder fish are live food..


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Gut-loaded means that the prey item is fed well, so that the predator will be able to receive those nutrients in the most natural way possible. Like pasture-fed organic beef in your hamburger. There's a lot of preservatives and filler in pellets that frogs aren't supposed to have. That's why a variety of foods is suggested. Nothing is absolutely complete, except the diet they eat naturally.

I've seen a frog kick a guppy in half because it was too big, and he couldn't swallow it.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I actually saw some plastic canvas betta hammocks on here, and decided to add one to the plastic canvas lid on the frog tank, since they have to surface breathe also, and they occasionally have trouble floating at the surface wherever the plants aren't filled in. I'll post a picture when I'm done!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I know what gut loading its in my book on live food. ACFs are a reccomended food when young.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)




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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Love the mesh lid.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

thanks, it still lets light in, and it's easy to repair.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It looks like it will do the job.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

as long as it keeps them IN, then it's a rousing success. The last one I'd made I covered with duct tape, and I really didn't feel like dealing with loose tape again.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I have read when foods bigger than there mouth they use there claws to tear it apart.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Depending on how much "too big" it is, they'll try using their front feet to tear it apart, if that doesn't work, those powerful hind legs start kicking. We had one kick the head clean off of a guppy because it was too big to swallow whole. it was kind of gross lol


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Scary too.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

I've had piranhas, farm dogs, and barn cats, I've seen much worse...


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Pirahnas dont do the best in captivity. People keep them alone and expect them to be brutual killers.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Some species are supposed to be housed singly, and they ARE aggressive, but they aren't true piranhas. They're a close cousin of the pygocentrus species, called Serrasalmus. Rhombeus piranhas get large (13-15") will kill tankmates in close quarters, and have attacked their keepers. Occasionally a shoal of pygocentrus piranhas have attacked someone with their hands in the tanks, a toddler had to have her finger re-attached after her father cut it out of the P. nattererri's belly last summer.

But generally (and like bettas, there are exceptions to the rules) any pygocentrus species (nattererri, piraya, caribe) housed by itself will be shy, because they shoal for safety. But even solo piranhas will attack non-piranha tankmates, and that's never a pretty sight, and hard to clean.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

(I don't bring anything home that I haven't done or am willing to do the necessary research)


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

SPOTS!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I am talking Red bellied and there cousin Pacu. Like Pacus are getting a bad diet on average.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

Pacu are massively misunderstood. A lot of people don't realize just how big they get. But people think goldfish are acceptable feeders, when they're really bad. Mine were never on goldfish, and were only given filets, shrimp, and pellets. I didn't live feed because I didn't have the space required to feed 3 piranhas healthy, homegrown feeders.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Pacu are herbivores too.


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## Skyewillow (Dec 28, 2012)

this thread has been derailed. I will no longer be posting here.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Okay. But nice ACFs how old is it again.


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