# ADF tank mate for betta



## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

So I recently got a new tank mate for one of my bettas named Zeus. He is the only betta with the temperament to have tank mates. I thought I would give him a sturdier friend seeing as his ghost shrimp keep dying of old age (He's only had 2 and every time one would pass he would get pretty sad and lethargic in his absence) 
I got him an African Dwarf Frog, however much like my first betta, this frog was also an impulse buy. I am hoping I can get some tips on taking care of this frog. I've introduced her to the tank and Zeus, beside a very gentle (and I do mean gentle, "boop I touched your nose" pat on its head), Zeus really loves his new friend, so I want to make sure the frog is alright. 

Zeus is in a divided 10 gallon tank, cycled, Heated, and "semi planted"... It has a lot of live plants but they are planted onto driftwood and rocks because I have an under gravel filter. Zeus has 6 gallons to play and share, while his neighbor Mercury (female crowntail) has about 4 gallons. 

No ammonia, no nitrates or nitrites. I just need tips on what a healthy ADF looks like. Here are some pics of mine... I know that it is a girl, her name is Leto.


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## Kiara1125 (Feb 1, 2011)

Adorable! I've always wanted ADFs, but since my boyfriend has already had a couple, he doesn't want any more. So, now, I don't get to experience them. Oh well ... I guess I'll just enjoy them from afar.


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## Valentino14 (Feb 12, 2014)

I had two for a while, never had the guts to put em with my batta though! lol I just gave mine to my sister so I would have room for both my bettas


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

One thing about the frogs are their eyesight - poor. To overcome this you can feed in the same spot every time. They will learn to go there to eat. Of kept with gravel rather than sand, use some kind of a dish to prevent the food from falling out of reach. You can also tap the tank when it's feeding time if there isn't already an audial cue that it's feeding time.

Mine eats NLS pellets along with the betta. I know a lot of people feed frog specific food - it can be difficult to make sure that frog eats frog food and fish eats fish food. Not impossible though, not at all. Just requires extra work.


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## meganlbetta (Nov 25, 2012)

My mom has one. Their eyesight was already stated as well as feeding. Since they breathe from the surface, make sure the depth is no more than 18inches so they can reach the surface. Other than that, they are quite hardy too


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## Valentino14 (Feb 12, 2014)

If you have more than one, just make sure both get equal amounts of food... one may appear way fatter than the other- it's their form of dominance. My boyfriend's dad's frog got sick and died because his tank mate kept eating all of the food... then he got sad when his friend wasn't there anymore!


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

It's entirely likely that the reason it couldn't compete for food is because it was sick.


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## Valentino14 (Feb 12, 2014)

No, it was the first one in there and was healthy for years. but the bigger frog would bite and bully the little one until he swam away from the food. They tried a bunch of things but in the end it didn't matter. One of my frogs was always a little skinnier than the other, not nearly as drastic as my bf's dad. 
It's natural but you just have to watch for it


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Hi there! I run a thread here on the care of ADFs. You are doing great so far, plenty of room. I would recommend a dish for feeding, as others have said, and to teach the frog when it is time to feed. Just click on the link in my sig to read more!


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Hi there! I run a thread here on the care of ADFs. You are doing great so far, plenty of room. I would recommend a dish for feeding, as others have said, and to teach the frog when it is time to feed. Just click on the link in my sig to read more!


When I first got her I didn't have money to do get her a bowl. Now she has one. I've buried the edges so she has an easier time climbing into it. I also was only feeding her bloodworms for a little while (it was all I had) now I have garannums I think that's how that's spelled, froggy food that she likes, beef heart, bloodworms of course and brine shrimp. I'm just trying to train my betta to not eat from her bowl, which surprisingly is going well because she herself will tackle him if he tries to get near her food so he then tends to look at her from underneath his driftwood bridge waiting for her to finish so he can eat her leftovers... ( which is nothing). Their personalities seem to click. He's a scardy betta and she's a pretty chill frog unless he tries to take her food. 
I have him in a divided tank and my female Betta can see my ADF and tries to nip at her because she's curious so Zeus begins to flare at her and scares her off so the frog can swim in peace. I've also found him swimming under her when she's in "zen" pose doing a minor split between leafs. They are pretty cute together but they give each other plenty of space. 
I definitely think she was a good match for Zeus .


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

awww! They sound like a super match!  Thats awesome.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> awww! They sound like a super match!  Thats awesome.


They are, its always nice to find out what they are up to. I tried to upload a picture of the game they play where Leto (ADF) has her legs kinda apart and Zeus swims between this and also a picture of them just hanging out together. Its been like this since she became adjusted to living with him.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Valentino14 said:


> I had two for a while, never had the guts to put em with my batta though! lol I just gave mine to my sister so I would have room for both my bettas


It all depends on the personality of the betta. Zeus is more of a scaredy fish and doesnt like to come up to my finger to nip at it, he even takes a while to explore meals if im holding it in my hand or tongs. I cant call him shy though. He has no problem greeting new visitors or exploring his tank, or flaring at things... hes just not aggressive. It may have something to do with how I my boyfriend found him. He was in green slime with melting fins. He was sold to him as a Delta Tail, although now that his fins are healing he looks like either a super delta or a half moon. (He was legitimately missing half his tail and I had noooo idea.) 

Zeus was able to live with Ghost Shrimp! He would get sad when they would die and I would have to scoop them up. He would swim around the tank looking for them, thats the entire reason why I got Leto. She's sturdier . 

I couldnt keep my other bettas with even a ghost shrimp! Poseidon chased it around with his mouth open, and my female was so curious about him she forced him to commit shrimp suicide.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Super cute! :3


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Super cute! :3


They are just cute friends... idk. I remember your thread about ADF! I went to it when I first got her to find out what food was the best on the market for ADFs regardless of price. I also wanted to know what did they eat specifically, what did they need in their diets. Petsmart told me I could keep feeding my ADF bloodworms, then I found out they were too fatty for ADFs, which make sense because they are also fatty for bettas. 
I wanted to know what frozen foods were good for her, like is mysis shrimp okay? Brine shrimp? Glass worms? Beefheart?. I essentially feed my bettas this stuff and they love their variety so I wanted to know if she had any specific dietary needs outside of betta needs?


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Super cute! :3


I wanted to know how social they were. Do I need to get a second frog? or is my betta enough entertainment for her? What should I expect in terms of behavior from her when it comes time to shed? Are live plants okay to keep with her? ... I have a lot of questions... :-<


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Traceuse24 said:


> I wanted to know how social they were. Do I need to get a second frog? or is my betta enough entertainment for her? What should I expect in terms of behavior from her when it comes time to shed? Are live plants okay to keep with her? ... I have a lot of questions... :-<


Dont worry, lol, calm down. 

They are social if kept in groups, but do just fine if alone or with a fish friend. You would see her more active and playful with a second frog, however, you would need to give the whole tank over to the frogs and the male betta, as each frog needs about 3 gallons. 
Behavior while shedding, most often you wont see it, and they then usually eat the shed skin, but if you do see her shedding whe will look like she is freaking out, she will scratch at her head and body with her hands and feet, and sometimes the back toenails will get stuck in the shedding skin so she will look like she is doing some crazy yoga for a bit, but dont worry, she is fine. 
Live plants are great, and often even better than fake plants. 



Traceuse24 said:


> Petsmart told me I could keep feeding my ADF bloodworms, then I found out they were too fatty for ADFs, which make sense because they are also fatty for bettas.
> I wanted to know what frozen foods were good for her, like is mysis shrimp okay? Brine shrimp? Glass worms? Beefheart?. I essentially feed my bettas this stuff and they love their variety so I wanted to know if she had any specific dietary needs outside of betta needs?


You can feed bloodworms, but not as a main diet, all of the other things you mentioned are good as well, i also will feed live blackworms as a treat, to feed these though i will usually catch the frogs and put them in something barebottom, because the worms will burrow into my sand. lol


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Dont worry, lol, calm down.
> 
> They are social if kept in groups, but do just fine if alone or with a fish friend. You would see her more active and playful with a second frog, however, you would need to give the whole tank over to the frogs and the male betta, as each frog needs about 3 gallons.
> Behavior while shedding, most often you wont see it, and they then usually eat the shed skin, but if you do see her shedding whe will look like she is freaking out, she will scratch at her head and body with her hands and feet, and sometimes the back toenails will get stuck in the shedding skin so she will look like she is doing some crazy yoga for a bit, but dont worry, she is fine.
> ...


Will she randomly release eggs?


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Perhaps I missed someone saying this but if you do add a second frog it's very important to quarantine it for about 3 months before adding it to the tank. There is a deadly frog disease that is highly infectious. It's actually a huge problem outside the world of aquariums, too.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

No she will not, there needs to be a male frog, and they are not likely to mate with a betta around.


And yes! I did forget to mention chytrid! Yes if you get another frog, please QT the new frog for 3 months before introducing to your existing frog.


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

It's scary to know that it's wiping out wild populations too. And not just the dwarf frogs.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> No she will not, there needs to be a male frog, and they are not likely to mate with a betta around.
> 
> 
> And yes! I did forget to mention chytrid! Yes if you get another frog, please QT the new frog for 3 months before introducing to your existing frog.


What are the signs of that? When I first got her she swam too close to my heater and kinda burned her leg. A couple of days later I saw a white patch in that spot, she she'd her skin and then the patch was gone. Her nose looks a little weird too but I attribute it to her crash landings into the gravel fer she gets air


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

This fungus lives on a frogs skin, and is spread by an affected frog being in the same tank with healthy frogs. It is spread by fungal spores that pop off the sick frogs skin, and attach to healthy frogs skin, where it replicates. 
Symptoms can vary from the ADF having tattery sheds or very bad looking skin, trying to climb out of the water, spazzing/thrashing at the surface, not eating, floating or hiding all the time, and finally death almost 100% of the time.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> This fungus lives on a frogs skin, and is spread by an affected frog being in the same tank with healthy frogs. It is spread by fungal spores that pop off the sick frogs skin, and attach to healthy frogs skin, where it replicates.
> Symptoms can vary from the ADF having tattery sheds or very bad looking skin, trying to climb out of the water, spazzing/thrashing at the surface, not eating, floating or hiding all the time, and finally death almost 100% of the time.


Well that wasn't comforting. I personally think my frog hides all the time but I don't think she thinks that she hides all the time. Mainly because she is usually relaxing inside of a plant, or behind the terracotta pot sleeping or playing with zeus in the back of the tank... but I see her also come to the front and just relax there. She likes to climb on the glass often! But she never looks desperate to get out. 
I have never seen this froggy spazz unless it is to get back down to the bottom of the tank after taking a gulp of air. She only floats for a few minutes on end then she will settle down on a leaf of on driftwood. She hid a lot more when I first got her, now she only hides to sleep. 
Leto can eat like a PIG! She gives my betta a run for her money. I would say it's all pretty typical froggy behavior.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

I would say that she is pretty average, lol, no worries. How long have you had her? She may still be just shy.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> I would say that she is pretty average, lol, no worries. How long have you had her? She may still be just shy.


I've had her for about 2 weeks. No one had told me about the fungus thing when I bought her so I had immediately put her in my tank. All the frogs she was with at the time we're all healthy so I didn't think to look of any frog issues. After I got her and put her in my tank did I hear about the fungus but by then she was already in the tank. The petsmart I got her in now has new frogs with whatever ones were left and they look miserable!!! Compared to them, Leto is so happy swimming about, lazying about on plants and playing with my betta, getting all the food and clean water she may need but it still worries me that she could have it.


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

well it takes about 2-3 months to fully develop. The fungus wont hurt your fish, but she could be a carrier, and if she has it, then your fish could be a carrier now as well, so always QT new frogs. Now that you know you can be better prepared in the future, but unfortunately there is nothing you can do now.

EDIT: I am in the chat room right now if you want to talk real time with me.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> well it takes about 2-3 months to fully develop. The fungus wont hurt your fish, but she could be a carrier, and if she has it, then your fish could be a carrier now as well, so always QT new frogs. Now that you know you can be better prepared in the future, but unfortunately there is nothing you can do now.


Oh jesus!!!... great -_-


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Its okay, dont be too worried. the chances are very slim. 

Come and talk in the chatroom.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Its okay, dont be too worried. the chances are very slim.
> 
> Come and talk in the chatroom.


There is a chat room?


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Yep, the link is at the top of the thread list, it says chat room.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Yep, the link is at the top of the thread list, it says chat room.


I don't think I can see it, I'm on my phone


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## Gizmothefreaky (Apr 10, 2011)

Oh you may not be able to... i dunno i havent looked for it on my phone.


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## Traceuse24 (Dec 3, 2013)

Gizmothefreaky said:


> Oh you may not be able to... i dunno i havent looked for it on my phone.


I probs can't


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