# african dwarf frog questions



## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

i was really wanting a nerite snail but sadly no pet stores close by have them, but one has adf. i've always loved frogs but have never owned one. i've read up as much as i can but i have some questions. 

i've seen conflicting info about feeding, some saying only in the evening and 
some saying morning and evening, so what do you all think?

is it ok to skip feeding one evening a week? i am not home one evening a week and while i have someone that can throw some pellets in for my betta (and only mess it up a little) that person can't do the bloodworms, so is it ok to skip or should i feed early in the afternoon before i leave? if they need to be fed in the morning as well, what do i do about saturday morning? 

i think i would probably only feed frozen bloodworms because everyones said they won't take pellets, and brine shirmp aren't as nutritious, opinions on that? 

are adf really betta compatible? i've read conflicting things

i've read adf are more active at night, will they come out and play if the tank light is still on even if its 10 pm? or does it have to be totally dark? 

i've read about that chytrid disease, but they were really old articles, is that still very common in pet store frogs? 

in my tank i have 1 betta, a moss ball and a bamboo stick, and i read chytrid can't be passed to fish, so do i still have to quarantine? what happens if i don't? 

i also read tons of people saying filters are not necessary and heaters aren't necessary in the summer, is that really true? i have a filter and heater in my tank but i definitely don't have a spare heater for quarantine, i might have a filter for quarantine, no idea if it works.

and finally i can't decide how many adf to get. i originally wanted 3 but then decided on 2 because i didn't want 2 of them to become friends and leave the third out but then i read they do better in bigger numbers so i was thinking 4 but then i was afraid they would gang up on my betta, but i saw someone talking about how they have 6 with no problem...so, input? i have a 10 gal tank, heater, with a 20i tetra whisper filter (so over filtered), hooded regular lighting (i think its like an incandescent 15watt) 1 betta, 1 moss ball and 1 bamboo, tons of silk plants, 3 mesh tubes at the surface of the water, 3 coconuts caves for hiding, a piece of drift wood, and then a very tall "cracked bell" decoration for hiding that i would probably take out to discourage jumping out of the water, and just put silk plants in its place.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

1. You need a lid
2. Filters and heaters are good
3. Mine eat HBH Frog and Tadpole Bites, Frozen Bloodworms and Frozen Brine and Mysis Shrimp
4. I feed once a day when I think about it; no schedule. Don't understand scheduled feeding, anyway as critters in the wild eat when it's there and don't when it isnt. ;-)
5. Always active whether lights are on or off or it's day or night
6. Three minimum for observing natural behavior; I have six in a 10 gallon with my Betta
7. They don't have particular "friends;" they all hang out together
8. They don't gang up on the Betta; they ignore him
9. I don't quarantine as I buy mine from a trusted online source
10. The more plants the better; especially live ones; mine hang out in the Anubias
11. My online source also has Nerites
12. I have a Depression Glass coaster that I use as their feeding dish. They know when the lid lifts they might get fed and head straight for it.

Hope this helps.


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> 1. You need a lid
> 2. Filters and heaters are good
> 3. Mine eat HBH Frog and Tadpole Bites, Frozen Bloodworms and Frozen Brine and Mysis Shrimp
> 4. I feed once a day when I think about it; no schedule. Don't understand scheduled feeding, anyway as critters in the wild eat when it's there and don't when it isnt. ;-)
> ...


thanks this helps so much! what brand of blood worms do you feed? from what i understand they come frozen in tiny little squares and depending on how many frogs you have you cut it in half or 1/4, how do i know how much of the square to feed?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Can't recall the names but I feed whatever frozen Bloodworms, Mysis and Brine Shrimp that PetSmart carries. I also feed Tetra ReptoTreats which don't require freezing. One package feeds my Betta, Pie, and the ADF.

http://www.lllreptile.com/products/20742-tetra-repto-treat-delica-bloodworms

These are good Frog and Tadpole Bites:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pisces-Frog...330?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27fd3bf04a

I just break a piece off, thaw in tank water in a small pill bottle and use planting tongs to target feed the frozen bloodworms. If there's any left over I put the container in the fridge and feed the next day after it reaches room temperature.

I don't cup or otherwise contain Pie. I drop bloodworms to him on the opposite side of the tank from where I feed the ADF. Their little dish is under a plant so Pie would really have to work to get to it but the ADF have no problem.

Feel free to ask any questions; I'll answer as best I can.


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

thank you so much! i have loved frogs my whole life but never had a pet one. well twice when i was young i captured a wild frog and kept it as an out door pet, the first time some other wild animal got to it and then second time i released the frog after about 3 days because i felt like he had a better home in the wild. its going to be at least a month before i can make it to the pet store though 

i've read their lifespan is about 2 years, is that true? how long have yours lived? 

i've always read that after you feed a betta you are supposed to remove left over food, but i've never done that because charlie very very rarely eats when i drop food in, he eats it some other time (hes always been a very picky eater, and i know he does actually eat it because its always gone by the water change) do i need to do that with the bloodworms? i imagine its not good for the water. 

will the frogs use the floating mesh tubes in the tank? if i anchor it at the bottom of the tank will they use it? 

i think i am pretty dead set on getting 4 adf, but if i go to the store and they only have 5, i will get all of them because i feel bad leaving just one. but out of curiosity what is the max number of adf that can be housed in a 10g with one betta? 

if one or 2 adf die before the others, do they need to be immediately replaced, as in with schooling fish. 

again thanks for answering all my questions! i really trust your opinions.


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

another question, i know adf shed their skin every couple weeks, do i need to remove the skin immediately or can it wait until the weekly water change?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

ADF eat their skin when it sheds so no worries there. 

Some have reported ADF living 10+ years.

ADF are on a continuous hunt for food so you don't need to worry about leftovers.

I have no idea about the mesh tubes; just make sure the edges have been smoothed.

I have six in a 10 gallon with a Betta.

Keep the questions coming.


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

Very informative post. Needed this as well! Russelltheshihtzu expert on all things planted and adf related! Thanks!


Edit: I have been wondering about the leftover adf food for a long time, good to know its not a concern


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> ADF eat their skin when it sheds so no worries there.
> 
> Some have reported ADF living 10+ years.
> 
> ...


thank you so much! i really do appreciate it! i might be heading to the pet store on monday, so i'm pretty excited. if not monday probably about a week later. another question though, occasionally (basically whenever i feel like it) i add a tea bag to charlies tank, twinnings red roobios tea is what i use. is this ok with adf too? or should i not put tea in the tank?


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

charliegill110 said:


> thank you so much! i really do appreciate it! i might be heading to the pet store on monday, so i'm pretty excited. if not monday probably about a week later. another question though, occasionally (basically whenever i feel like it) i add a tea bag to charlies tank, twinnings red roobios tea is what i use. is this ok with adf too? or should i not put tea in the tank?


I'm sorry; I don't know the answer. :-(


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

What about IAL? Is it safe to use with the ADFs?

And congrats on your promotion Russell!


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> I'm sorry; I don't know the answer. :-(


its ok, as it turns out my grandma has very bad stomach issues and that particular tea soothes it for her and she likes the taste so i'll just give it to her. i'd rather not use it and have everyone live haha. i only added the tea for aesthetic reasons.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You might try asking about the IAL and tea on a frog forum. I don't use either but I do know the tannins from my Cholla didn't seem to bother them.

And thank you for the congrats. Now I guess I have to mind my manners. ;-)


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

I love this thread!! I have a question about feeding an ADF, how will I feed him, and will I have to worry about Betta getting the froggy food? I'm looking in to getting Dangerous an ADF tankmate as he's the most gentle, so I don't think he'll have any troubles.
Thanks!!


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

Putting on my best russeltheshihtzu impersonation here. Hbh frog and tadpole bites sink and apparently bettas dont like them. And when feeding frozen (never freeze dried) bloodworms use planting tongs or similar item to precision feed.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Trip77Legit said:


> Putting on my best russeltheshihtzu impersonation here. Hbh frog and tadpole bites sink and apparently bettas dont like them. And when feeding frozen (never freeze dried) bloodworms use planting tongs or similar item to precision feed.


You got it. :lol:

I fed frozen bloodworms tonight and Pie couldn't get near them because all six ADF were piled on the glass coaster I use as a feeding dish!

How big is Dangerous' tank? ADF are extrmely social and do not do well alone and even two won't be as active/comfortable as three or more.


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

Trip77Legit said:


> Putting on my best russeltheshihtzu impersonation here. Hbh frog and tadpole bites sink and apparently bettas dont like them. And when feeding frozen (never freeze dried) bloodworms use planting tongs or similar item to precision feed.


Really?! Cool, so I just get a feeding area and drop them there and the ADF will find it! 


RussellTheShihTzu said:


> You got it. :lol:
> 
> I fed frozen bloodworms tonight and Pie couldn't get near them because all six ADF were piled on the glass coaster I use as a feeding dish!
> 
> How big is Dangerous' tank? ADF are extrmely social and do not do well alone and even two won't be as active/comfortable as three or more.


He has a 5 gal, I'm sure I could do 3 frogs. What do you think? Do the frogs need special hides are anything? Or will my plants be enough?


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

Again I hope I don't step on OPs toes but this has been a very informative post. Is a feeding dish such as your coaster recommended? And can the frogs fast like bettas? I'm going on vacation on the 15th for 3 days and will need toebe prepared


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Three days without food is okay for ADF.

You don't really need a dish if you target feed. But with six a dish is easier. When I open the lid they all head toward the dish. A small terra cotta saucer works well. I use a Depression Glass Coaster but have also used Akro Agate shells:


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

I'm sold on the shells! Time to look on amazon haha. Thanks!


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

Those shells are gorgeous!! I'm sold on those too! What do 8 have to do to them to prepare them for the tank? Maybe put them in boiling water?


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

Trip77Legit said:


> Again I hope I don't step on OPs toes but this has been a very informative post. Is a feeding dish such as your coaster recommended? And can the frogs fast like bettas? I'm going on vacation on the 15th for 3 days and will need toebe prepared


i don't mind at all. i think its cool to have all this info in one place.


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

thanks Charlie! This has been a froggie life saving thread!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

DangerousAngel said:


> Those shells are gorgeous!! I'm sold on those too! What do 8 have to do to them to prepare them for the tank? Maybe put them in boiling water?


Washing in plain warm water is enough. They are made from the same glass as marbles. These are mine and from an Akro Agate factory that closed in the early 1950s in West Virginia. I used to collect Akro among, as my husband says, "a zillion other things." :roll:


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

Hahaha OK, not a problem at all! Thank you so much for the info. I'll he back if I have any other questions.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Keep watching my signature. At some point I'll be selling my Akro shells.


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## DangerousAngel (Mar 26, 2015)

I will!! :-D


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> You don't really need a dish if you target feed. But with six a dish is easier. When I open the lid they all head toward the dish. A small terra cotta saucer works well. I use a Depression Glass Coaster but have also used Akro Agate shells:


sadly i still don't have my adf  everytime i attempt to head to the pet store something comes up and i end up not being able to go. unfortunately i don't have any pet stores in my city but theres one in the next town but its not convenient to go there unless we have other things to do in the area as well. 

so i am using my time wisely and researching every possible thing i can about adf and planning everything. and making craft mesh hides haha. but in the process of that i've thought of some more questions. i know adf have very bad eye sight, and i plan on feeding blood worms which are red, my betta is red aswell. will the adf nip at him thinking hes food? they look to be a pretty similar red.. 

another question i have is i want to use a feeding dish but i'm conflicted on what to use. could i go to the dollar store and just buy a small glass plate/dish? how will i know if its aquarium safe? i would prefer it to be weighted so i next thought of a terra cotta saucer but since those are orangeish will the adf be able to find the food? as a last resort can i use the lid to like a plastic cool whip container? or something like that? i'll need to use a rock to weigh it down, could this make it harder for them to see the worms?


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

Charlie I shared your concerns, about a week and a half ago I finally received my frogs in the mail. I was worried they would starve because the first day my betta was eating their food. however he finally lost his taste for the frog.bites. I use a tiny terra cotta saucer I got for a dollar at Wal-Mart. My pet store was out of bloodworms unfortunatly. But I hear the best way to feed frogs the bloodworms is with some tongs and just hold that sucker right in front of its face. I instead used a turkey baster and brine shrimp, I squirted some in front of their faces and led them to the saucer. Now I can put their.hbh frog bites in the saucer and they find it every time.

Also funny story but nerve racking as well, the first day I had them one of the frogs leaped up and bit tywins fin. It was only funny due to the fact that he held on while tywin swam in circles around the tank thankfully it hasnt happened again. I heard if they nip at fins they will only do it because they sre hungry. So once they are well fed you shouldnt see that happening. I hope i helped with some of your questions im still new to adf as well but ive grown more comfortable with their care quickly so i have faith you will as well.


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

Trip77Legit said:


> Charlie I shared your concerns, about a week and a half ago I finally received my frogs in the mail. I was worried they would starve because the first day my betta was eating their food. however he finally lost his taste for the frog.bites. I use a tiny terra cotta saucer I got for a dollar at Wal-Mart. My pet store was out of bloodworms unfortunatly. But I hear the best way to feed frogs the bloodworms is with some tongs and just hold that sucker right in front of its face. I instead used a turkey baster and brine shrimp, I squirted some in front of their faces and led them to the saucer. Now I can put their.hbh frog bites in the saucer and they find it every time.
> 
> Also funny story but nerve racking as well, the first day I had them one of the frogs leaped up and bit tywins fin. It was only funny due to the fact that he held on while tywin swam in circles around the tank thankfully it hasnt happened again. I heard if they nip at fins they will only do it because they sre hungry. So once they are well fed you shouldnt see that happening. I hope i helped with some of your questions im still new to adf as well but ive grown more comfortable with their care quickly so i have faith you will as well.


do you live in the us? where did you buy them online at?


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## allied123 (Dec 11, 2014)

They can't see very well but they "hunt" more by smell so it's very strange to hear that they bit and held on to a betta... African clawed frogs on the other hand are apparently pretty aggressive and do attack fish (no personal experience there). 

About the feeding bowls, I used to use a small glass bowl, I assume it was some type of food dish, which worked fine (glass sinks) but my frogs seemed to have problems getting over the rim sometimes,even after I built up the sand around the edges of the bowl (they aren't geniuses.). So I am now using an agate slice on top of the sand which is perfect and looks gorgeous, to me anyways, I just use a turkey baster to blow water on top of it to clean any sand off before putting the food down. After a while they learn where the food is and hang out there around feeding time or find it pretty quick after they smell when you put the food in there. Another annoying thing though, my betta can and will eat all their food before they can meander over to it (I'm not sure if the food is bad for him but it annoys me to no end.) so I cup him for the 30 minutes or so until the frogs find the food and eat.


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## Trip77Legit (Mar 15, 2015)

I do live in the US. Russelltheshihtzu hooked me up with her frog guy. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I sent you a pm. Expect one shortly


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

Trip77Legit said:


> I do live in the US. Russelltheshihtzu hooked me up with her frog guy. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I sent you a pm. Expect one shortly


thanks!!


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> Keep the questions coming.


how loud do adf sing? i saw someone saying they sing "very loudly" at night. can you compare it to something? noise doesn't bother me, in fact i like background noise at night but i don't want to keep my family awake..


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

They aren't very loud and they don't constantly sing. I thought I had a cricket in the house the first time it happened.

When I feed bloodworms I target feed using planting tongs or a turkey baster. Frozen Mysis and Brine Shrimp don't seem to interest Pie the Betta as much as the bloodworms.


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## charliegill110 (May 19, 2014)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> They aren't very loud and they don't constantly sing. I thought I had a cricket in the house the first time it happened.
> 
> When I feed bloodworms I target feed using planting tongs or a turkey baster. Frozen Mysis and Brine Shrimp don't seem to interest Pie the Betta as much as the bloodworms.


oh thats perfect! i plan on just putting a dish on the bottom of my tank and then using a turkey baster to fill the dish with bloodworms. i think i might buy some brine shrimp too.


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