African Dwarf Frog - lots of questions
- Thread starter tina903
- Start date
I'm still working on that one. LOL Unfortunately for me, my camera doesn't have a Macro setting >.<
Tina, are all four feet webbed on your frog? If only the backs are, then you have the same frog I do, and it's an African Clawed Frog. I also got Luna at Wal-mart. If it is, your frog will get 3 inches (if male) up to 5 (if female) females have little tails to help you tell the diff.
You could feed the bloodworms as an occasional treat, and try something less messy like pellets.
It would be much easier (for feeding/medicating reasons) to house the frogs seperately from the fish.
IF you move your frogs to a seperate tank, only fill it half full, so it's easier for them to reach the surface to breathe.
Tina, are all four feet webbed on your frog? If only the backs are, then you have the same frog I do, and it's an African Clawed Frog. I also got Luna at Wal-mart. If it is, your frog will get 3 inches (if male) up to 5 (if female) females have little tails to help you tell the diff.
You could feed the bloodworms as an occasional treat, and try something less messy like pellets.
It would be much easier (for feeding/medicating reasons) to house the frogs seperately from the fish.
IF you move your frogs to a seperate tank, only fill it half full, so it's easier for them to reach the surface to breathe.
wow,
i am new to this forum but not new to aquatic pets. but after reading the posts on this site as a non-member for several months i am astounded that no one is giving out some very obvious information about these cool little frogs.
1) you cant just throw some water and fish/frogs in a tank and expect everything to work out. depending on the water in your area, just letting it sit may not be enough to make it tank ready - use some water conditioner.
2) you must have a fully cycled tank and have a good understanding of the nitrogen cycle (you are probably smelling ammonia). if you don't please return your frogs to the store and wait until your tank and your mind is ready to care for these animals.
3) these frogs don't eat daily (so don't feed them daily)
4) further they have terrible eye site and find food by smell or some other sensory method. thus it is a good idea to use an eyedropper/turkey baster to feed food right up close to the frogs. take a cup with some tank water, melt the blood worms in there, take some out with the eyedropper, squirt it gently in the direction of your frog
5) give these frogs lots of hiding spaces (SMALL flower pots, plants, etc)
6) now to address the concerns of filtration:
yes these frogs are found in shallow stagnant pools in the wild, yet i doubt they die every time it rains due to vibrations in the water. i used a very old and gummed up HOB filter (that had a prefilter to stop the frogs from getting caught in the intake) for the tank which used to hold my frogs the water trickled very slowly into the tank, i would recommend using either a very tiny sponge filter, a very crappy/gummed up HOB filter or be extremely diligent with water changes every couple of days.
finally)
these frogs are awesome and do cool little zen floats and poses around the tank. don't be alarmed if one isnt moving he is probably just meditating. also, they can go with fish and this might not be a bad idea as you seem to have difficulty doing clean up. maybe some dwarf corydoras or ghost shrimp would help keep any excess food out of your tank.
good luck with these frogs, if you get a healthy tank set up they will provide lots of entertainment for you and your son.
i am new to this forum but not new to aquatic pets. but after reading the posts on this site as a non-member for several months i am astounded that no one is giving out some very obvious information about these cool little frogs.
1) you cant just throw some water and fish/frogs in a tank and expect everything to work out. depending on the water in your area, just letting it sit may not be enough to make it tank ready - use some water conditioner.
2) you must have a fully cycled tank and have a good understanding of the nitrogen cycle (you are probably smelling ammonia). if you don't please return your frogs to the store and wait until your tank and your mind is ready to care for these animals.
3) these frogs don't eat daily (so don't feed them daily)
4) further they have terrible eye site and find food by smell or some other sensory method. thus it is a good idea to use an eyedropper/turkey baster to feed food right up close to the frogs. take a cup with some tank water, melt the blood worms in there, take some out with the eyedropper, squirt it gently in the direction of your frog
5) give these frogs lots of hiding spaces (SMALL flower pots, plants, etc)
6) now to address the concerns of filtration:
yes these frogs are found in shallow stagnant pools in the wild, yet i doubt they die every time it rains due to vibrations in the water. i used a very old and gummed up HOB filter (that had a prefilter to stop the frogs from getting caught in the intake) for the tank which used to hold my frogs the water trickled very slowly into the tank, i would recommend using either a very tiny sponge filter, a very crappy/gummed up HOB filter or be extremely diligent with water changes every couple of days.
finally)
these frogs are awesome and do cool little zen floats and poses around the tank. don't be alarmed if one isnt moving he is probably just meditating. also, they can go with fish and this might not be a bad idea as you seem to have difficulty doing clean up. maybe some dwarf corydoras or ghost shrimp would help keep any excess food out of your tank.
good luck with these frogs, if you get a healthy tank set up they will provide lots of entertainment for you and your son.
When I first set up the tank I used water conditioner, like you would with fish. I meant to ask about that, I wasn't sure if mabey thats why my other frogs died, I thought mabey the conditioner was harmful, guess not. I really feel that Walmart doesn't take care of their fish/frogs and they were sick to begin with, I don't know.
So if I have a filter like you described should I still change the water every few days, and if not how often? I don't mind taking care of them I just don't know what all they need apparently. I have a hiding place for him, I will probably go get more since the plants are going to take a while to grow. I had read that plastic plants weren't good because they could scratch the little guys.
So if I have a filter like you described should I still change the water every few days, and if not how often? I don't mind taking care of them I just don't know what all they need apparently. I have a hiding place for him, I will probably go get more since the plants are going to take a while to grow. I had read that plastic plants weren't good because they could scratch the little guys.
A small froglet will eat once a day, Especially if it's the kind I think it is.
Nobody ever suggested "throwing" frogs and fish into tanks, at least not in any of the posts I've read. I've heard of too many fish nibbling on their amphibian tankmates.
If you have city water that is treated, water conditioner is always best, however, I live out in BFE, and have softened water which I use on ALL of my tanks, and I've never had a problem with it.
Tina, you never did answer my foot question, which could really help with the care of your frogs...
As far as pellets go, sinking Shrimp pellets (wardley's makes some) that fall apart as they soak, and my frog enjoys them.
Nobody ever suggested "throwing" frogs and fish into tanks, at least not in any of the posts I've read. I've heard of too many fish nibbling on their amphibian tankmates.
If you have city water that is treated, water conditioner is always best, however, I live out in BFE, and have softened water which I use on ALL of my tanks, and I've never had a problem with it.
Tina, you never did answer my foot question, which could really help with the care of your frogs...
As far as pellets go, sinking Shrimp pellets (wardley's makes some) that fall apart as they soak, and my frog enjoys them.
to answer your questions about the water changes,
i would say change 20-50% of water every 2 weeks, others may differ on this.
basically once you get an understanding of the nitrogen cycle you will understand how often and why you must change the water.
as for the walmart thing, i thought they didnt even sell fish/frogs anymore. guess that is just where i live and a few other places. i have heard lots of bad things about walmart fish departments yet i have also heard of lots of people salvaging some pretty wicked deals on rare fish that are mislabeled.
here are some links on the nitrogen cycle:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Cycle.htm
basically you want 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10-20 ppm nitrates.
get yourself a test kit (not the paper kinds, get the ones that come with little test tubes and bottles of chemicals)
if you live in a city you should probably always use water conditioner during your water changes. i recommend a type called prime, it is much more concentrated and i find it is is better value.
as for the debate about how often to feed them. yes immature frogs will likely have a higher demand for food (daily vs weekly) but will probably require smaller live foods in comparison to bloodworms. do yourself a favor and buy some more mature frogs.
i would say change 20-50% of water every 2 weeks, others may differ on this.
basically once you get an understanding of the nitrogen cycle you will understand how often and why you must change the water.
as for the walmart thing, i thought they didnt even sell fish/frogs anymore. guess that is just where i live and a few other places. i have heard lots of bad things about walmart fish departments yet i have also heard of lots of people salvaging some pretty wicked deals on rare fish that are mislabeled.
here are some links on the nitrogen cycle:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biologicalcycle/a/nitrogencycle.htm
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Cycle.htm
basically you want 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10-20 ppm nitrates.
get yourself a test kit (not the paper kinds, get the ones that come with little test tubes and bottles of chemicals)
if you live in a city you should probably always use water conditioner during your water changes. i recommend a type called prime, it is much more concentrated and i find it is is better value.
as for the debate about how often to feed them. yes immature frogs will likely have a higher demand for food (daily vs weekly) but will probably require smaller live foods in comparison to bloodworms. do yourself a favor and buy some more mature frogs.
Clockwork-
I'm not sure how far they are going to go with it, but most of the Wal-marts have stopped selling fish/frogs. Those are in areas where more people know well-enough to complain about them. Out here, no such luck...
BTW, a month ago they had a 4" senegal for $6!!
Anyways, if the availability of her locale is anything like mine, juvenile frogs may be the only frogs available (with the exception of terrestrial frogs, which don't even count. >.<)
I'm not sure how far they are going to go with it, but most of the Wal-marts have stopped selling fish/frogs. Those are in areas where more people know well-enough to complain about them. Out here, no such luck...
BTW, a month ago they had a 4" senegal for $6!!
Anyways, if the availability of her locale is anything like mine, juvenile frogs may be the only frogs available (with the exception of terrestrial frogs, which don't even count. >.<)
