# African Dwarf Frogs



## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

I don't know if this is in the right forum but I'm going to get African Dwarf Frogs for my tank tomorrow...only one or two. They'll be separated cause it's a divided tank but is there a way to tell females from males? I don't want to end up with eggs.


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## Grimmjow (Jul 22, 2009)

I wouldnt put them in a divided tank for two reasons, 1 they are social and 2 they like space and are active. I also had one that killed and ate the fins of a betta but from everything Ive heard and read its like unheard of and is usually the opposite.


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## Jbb421 (Oct 30, 2010)

I would not seperate the frogs like the previous post said they are social... also be weiry of putting small fish in with them because they will not hesitate to eat what ever is in their way.... the only way i know of to tell gender is the size of the legs... females have much bigger legs... here is a more indepth post "In H. boettgeri the males are slim and when mature they will develop a small gland behind each of their front legs. This gland is called a post-axillary subdermal gland. It looks like a small pimple. These glands apparently play some part in mating, but their role is not well understood.
The females of the species tend to be a bit larger (about 20%) than the males. They will become 
almost pear-shaped when mature and their abdomen fills with eggs. The females typically have a slightly longer tail than the males.
The males of the genus are the only ones who "sing" or "hum." Like most frogs, the singing is designed to attract a mate. The males will sing even if no females are in the tank. If your dwarf frog sings, it's a male. In H. boettgeri, sexual maturity begins at about nine months of age" and here is a great site that will answer alot of your questions Dwarf Frog FAQ


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## RCinAL (Nov 14, 2010)

I've kept a few African frogs over the years in community tanks. Very interesting critters. They get along well with mild mannered mid to top swimmers but will get a thrashing from aggressive bottom dwellers. They will grab and eat any fish that will fit into their mouths - neons, guppies, and other really small ones - if they happen too close. Almost anything bigger will be fine. 

You must either keep the water level low or cover the tank well as they tend to be escape artists. They can't climb the glass but can find any opennings if the water level is high. A couple of mine met their demise like this. They can be hard to feed as they seem to find it by smell and feel, so the fish will beat them to all the food if you don't watch it. Mine were easily trained to eat tubifex worms and brine shrimp from my hand and would even come to the top to get it. I had to start out by using a straw to get the food right in front of them before they learned to come to me. Tubifex worms can be crammed in the end of the straw and slowly wiggled in front of their nose till they get smart about feeding and become tame enough to go for it. Females seem to eat better, get bigger, and act tamer. The best way I know to tell a female is to look for the big fat one at the store and hope for the best. None of my males did as well as the females, but maybe that was just my luck. 

Crap. This is making me want another one.

Good luck.


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## slickscustoms (Oct 22, 2010)

i bought two of these frogs last week. mine are not active at all. they tend to stay at the oposite ends of the tank from each other. they are very small and young im sure. they are smaller than the two guppies i have.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

RCinAL said:


> Crap. This is making me want another one.
> 
> Good luck.


LMAO, I think you should get another one. ;-)


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

The first few I bought of these guys refused to eat anything I gave them,
Even live foods they ignored until they finally died.

However I have since bought some again and they have all done excellent
They stay together in the same tank and eat most anything that comes their way,
They become especially active after getting frozen blood worms, They really seem to enjoy those.
I keep them house with young Cherry barbs, Zebra Danio's, Guppies and whatever else I drop in there to finish growing out,
They have yet to bother any of the fish.
They are kept in a covered tank with lots of floating watersprite, They really do seem to enjoy hanging around in that stuff.


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## kaythenewbie (Aug 23, 2010)

As for mine, I keep them with small fish and ghost shrimp with no problems. You do have to make sure your tank is well covered. I even had to cover where my heater dial is and my filter's outflow with wire mesh.

The easiest way to tell males from females is by looking at their armpits. The males will have a white dot or pimple under their arms and the females don't. But it's pretty hard to spot. I keep one male and one female in my tank, they will eat their own eggs and the fish eat eggs too, so I haven't had any tadpoles swimming in my tank.

Feeding them can be a pain. Although bottom dwellers, they aren't good scavengers. I hand feed mine using tweezers to hold the food and dangle it about one inch above their heads. Then they'll jump and strike at it. Mine have learned to recognize the tweezers and will go to them as soon as they notice my arm in the tank. I feed them frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and frog pellets. Be sure to soak their food for a bit in warm dechlorinated water or the frogs will develop intestinal problems/blockages.

I don't know if this goes for all frogs or just mine, but my frogs have discovered that they love algae wafers and sometimes zucchini (which is in the tank for some otos). Although the frogs seem completely oblivious to their own food no matter how close it is to them, they will hunt out algae wafers no matter where I hide them in the tank. So you could try feeding them that occasionally too.


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

I got a pipette from a science teacher at school today and I'm going to try and feed them frog pellets and freeze dried blood worms and shrimp.What other kind of veggies could I put a slice of in there so hopefully the frog can nibble on?


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## RCinAL (Nov 14, 2010)

danifacetastic said:


> I got a pipette from a science teacher at school today and I'm going to try and feed them frog pellets and freeze dried blood worms and shrimp.What other kind of veggies could I put a slice of in there so hopefully the frog can nibble on?


I would try kaythenewbie's algae wafer trick. That sounds like the easiest way to get some vegetable in their diet to me. My kid is suposed to bring one from school next week from a science teacher too. Looking forward to it.


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## RCinAL (Nov 14, 2010)

Chicklet said:


> ...I keep them house with young Cherry barbs, Zebra Danio's, Guppies and whatever else I drop in there to finish growing out,
> They have yet to bother any of the fish...





kaythenewbie said:


> As for mine, I keep them with small fish and ghost shrimp with no problems...





slickscustoms said:


> ... mine are not active at all. ...they are smaller than the two guppies i have.


A couple of mine ate like pigs and grew into _monsters_ (in African dwarf frog terms of course). They would "stalk" the fish - big or small - and would try to grab them and cram them into their gaping mouths. This was no more than a minor nuisance to anything bigger, but it was definitely life threatening to the guppy-sized ones and down. And though the small fish did learn quickly to avoid the frogs at all cost, death by carelessness was always a possibility.

I have never seen ones for sale nearly as large as mine though. You will have plenty of time to determine if yours will get big enough to threaten the fish so don't let this stop you from obtaining a few of these interesting critters. As a matter of fact, I have never seen another one get as big as mine, though it is obviously possible.


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## kaythenewbie (Aug 23, 2010)

RCinAL said:


> A couple of mine ate like pigs and grew into _monsters_ (in African dwarf frog terms of course). They would "stalk" the fish - big or small - and would try to grab them and cram them into their gaping mouths. This was no more than a minor nuisance to anything bigger, but it was definitely life threatening to the guppy-sized ones and down. And though the small fish did learn quickly to avoid the frogs at all cost, death by carelessness was always a possibility.
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the heads up. Mine have nipped at passing tetra, but only at feeding time. But if they grow into a problem, I'll just move them to a separate tank.
> ...


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

Yeahhh. Drake died last night. On Weds night I found he had gotten from one divider to another which I didn't think was a big deal. On Thurs morning though the fish in the divider with him was pecking at him so I scooped him up and put him back in his original section. Then Friday morning he was back again and floating at the top of the water but still alive so I moved him. Friday afternoon...same. Then he just floated on the water for around 5 hours until he finally died.

My other frog is doing fine though.


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## thefishboy (Aug 20, 2010)

Sorry to here about 'drake'... Hope you have better lluck with your other frog..


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

thefishboy said:


> Sorry to here about 'drake'... Hope you have better lluck with your other frog..


Thanks. I felt good about him but now he's figured out how to get into the middle divider


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## slickscustoms (Oct 22, 2010)

i had posted earlier about me buying two of these african frogs. well one of them died soon after and the other went missing so i just assumed he had died also. well today i come home from work and guess whos kicking around the tank. MIA the missing in action frog! and he looks like he's doubled in size too! haha! sorry if im hijacking i just thought i was weird him showing up a monthe later.


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## kaythenewbie (Aug 23, 2010)

slickscustoms said:


> i had posted earlier about me buying two of these african frogs. well one of them died soon after and the other went missing so i just assumed he had died also. well today i come home from work and guess whos kicking around the tank. MIA the missing in action frog! and he looks like he's doubled in size too! haha! sorry if im hijacking i just thought i was weird him showing up a monthe later.


ADFs are nocturnal, so spotting them during the day is hard to do. Plus one of mine likes to burrow in the gravel-maybe that's what happened to yours. I'm a little worried about how you say that it doubled in size. African Dwarf Frogs stay rather small; I hope you haven't accidentally gotten an African Clawed frog. You might want to start a new thread and post a pic just in case.

Dani, I'm sorry that your frogs didn't work out. They can be really tricky to care for. If you wanted to try raising them again, you might want to think about doing a frog only tank or a very peaceful community tank for them rather than a divided betta tank. Good luck!


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## danifacetastic (Nov 11, 2010)

I don't think I'll try ADF's again...they were more high mantinence than I realized and while I did everything I could for them it's not something I'd really want to do again.


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## mcb5522 (Aug 26, 2010)

You can always try them again, My first experience didnt work out well because they just never seemed to live longer than a week and I kept returning them and getting new ones until I gave up after three new ones, very bad experience. this thread made me want them all over again so I went out and bought two a few weeks ago and nothing has gone wrong at all. They seem active, I catch them eating algae wafers for my Pleco and they live very peacefully with the other fish in my tank. Good luck next time


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## slickscustoms (Oct 22, 2010)

i say doubled in size, maybe its not that big. its still very small but it has defenitly grow so it must be eating. thanks!


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## kaxt (Nov 10, 2010)

I have always found the easiest way to feed ADFs is to put frozen blood worms or mysis shrimp in a squirt bottle (I use one similar to what restaurants put ketchup in) and then just point it at their general direction and squeeze. They learn quickly that the squirt bottle means food, and you don't have to put your hand in the water the way you do if you feed them with tweezers. The first week or two I have a new one I feed heavily so it is easier for them to find the food, this results in more water changes but they catch on quickly and than you can back off on how much you feed.


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## RCinAL (Nov 14, 2010)

kaythenewbie said:


> ADFs are nocturnal, so spotting them during the day is hard to do. Plus one of mine likes to burrow in the gravel-maybe that's what happened to yours. I'm a little worried about how you say that it doubled in size. African Dwarf Frogs stay rather small; I hope you haven't accidentally gotten an African Clawed frog. You might want to start a new thread and post a pic just in case.
> 
> Dani, I'm sorry that your frogs didn't work out. They can be really tricky to care for. If you wanted to try raising them again, you might want to think about doing a frog only tank or a very peaceful community tank for them rather than a divided betta tank. Good luck!


OK, I posted several times on this thread concerning my past experience with African *DWARF* frogs. I now believe my previous pets were African *CLAWED* frogs.

My 9 year old brought home 2 _dwarf_ frogs from school a couple of weeks ago and these obviously are not what I remember owning 30 years ago. These are smaller and MUCH harder to keep as they are timid to a fault and can't seem to ever find their food. A blood worm can be sitting on their head and they will manage to not find it. I had to remove all the gravel in their 5 gallon tank just so they would have a chance to find enough food on the bare bottom to survive. I also put a Beta in with them to try and build confidence, but so far they are proving to be hard to train and still just stay hid even through feeding sessions.

My previous frogs, which I now believe to have been _clawed_ frogs, could handle themselves even in a community tank with some pretty aggressive fish. They were bigger and had much hardier appetites. They would even scrap it out with the fish to get their fair share of food. They could see food of any kind and would head straight to it. They were a lot tamer and would even see me coming from accross the room and swim for the top to jockey for position with the fish while waiting to be fed. They grew fast and claimed certain rocks and holes as their own and defended them. I lost both of them to escaping from a less than completely secure hood.

These dwarf frogs are more trouble than I wanted and are simply not equipped to survive in a community tank, which was my ultimate goal. I am now on the hunt for another pair of clawed frogs. They have more intelligence, personality, and survival skills. Though they obviously get bigger and can become a threat to the wrong tankmates, they require no special care or technique beyond what I already do on a daily basis for the fish, which is walk up, toss in some food, and keep the water and filters changed.

Ralph


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