African dwarf frog

[Tacomaster]

Does anyone keep these? Any tips about them? I'm kinda curious about feeding methods others have.

Edited September 9, 2022 by Tacomaster

[AnimalNerd98]

I have these guys. I have had the normal and leucistic ones. There are a couple methods for feeding them, depending on what else is in the tank with them.

My advice with them is to feed frozen foods. I have never really seen my frogs go after pellets or other dry foods. Also, avoid keeping any large interior decorations like a big piece of wood or rock. These guys can dig themselves under these large objects, get stuck, and drown. They’re cute, but not terribly smart. 
 

feeding tips: 

1) If it’s only the frogs and maybe some snails or something slower than them in the tank, just drop the food on the ground of the tank. Some people will also use terra cotta pot saucers and train the frogs to come to the dish to eat. It helps keep the food in one little area.

2) If there are any other fish or other fast inhabitants, they will most likely get to the food before your frogs. I keep mine with fish so I hand feed them thawed bloodworms and brine shrimp. Pretty soon, they become accustomed to the tongs and will just bite at your tongs out of habit. 

Edited September 12, 2022 by AnimalNerd98

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 9/12/2022 at 9:34 AM, AnimalNerd98 said:

These guys can dig themselves under these large objects, get stuck, and drown. They’re cute, but not terribly smart. 

So true!

[TOtrees]

I love mixed communities as much as the next person, but I'd recommend keeping these guys on their own. Care will be easier and you'll get more enjoyment out of them. They're not that hard to breed, if you have live food like bbs and daphnia for the larval stage.

[reconsiders] They were one of the first critters I was able to breed, when I was quite new to the hobby. I haven't kept them in a few years, and have bred quite a lot of fish etc since then, and knowing what I know now I think getting them breeding again wouldn't be very difficult. However in my area there isn't a strong market for them, and the price point is fairly low compared to the time and work that goes into breeding them, so I'm not invested in starting up again. 

Back to care/feeding. They just exist at such a different rate or pace from almost any of the fish we keep. Fish that are small enough to not eat their food are also small enough to BE their food. They may not be that big, but they think anything will fit in their mouth. I would recommend a flat/smooth bottom, with a natural substrate. I like fine-ish gravel for them, with not a lot of plants along the bottom. Gives them lots of space to fumble around and find their food (eg 2 dimensions vs 3). Keep a couple different frozen foods on hand, don't feed them everyday, take away food if they have too much (I found them prone to bloat).

But they sure are fun to watch. 😄

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I started an ADF tank for my Mum and I agree with @TOtrees, other than a Nerite I discouraged her from getting fish, partly due to feeding issues (fish are much faster feeders)- but mostly because treating them vs treating fish are two different things and could be disasterous. My Mum has target fed the frogs from the beginning and like @AnimalNerd98 pointed out they don't take to many foods easily- other than freeze dried tubifex the frogs she has won't eat any pellets or dried foods- mostly frozen. They are very enjoyable pets though so a small dedicated tank with a couple of frogs has been loads of entertainment for her. 

[Robstar]

Do they make noise *ribbit*?

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Yes @Robstar they make noise, most say they "sing". You can search on YouTube, people post video. It's something you can hear when things are all quiet and it's wonderful!

[Robstar]

That's so cool! I din't think to check YouTube. Thank you

[TOtrees]

It's like a quiet buzzing sound. bzzzz... bzzz... bzzzzz... bzzzz... They make the sound underwater, and there is no bulging throat. 

Here's 2 cool facts about them:

ADF are very closely related to african clawed frogs, which are similar but bigger. Clawed frogs used to be used for human pregnancy tests. Woman's urine injected into female frog's back, the frog would lay eggs if the woman was pregnant. This was real medicine, not tribal lore. Whaaaaat? [if anyone has tried this with ADF do let me know I'm tremendously curious]

Frogs in the family Pipidae don't have tongues (include ADF, african clawed frogs, and the suriname toad that Tanner from Serpa has - does @Cory have them now also?). Which I find fascinating because when we think of frogs one of the classic images is them nabbing flies with their long sticky tongue. 

[Tacomaster]

Thanks for the input. I've been feeding feezed dried tubifex worms every other day (witch I'm pressing against the glass in the same feeding spot). They also snack on the freezed dried blood worms that I feed daily to the tank mates. Is there something better I can do?

Edited September 26, 2022 by Tacomaster
Not complete

[TOtrees]

On 9/25/2022 at 9:11 PM, Tacomaster said:

Is there something better I can do?

I would try to add some variety. With fish in the tank, a lot of what you feed will be eaten by them. I found that frozen mysis shrimp (the small ones) were well received. Another good tip is to get 1-2 human-food shrimp from the grocery store (fresh seafood counter or frozen in bulk if your store has that). Dice and them up really really (really) fine, and freeze them in portions in an ice cube tray (using tank water). Thaw in a cup before serving, and use a turkey baster to deliver the food to where the frogs are (or where they will eat). 
Couple options for ensuring the frogs get time to eat… feed the fish at the same time as the frogs, with a very small or fine food that floats, like a good flake food finely ground between your fingers. The fish will spend a lot of time swimming around and eating the small food, which they will need to eat a lot of to get full. That’s time during which the frogs can find/eat their dinner. Even then, to ensure the frogs get enough, you will need to feed heavily, that affects water quality, that means appropriate water changes (even if there is no uneaten food, all the food that is eaten ends up as waste so if more food goes into the tank then there will ultimately be more nitrates produced).

Another option is to feed the frogs after lights out, i.e. after the tank and the room are both dark. At that time the frogs will have a tiny advantage over fish when it comes to finding any food on the floor of the tank (or maybe just be at less of a disadvantage). 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I had my Mum with her tank target feed with aquascaping tweezers. That way she knows for sure her frogs are eating and how much.