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Guide to proper ADF care

154K views 2K replies 101 participants last post by  Hannibalic30 
#1 ·
So, with so many people asking about them all the time, i figured it was time to put the best knowledge i have on one easy to find page! :) This is info that i have pulled directly off of the best websites i know, and some from my own experience of raising them for many years.

*ADFs are 100% aquatic & should never be out of water. They are most active in the evenings, resting throughout the day. ADFs grow to about 1.5" snout to vent (nose to butt) length & can be identified by the webbing between the toes on the front flippers. Females will often be larger than males. Males will show a white spot on their sides under their front arms when mature and may start “hugging” (amplecting) other frogs. Male is smaller, develops a small red or white spot behind his armpits when sexually mature. When viewed from above they have a V shape ridge across the back from the anus across the rear legs (see picture below). The males also have a tiny to no visible 'tail' bud. The females are far rounder in appearance and have a small tail bud. The males also sing, while the females only sing rarely and usually as a response to the male.



Listen here to the singing of an ADF!




*Use at least 3 gallons water per frog & nothing smaller… frogs do need room to swim & don’t get lonely in a bowl/tank on their own but the interaction between 2 or more is delightfully more entertaining for you. The ADF, like all frogs, have to discard their outer layer of skin every few weeks as they grow. They accomplish this by twisting and turning violently, and often go on to eat the skin. Young and juvenile ADFs tend to be more active near the water line and prefer floating plants to lie upon. The ADF is very long sighted and as adults have eyes on opposing far sides of the skull. This means it has great difficulty in seeing anything close to it or directly in front of it, so it relies on its sense of smell and vibration to find its food. It can often be seen stabbing at food on the bottom, missing quite a few times! It can take a ADF ten minutes to discover that there is food in the tank. So if a ADF is kept with fish, you have to allow for this by feeding the fish first in one place and then feeding the frog in another place. It can be all too easy for a inexperienced owner to starve their frogs if kept with bottom feeding fish. Peaceful animals which are known for their 'comical' behaviour.

*ADFs are great escape artists, so you’ll need a lid on your bowl/tank. ADFs breathe air from the water’s surface, so be sure to leave space for air between the lid & water’s surface. This is a fully aquatic frog and will stay underwater for hours; however, it still needs to periodically come up to the surface to breathe. The substrate must be too large or (preferably) too fine to be eaten by the frog while lunging for its food. If gravel is eaten by the frog, it will remain in the intestinal tract, cause blockage, and shortly afterwards, death. Sand or river rocks of at least 0.5cm (0.2") in diameter is recommended. The minimum tank size for one adult frog (over a year old) is 18.9 Litres (5 US G.). A young frog can probably get away with 11.4 Litres (3 US G.). Biological filtration perhaps isn't needed if the owner keeps up with regular weekly water changes. But it helps keep the levels of ammonia down if the owner neglects, overstocks or overfeeds. If it happens to be a power filter with a intake pipe, cover it with fine mesh to prevent the trapping of the frogs' delicate legs causing it to drown. This is a common occurrence in larger tanks. These frogs cannot be out of water for more than 10-15 minutes. If they somehow escape into the relatively desolate environment of an average home, their skin will dehydrate, and they will die. These frogs can be easily kept in aquariums with a tall water column. A -43cm (18-24") tall tank is not a problem for them. The water level must be dropped 2.5-5.1cm (1-2") from the top for two reasons; one, to allow for proper gas exchange and respiration of the frogs, and two, to prevent escape and therefore death. Otherwise ensure there are no escape holes for the frogs to explore. A ADF can easily jump 7.6-10.2cm (3-4") into the air from a solid base.




*Change 100% of the water once a week with conditioned same-temperatured water if you have one frog in a 2-gallon tank or less. Tanks that are 5-gallons or more should be "cycled" and have on average, 25% of the water changed once per week.


*Keep the water temperature ideally between 75-80*F, though down to 70*F & up to 82*F may be ok as long as your frog remains healthy. Don’t set them in direct sunlight or on anything that heats up (e.g. PC/TV). Use a stick-on-the-outside (liquid crystal) thermometer to monitor the water’s temperature.


*Adding a small live plant (such as Java Fern) will help your water conditions & give your frog a place to rest on or hide in or you can add an aquarium-safe silk plant. Large stones/gravel that are too large to be swallowed may be used on the bottom.


*Feed a varied diet, but no freeze-dried or dry pelleted foods, which can cause intestinal blockage & death. Frozen (but thawed) bloodworms, brine shrimp on occasion, or Frog & Tadpole Bites are a good variety. ADF's are meat eaters & they won’t eat flakes. A frog's tummy will bulge slightly when fed enough. Overfeeding can lead to health problems. It will not harm an ADF to go for a day or two on occasion without being fed but do ensure your frog is eating if kept in a community tank with other fish who might eat all the food before the frog has a chance to hunt for it. Their close-up vision is very poor, so they hunt the bottom of the tank for hours in search of their food.


*Tankmates should not be aggressive, bottom feeders or African Clawed Frogs. If your frog would fit in the mouth of any other fish in the tank, then they are not suitable tankmates, as your frog will be eaten. Be sure your tank has at least 1 gallon of water for each inch of adult sized fish you keep. They often like to float lazily on the surface of the water so most tankmates should be those that prefer the mid-ranges of a tank. Will not bother any fish as long as it's bigger than itself. It will eat fish fry. It has been reported that ADF are compatible with larger shrimp such as Amano shrimp. They are not compatible with crayfish. Some people keep ADFs with Bettas. This is difficult as Bettas are also carnivores, so they compete for the same types of food. Often the Betta gets fat whilst the frog starves. Best to find a way to feed the frog without the Betta being able to eat it all. A word of warning, when ADFs are kept with Bettas there are stories of either the ADF having his eyes and toes nipped and even legs broken by a feisty Betta, and on the other hand, there are stories of ADF's grabbing a Betta's tail and hanging on causing stress and injury to the fish.

******* In America and Canada most large chain shops are selling these frogs infected with Chytrid Fungus, a highly infectious and deadly fungus which kills within the first 3 months of ownership. This is believed to be due to the shops mixing the African Clawed Froghttp://theaquariumwiki.com/African_Clawed_Frog (which is a immune carrier) in with the dwarf frog and so passes on the fungus via the water. It is recommended that owners in these countries quarantine their new frogs for no less than 3 months before placement in their main tank.


Hmm... That seems to be all for now, if i remember anything later i will be sure to put it here. :) As i said, some of this information is my own, and some was taken directly from websites, so it may be a little redundant in places, and for that i am sorry.

Alo, if you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me!! :3
 
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#1,164 ·
To all of my fellow frog friends who keep community tanks: How do you make sure your frog gets enough food? With Tintri's tank its easy, since I just cup him while I feed the frogs. However, I'm thinking of getting a frog or two for Leo's tank. I just tore it apart and rearranged everything, so there's lot of hiding places. But, since I've got Leo and some zebra danios, it would be a lot harder to cup all of them just to feed a frog or two.
 

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#1,165 ·
Nice tank! It can be tricky to feed them in community - I now have TWO community tanks with frogs, and I'll always swear up and down that they do best in species-only tanks, mostly because of feeding. Silly frogs! I know that if you scroll through this thread, you can find Gizmo's way - she has an area for each creature of her tank. Frogs are highly trainable, so I can see how it works, but I can never get my FISH to cooperate! I usually feed with a turkey baster. It works really well once the frog is used to eating from it. If you're patient for a week or so and only feed them in a specific area of the tank, they'll go running for their 'spot' the moment they catch a whiff of food in the water. Also good to remember that you CAN skip a feeding every other day if you have to. Sometimes it's easier to feed them this way in a community, as target feeding - for me, anyway - tends to end up with them getting a *bit* more than they actually need!

I actually just posted a video on my 55g thread of me feeding my tank. Only one lil' snip of the frog, just before the 2.5 minute mark - but he's CUTE!!! :D

Good luck with that set up! Keep us posted!
 
#1,166 ·
Thanks! My turkey baster was how I planned on feeding them if I ever did get the frogs without advice from someone on here. I might have to try the "specific" area. I kind of do that with Skinny and Tubby, but I always have to make sure Skinny gets some before Tubby eats it all, so I track her down right away. The past couple times I've been into my local petco, the frogs have been REALLY tiny... so, I'll probably keep the one or two that I get in their own tank for a while, until they get a bit bigger. Leo's a pushover, but he did get aggressive for a little while when I added the danios. He's calmed back down since then, and doesn't chase either his otos or his danios, but I still want my frogs big enough to be able to take care of themselves whenever I add them to the tank. That's the plan, anyway... so... don't be surprised if I show up with pictures of new frogs within the next few days! :D
 
#1,167 ·
I'm having very similar experiences! The last two frogs I bought were WAY smaller than the two I got before, and every time I look in the store, they ALL seem so super tiny. I know my babies GREW since I got them, but they were definitely bigger at purchase. It's odd. . .

I also had the same thing happen when I put Freckles into the 55g tank. He had always been my submissive sweetie, and let the bigger female push him around from day 1. But when he got into the community tank, he was a little bit snarky while he was settling in! I was happy to see that he could hold his own against the fish, and once they figured out that he WILL nip at them if they get in his face, they've been good at leaving him to his own thing. . . this is mostly with my Rams, though - as far as the Kuhli loaches are concerned, after the first evening, he has NO problems with them at all - he'll let them sit on his head, lol! So far so good in my community - hope yours goes well too!

And you KNOW froggy spam pics are ALWAYS welcome! <3 froggies!
 
#1,169 ·
I officially have two seemingly-healthy froglets! They're so tiny! Though, they weren't as small as the others. I told the Petco employee "the bigger they are, and the harder they are to catch, the better" so I'm hoping I got some of the older frogs. Pictures will follow within the next few days as I get them settled into their temporary tank. Now I just need to think of names... I can't call them Skinny and Tubby, but I could call them Twiggy and Chubby! XD I'd prefer something else though. Suggestions welcome!
 
#1,170 ·
Froggie pic spam! :-D Don't have a whole lot yet, but the little guys are hiding just now. Got the few that I could. Is it just me, or does my one little froglet have really long toes? XD Also, one of them seems to be taking after Skinny. The one with the long toes was very interested in my camera!
 

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#1,171 ·
Hey y'all! I just got my very first froggy! I am so excited. You should have seen me at the store with my husband. He couldn't stop laughing I was so ecstatic to finally see some there! He said I could get one. So, I have put him in with my betta, and they seem to be getting along really well. Feeding hasn't been a problem, and Mr. Froggy (I know...so original...suggestions?) actually ate some bloodworms. Not to mention Rainbow, he couldn't get enough of them. He even ate off my fingers. too cute. anyway, I have gone through this entire thread, and it's what made me want an ADF. I need to take pics.
 
#1,173 ·
So, I'm having fun with Mr. Froggy, and enjoy feeding him. Quick question on that though. Is it normal for him to only eat about 2-3 worms? He seems to get annoyed whenever I try to feed him more. He'll swim away, and I notice that his side pooches out some. That means he's full right?
 
#1,174 ·
Awww! Congratulations on the new friend, can't wait to see some frog pics from BOTH of you!

To answer your question, it takes very little to fill up a tiny frog - especially if you've got a bitty juvie there, so he's fine, I'm sure. Their stomach is slightly to the left of the center of the frog, and can easily be seen if you look at their underside, a full frog will show his left side bowing out slightly, so it sounds like he's good to go!

Have fun!
 
#1,175 ·
Awwwwww, Watty - I just saw your newbie pics! I've been out of commission for a few days, and missed them come up - ADORABLE!!!! :D Sounds like they're doing really well, too!

I just added a frog to the kindergarten class tank today. A little bit nervous, but he seems to be okay. I'll be keeping a really close eye on him!
 
#1,176 · (Edited)
I've been slowly collecting pics of my new guys, and plan to get them up as soon as I get some more. Both look in better shape than Skinny and Tubby when I first got them, and are rather chubby. One is really skittish while the other doesn't seem to care what I'm doing.


Also... I'm rescuing a frog from a friend of mine. Its a mature male (as she found out last night when it kept her up with its singing!). She had him in a 55 gallon community, but then it got hit really hard with worms and she has been loosing all her fish. She hasn't had much luck since she started fish keeping, so she's giving up on it and switching to either axolotls, lesser sirens, or mudpuppies. I offered to take her frog, since I just adore them.

She lives a ways away, and neither of us have time or means to get to one place or the other, so she'll have him for a little while yet. The most likely culprit for her fish massacre is worms, so I'm hoping he'll be happy and healthy once I pick him up. Any recommendations for quarantine and what not when I get him? He won't be going in with any of the frogs I currently have, so I'm not worried about chytrid, just all the other little nasties that might affect fish.


Yay Chesh! Hope all goes well with your kindergarten tank!
 
#1,178 ·
Oh yay! Cute little froggies! Its a little blurry, but he looks healthy to me!

Guess its time for me to put up my photos. Got a mix of the newbies as well as the oldies! Total pic spam.

Still don't have my friend's frog yet, but really hoping to get him within the month. Especially if the last of her fish die.

Also, question! One of my babies has really really stumpy toes. Is that normal? Will he have a hard time swimming compared to his long-toed companion? Its clearest in the last photo.
 

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#1,179 ·
Haha! YAY for froggy pic spam! Love it!!!

Lidzu - I agree with Watty, from what I can see in the pic, he looks healthy to me! Cute little bugger!

Watty - I feel bad for your friend and her 55g! It's also really hard to treat for things like worms without killing a frog, they can be so sensitive to medications. . . *sigh* But really happy that you're around to give him a new AND GOOD home, lol! As far as QT, if she's had him for longer than 3 months, Chytrid shouldn't be a concern. For the most part, any of the worms or other illnesses that can affect fish do NOT affect frogs (and vice versa). These things, especially parasites, have their own hosts that they can't live without - so your main concern here would be that the frog would be a temporary carrier, perhaps carrying some remnant of the illness or parasite in on it's skin or inside of it's intestine (likely in the case of worms likely to have been ingested by the frog). Your best bet would be to keep him in a fishless QT for a period of at least 1 month - I'd give it 6-8 weeks to be sure, because I like to err on the side of caution. After about a month, even the most difficult of fish nasties will die off without a host (fish) to live on. The same QT process should be done with anything coming into a tank - even snails and plants if they have lived with fish in their recent past. Glad you're willing and able to give this little one a new home!

Your newbies (and the old ones, of course) are looking beautiful and fit! I wouldn't worry too much about the little one's feet. We lump several species into the common name of African Dwarf Frog, it could be that he's a slightly different frog from the ones you have, or it could be just a natural genetic variation, but either way I'm sure he'll thrive. My first frog was in a filter accident in the first month I had her, and the webbing on one of her back fins was ripped. She carried on as if nothing had happened until she died recently - the injured foot healed up, but never repaired itself, but also didn't slow her down a bit!

Good luck, both of you, on all of the new arrivals!
 
#1,180 ·
I feel better now, then :) I've got a plan for Gargoyle (my friend's frog) when he comes in, and I don't have to worry about the stubby toes. It'll at least be easy to tell the two frogs apart when they're in the tank! XD Its really fun finding identifying features. I also realized that Skinny and Tubby are kind of the same way. Skinny has the some what curled toes that seem to be "stubby", and Tubby has the really long unhindered toes. Wonder if that could possibly be a male/female thing too... *shrugs*

Say, when are we going to get pictures of your kindergarten tank and its new frog?
 
#1,181 ·
Ahh! I brought them their frog on Wednesday, and immediately after came down with an evil stomach flu that has had me laying low. I managed to get in to feed him after class ended on Friday, but have otherwise avoided the school. He seems to be doing well so far, hopefully all goes well on his first weekend alone, and I'll try to nab some shots for the kindy tank thread as soon as I'm feeling better. Reports from my daughter and the teacher say that he was very active all day on Thursday and Friday, so everything seems to be going well!
 
#1,182 ·
Yay for froggie! Boo for stomach flu! Sorry to hear you've been down and out. No need to push yourself on our account XD Had I known it was the stomach flu that had you down, I would have waited to ask! lol Get better soon! In the mean time, I'll have to nab more pics to keep your spirits up!

Oh, funny story. Forgot to add this before. While I was at an appointment the other day, my roomie was in the kitchen making some tea. Tintri and the frogs are in the kitchen by the sink. He looked over at them only to find Skinny up on the tips of her toes, and Tintri staring at him through her legs XD He ran over to grab my camera, but by the time he went back, both of them had vanished. I would have loved to see a picture of that, but my mental image is good enough I guess!
 
#1,183 ·
I've been getting into a bad habit of double posting, but I just have to keep updating you guys on my newbies XD Since its been a week, and I'm hoping the little guys are starting to get the hang of things, I put them in their tank. Instead of putting them in Leo's 15 gallon like I had originally planned, I decided to put them in Tintri's 10 gallon. To protect Skinny and Tubby, as well as keep the 10 gallon properly stocked, I moved the oldies to Leo's 15 gallon. It seemed safer that way. The oldies are used to the routine, and are stronger swimmers, so not only can they tolerate the current of the larger tank, but they can handle themselves if Leo or my Danios decide to get nosy. All seems well so far! Fili and Kili (the names for my babies. Fili - stubby toes. Kili - long toes) seem alright in the 10 gallon and have been exploring every crevice they can find. The current doesn't seem to be bugging them, though the height of the tank seems to be giving them a bit of trouble for now. Skinny seems to be enjoying the 15 gallon, and Tubby is back to hiding like his usual self. Might have an update on him when I get pictures up.
 
#1,184 · (Edited)
Ok, triple post... Sorry guys! XD I feel like I'm hogging the thread. At least its a pic spam this time!

I got a bunch of pictures today, since I moved everyone around. Skinny and Tubby were hiding most of the day, but they seem to like their new home at least somewhat. Both popped their heads out after I turned the lights out (don't worry, I didn't use a flash in those pics. Its a soft light that I use to search the dark areas of my tank for my critters that hide). I had to include a photo of Tubby's tush. It was just too cute to pass up XD

Fili and Kili seem to be loving their new home. Exploring absolutely everywhere. I increased the flow slightly after a few hours to see how they would handle the current as it would normally be. Doesn't seem to bother them one bit, though they do prefer the corners of the tank for getting air.

Going to try feeding tomorrow, hoping all goes well. I might start feeding Skinny and Tubby in the middle of the night, since the other fish slow down at that point and Leo goes to sleep in his little cave.

Edit: and one random pic of my amazing amano shrimp. He survived Sonas' shrimp killing spree, Sonas' dropsy, then surviving in a tank that was about 50F and rather dirty for about a week (after Sonas died, I didn't think any shrimp were left). That's up to and including 2 full tank tear downs and reconstructions. He also survived living with Leo for a few weeks! Now he's in with Tintri and the babies.
 

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#1,187 ·
Be careful the albino may be an African Clawed Frog instead of a Dwarf! Sometimes ACF are sold as albino ADF. I believe (but I'm not 100% sure) that the biggest difference when they're young is that the ACF don't have webbing on their front feet. Chesh and Gizmo would know better than me. Pretty sure Gizmo had an actual albino ADF too.
 
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