Guide to proper ADF care

[LittleWatty]

Cute! Pepper looks a lot like Skinny. Just by looks, he seems pretty healthy to me. Doesn't look insanely skinny like mine did when I brought them home. Pepper may well be male, but could also be female... Just warning you!

[twissfish]

He does? Yay!
I honestly don't know if Pepper is a male or female. I just got used to saying he, so that's what I went with. lol I tried to look at his body shape and tail stub to check gender, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to be comparing.

[Chesherca]

Check under his arms. If you see pink or white pimples, you've got a male :)

[twissfish]

Pepper is doing the zen position thingie up against the cave. lol I can't see under his arms though. :( I'll have to check when he steps out into the light or tomorrow.

[Chesherca]

Oooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

[LittleWatty]

I know what you mean, Twiss XD I call Skinny a he often, even though I don't know for sure yet! Even if Pepper doesn't have them yet, he may within a few months. From what I can tell, most ADFs that are sold in pet stores haven't yet reached maturity. At least, that's been the case with mine. Tubby got his within a month, and Skinny has yet to show any signs of being definite male or female.

Funny thing happened to Skinny tonight... I was feeding them the Zoo Med frog pellets (since my bloodworms are in my other freezer), and Skinny decided to meet my baster halfway up the tank wall. Well... he ended up sinking back to the bottom on his back XD Got stuck that way for a good 5 minutes before he managed to flip himself back over. I would have taken pictures, but I seem to have misplaced my camera. Again.

[bryanacute]

It's possible to breed ADF's right? And if so how?

[Chesherca]

They breed! Breeding is the EASY part. . . first you need a boy frog and then a girl frog. . . and then they do the happy froggy-back dance and scatter eggs ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE.

But then they eat 'em. O.o

Seriously, though - the breeding part just happens. My male and female were a mated pair. But it's really difficult to raise the eggs through the taddy stage and into froglets. First problem is that they have to be removed from the tank without ever being exposed to the air. Next, they're very prone to moulding over, so you have to keep them in PRISTINE conditions, with good flow. After hatching . . . it takes a LOT of work to keep them fed and thriving. They need the tiniest food and the cleanest water. One woman that I know of managed it, she started off with over a hundred eggs from several batches and I *think* she ended up with 7 ADF in the end. She was doing 3x daily water changes with a turkey baster! But it CAN be done!!! One day, I intend to prepare a set-up in advance and give it a try. :) Good luck to you!

[bryanacute]

OMG. I could never do that. I mean I'm preparing to breed bettas for the first time so I kinda need the money and time to go towards that.

[twissfish]

Originally Posted by LittleWatty

Funny thing happened to Skinny tonight... I was feeding them the Zoo Med frog pellets (since my bloodworms are in my other freezer), and Skinny decided to meet my baster halfway up the tank wall. Well... he ended up sinking back to the bottom on his back XD Got stuck that way for a good 5 minutes before he managed to flip himself back over. I would have taken pictures, but I seem to have misplaced my camera. Again.

Poor Skinny! I would have loved to see pictures. At least he got his food.