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Thread: African Clawed frog assistance

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    Default African Clawed frog assistance

    So I have had a clawed frog since she was a little bitty thing. Now shes about 2 inches long and I am thinking of upgrading her tank. She has been in a 3 gallon so its been over due a bit. I'm thinking of just upgrading her to a 10 gallon tank giving her a lot of room to swim. There are 2 things that concern me about this.
    1. She is an eyeless frog. The reason I got her in the first place was because the lfs gave her to me for free because she had no eyes. She seems to have been mutated that way in the egg, not lost them while she was a juvenile. Would it be difficult for her to find her food in such a large tank with no sense of sight (I realize they still have a strong sense of smell and "touch") but she has never had to swim far for food before.
    2. This one is a little unrelated, but she seems to have lost some mobility in her left arm just recently. Its not paralyzed, nor does it hinder her swimming and feeding, but she doesn't stretch it as much as her right, and she doesn't flex her fingers as far. Is it possible she sprained it? Can that happen to frogs? Shes the picture of health, and always has been otherwise.

    On a final note, if I do upgrade her to a 10 gallon is there any other species that can add some life to her tank? I know the feelings on frogs with other species of frogs. I would get her a mate/friend if I could find a healthy appropriately sized one. But is there any large peaceful fish that could go with them? I have her with a very large apple snail to keep the algae down that will accompany her to the 10 gallon if I do. I will also decorate it with a lot of live plants. Any suggestions are appreciated

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    I just went to observe her now that shes calmed down and feeding (I noticed her arm while cleaning her tank so she was extra stressed) and it definitely looks as though her wrist is broken. So I am going to go ahead and move her to the 10 gallon tomorrow. (I am not going to add any tank mates until she is fully healed either) I feel terrible she broke her wrist, how should I go about mending it? Is there any food that promotes faster growth? I feed her a wide variety of foods including (but not limited to): shrimp pellets, frozen bloodworms, frozen plankton, reptomin floating turtle sticks, cichlid pellets, and the very occasional cube of frozen beef heart (I realize it is very fatty but I do not give it often)

    Also what temperature are the frogs best kept at? I get conflicting answers from various care sheets. I keep her at tropical fish tank levels in the high 70s low 80s fluctuating in the day and night. (I keep her on the front porch during the summer time) shes never in direct light but I feel they benefit from the dappled sun and temperature fluctuation.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Quote Originally Posted by Pippin View Post
    So I have had a clawed frog since she was a little bitty thing. Now shes about 2 inches long and I am thinking of upgrading her tank. She has been in a 3 gallon so its been over due a bit. I'm thinking of just upgrading her to a 10 gallon tank giving her a lot of room to swim. There are 2 things that concern me about this.
    1. She is an eyeless frog. The reason I got her in the first place was because the lfs gave her to me for free because she had no eyes. She seems to have been mutated that way in the egg, not lost them while she was a juvenile. Would it be difficult for her to find her food in such a large tank with no sense of sight (I realize they still have a strong sense of smell and "touch") but she has never had to swim far for food before.
    2. This one is a little unrelated, but she seems to have lost some mobility in her left arm just recently. Its not paralyzed, nor does it hinder her swimming and feeding, but she doesn't stretch it as much as her right, and she doesn't flex her fingers as far. Is it possible she sprained it? Can that happen to frogs? Shes the picture of health, and always has been otherwise.

    On a final note, if I do upgrade her to a 10 gallon is there any other species that can add some life to her tank? I know the feelings on frogs with other species of frogs. I would get her a mate/friend if I could find a healthy appropriately sized one. But is there any large peaceful fish that could go with them? I have her with a very large apple snail to keep the algae down that will accompany her to the 10 gallon if I do. I will also decorate it with a lot of live plants. Any suggestions are appreciated

    This an african clawed frog (xenopus) or an african dwarf frog (hymenochirus)?

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Oh I am sorry I should've specified species she is xenopus laevis; albino, captive bred, eyeless mutation

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Okay if it's a Xenopus then yes get that little guy to a 10 gallon ASAP.

    If the arm is broken just leave it alone, Xenopusare known for being quick healers, so it will heal on its own. Do you have any idea how it broke though? Remove any decoration from the aquarium that may have caused this. There's no magical food to mend a broken bone but you'll want to keep reptomin in the diet since that has calcium, may want to just skip the beef heart, frogs don't eat cows. I would recommend using reptomin as a staple that's mostly what I feed my frogs.

    Temperature should be 68-72F, I personally keep my ACF at around 70F (cause that's what my AC is set at).

    To answer your other questions, yes blind frogs can still find food, maybe a bit slower though -- no competition if kept alone means your frog will get his food just fine. They use smell and 'feel' things in the water more than they use their sight. Honestly I think they use their eyes for spotting predators more than anything.. when my Xenopus go on the hunt (I keep molly fry and ghost shrimp in my tank which they snack on -- albeit slowly) it's always in pitch black darkness at night.. so they don't seem to use vision as much as other senses to locate prey.

    Since 10g is about the minimum for an adult xenopus I would't recommend any tank mates, could try some ghost shrimp though, I keep ghost shrimp with my frogs they eat excess food and they themselves provide a snack to the frogs now and then -- they're also only 30 cents or less usually to buy.

    Oh by the way if you don't have a filter make sure you get one, for a 10g I would recommend a Tetra Whisper 20i (internal filter, very gentle). I use a Tetra Whisper 40i and a Marineland Penguin 150b for my froglets on a 20g tank (moving to a 40g breeder soon), so that is a lot of filtration and the frogs don't mind it at all.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    I actually use a filter in the 3 gallon, I am a big filter fan. The bigger tank with a bigger filter (I use the internal tetra whispers) should keep the water cooler too. I think she broke it just in a "freak out" as I call them. Since she can't see any loud bump that vibrates the water makes her go bonkers, and she jolts all over the tank. It also doesn't help that her favorite hide is crammed tight behind the filter. I will definitely get her some ghost shrimp to add some more variety to her diet. I'll use some large river stones for substrate, and provide hides in pots and live plants to try and discourage her from cramming behind the filter so her wrist heals faster. What kind of reptomin do you feed your frogs? I feed the turtle pellets cause they seem to contain all the things necessary (and I already buy it for the turtle) but is there something better?

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Quote Originally Posted by Pippin View Post
    I actually use a filter in the 3 gallon, I am a big filter fan. The bigger tank with a bigger filter (I use the internal tetra whispers) should keep the water cooler too. I think she broke it just in a "freak out" as I call them. Since she can't see any loud bump that vibrates the water makes her go bonkers, and she jolts all over the tank. It also doesn't help that her favorite hide is crammed tight behind the filter. I will definitely get her some ghost shrimp to add some more variety to her diet. I'll use some large river stones for substrate, and provide hides in pots and live plants to try and discourage her from cramming behind the filter so her wrist heals faster. What kind of reptomin do you feed your frogs? I feed the turtle pellets cause they seem to contain all the things necessary (and I already buy it for the turtle) but is there something better?
    I feed mine reptomin for 'baby' turtles cause the sticks are smaller and I also have juvenile frogs around the same size as yours.

    ACF are very strong swimmers and yes they can have panic attacks which is another good reason to give them a lot of space, so yeah it's possible your frog could have injured himself that way. Give him more space and let the arm heal on its own, also try to spook him less if possible, maybe move the tank to a more quiet area in your home.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    I'll pick up some baby sticks while I am at the store. And I will be moving her to her new tank tomorrow. I'll offer a lot more hides too to try and give more cover so she doesn't freak out as much. Thank you so much for your patience and good advice for me by the way

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Can you post pictures of her arm?

    She will definitely grow accustomed to the extra space in the 10 gallon but I do not recommend a tank mate for a 10 gallon - it is too small to house two ACF.
    Make her environment "softer" with sand substrate and live plants. Even moss balls are fine. She does not need "hides" as she cannot see to find them anyways - cover is to disperse light/shadows as they have no eyelids but this is not needed in her case.
    72 Gallon Bow - ACF and GF tank.
    26 Gallon Bow - ACF tank.

    20 Gallon Long - ACF tank.


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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    If you use sand I would recommend something like Carib Sea's Moonlight sand (extremely fine, soft sand) and not a sharp abrasive sand, like Carib Sea's Tahitian Moon.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    I'll post a picture of her if I can get a good one on my phone tomorrow. She just holds it weird at the wrist. She still has mobility in it, she just doesn't sprawl her fingers wide, nor uses it in feeding. As for the tank I finished it this afternoon. A ten gallon really well planted tank with anubias, anacharsis, amazon sword, and a climbing sword (the one that looks like an underwater spider plant). I used very large smooth round river stones for substrate because I use an internal filter and the sand jams its impeller constantly in a 10 gallon. I did put a small flower pot in there for a hide if she wishes to use it, but she doesn't seem too interested. I'm not gonna get her a tank mate, she just has her big apple snail friend...who immediately savaged a baby climbing sword upon entering the tank. She seems to be adjusting well, fully taking advantage of the soft plants to lay in.

    One concern I have now though is she doesn't take much interest in the reptomin pellets. She will greedily eat bloodworms, but they are not as nutritionally valuable. I tried feeding her reptomin today, (granted she just moved into the new tank) but she wasn't remotely interested in the reptomin. The snail was happy to clean up though. How should I get her to feed on them? I especially want her to have the extra calcium they add. Also as far as ghost shrimp in their diet how nutritional are they?

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Sorry all of those pictures are separate, I am not as tech savvy as I should be. Anyways that is Nosseum, my special clawed frog. Notice her left wrist (the one closest to the bottom of the two pictures. She doesn't keep her fingers taught like her other hand. Also does she seem underweight? I have always had fat clawed frogs but she is picky and doesn't get very fat (or she will after a big meal, but then won't eat for a while and gets back to that weight).

    The bottom picture is of her new tank, you can see her feet behind the sword plant at the front left, and the snail in the middle of the tank. (Its hard to make out the perspective, but the snail is actually bigger than her.) Sorry the picture looks dirty, the tank was wet on the outside and bubbly on the inside from just being established. I promise it is a very clean tank.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Quote Originally Posted by Pippin View Post
    she doesn't take much interest in the reptomin pellets. She will greedily eat bloodworms,
    I had the same problem before. It took a week to make my ACFs eat Reptomin.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Quote Originally Posted by Pippin View Post
    Notice her left wrist (the one closest to the bottom of the two pictures. She doesn't keep her fingers taught like her other hand. Also does she seem underweight? I have always had fat clawed frogs but she is picky and doesn't get very fat (or she will after a big meal, but then won't eat for a while and gets back to that weight).

    the snail in the middle of the tank.
    Must be a bit hard for her to eat as they use hands when eating. As for her body shape, how old is she? My females were like that when they were young. Is there no possibility that she cannot gain weight due to some parasites? Some snails carry parasites. In the wild, frogs often have parasites and they are fine usually. But in captivity, parasites can be harmful especially when the frog's immune system is weak.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    She is probably about 2 now, little more little less, I can't exactly remember when I got her. But I have had her since she was a froglet so I doubt she has any parasites, I have never fed her anything that could carry them. Her only other tank mate is that snail, and I have had it forever, and its not seeping parasites into the water resident evil style...or I hope its not. (I am currently mad at it cause I awoke to find it had eaten both of my sword plants, roots, shoots and all, in one night! It ate 6 pellets of reptomin just yesterday afternoon!)

    I guess I should have rephrased Noseeum's weight gain issue. She will gladly stay fat and happy off of the poor diet of frozen bloodworms and sinking shrimp pellets, but when I try to give her reptomin or anything else nutritionally beneficial she will refuse to eat it and lose weight until I give her the frozen junkfood again. I am afraid she as gotten spoiled off of the frozen cubed food, she also won't eat anything that floats. (I can't find sinking reptomin) Shes not even fond of the pelleted food right now (but I think that is because she doesn't shovel it into her mouth as well with her hurt hand) So is there anything I can entice her with that will fill the gap in her diet right now? She loves frozen cubed food, it has to sink, she will eat live things, but I think it will be difficult for her to hunt right now.


    One more very distant future kind of thing, has anybody tried keeping large bamboo shrimp with clawed frogs before? They are filter feeders that clean the water, and seem too large to be eaten (at least by juveniles) and they have no interest (nor capability) of harming the frogs. I am just curious if they can live with clawed frogs, or at least if anybody has tried.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    Quote Originally Posted by Pippin View Post
    She will gladly stay fat and happy off of the poor diet of frozen bloodworms and sinking shrimp pellets, but when I try to give her reptomin or anything else nutritionally beneficial she will refuse to eat it and lose weight until I give her the frozen junkfood again. I am afraid she as gotten spoiled off of the frozen cubed food, she also won't eat anything that floats. (I can't find sinking reptomin) Shes not even fond of the pelleted food right now (but I think that is because she doesn't shovel it into her mouth as well with her hurt hand) So is there anything I can entice her with that will fill the gap in her diet right now? She loves frozen cubed food, it has to sink, she will eat live things, but I think it will be difficult for her to hunt right now.


    One more very distant future kind of thing, has anybody tried keeping large bamboo shrimp with clawed frogs before? They are filter feeders that clean the water, and seem too large to be eaten (at least by juveniles) and they have no interest (nor capability) of harming the frogs. I am just curious if they can live with clawed frogs, or at least if anybody has tried.
    I had the same issue with my ACFs before. Mine were also used to frozen bloodworms and did not show interest in Reptomin. Then I fed Hikari Tropical SINKING CARNIVORE PELLETS (that had the stronger odor than Reptomin) to them. Finally they got used to artificial diet. Since then I have fed only pellets to them. After my ACFs got used to the sinking pellets, I stopped feeding for a few days and started feeding Reptomin to them. They are now used to floating pellets such as reptomin.

    As for shrimps, I keep fresh water shrimp, much smaller than bamboo shrimp, in my ACF tanks. They are filter feeder for sure. Mine are much smaller than ACFs, but since they can move quickly, they are rarely eaten by my ACFs. Also, I keep tiny (5-10mm) fresh water isopods in the tank. Isopods are so tiny they are much more efficient filter feeders than my shrimps. Since both my shrimps and isopods breed often, they never die out even if some of them are eaten by my ACFs.

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    Default Re: African Clawed frog assistance

    I still feed my frogs reptomin by hand.. I have pennywort as a floating plant and it just gets tangled up in there.. they will swim to the top for food but they don't really stick around long enough to find anything, lol

    Some of the frogs I've had took to reptomin the first day I got them, others refused to eat it but now will beg for it.

    One of my frog which would literally ignore reptomin even if i put it right on top of his mouth now will go into froggy crazy attack mode when reptomin is in the tank..

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