Questions about ACF substrate, diet, & singing

[Kayli]

I thought that rather than flooding the forum with a bunch of threads containing a single question, I'd put them all in one place.
I have a male ACF that I bought as a little froglet about 8 months ago. He lives in a 10 gallon aquarium with a filter that powers up to a 20 gallon. Keeps it nice & clean! For substrate, I have large stones on one half & a bare bottom on the other. I also have some soft, fake plants & a flower pot for hiding.



Here's where my questions/concerns come in.

1. My frog has gotten large enough that he can push around the stones in his tank. I love having them in there, I think he does too, but do I need to worry about him trapping himself underneath them & suffocating or injuring himself?

2. My frog refuses to eat from the surface. It's like he doesn't even know it's possible for the food to be there. I have to sink each pellet (HBH frog & tadpole bites) for him or he won't find them by the time the filter pushes them around & sucks them in or pushes them to the side with the stones, which the food gets trapped in. I don't mind sinking them for him, but I'm not sure it's normal. Is this normal?

3. I hear him chirping/singing every night. I assume he's looking for a female, seeing as he's the only thing living in his tank, but is he lonely? Should I consider upgrading to a larger tank & buying a friend for him?

Thank you for any responses!

[packer43064]

1. If he can move the rocks around then he can sure move them around if he would to somehow get stuck. I wouldn't worry about it really. I use sand in my tanks, but larger river rocks are good.

2.I have a 8 year old female and a younger female and the older one will come to the top and the younger will not. The younger one just doesn't understand. I always thought it was more normal for them to eat on the bottom. If I'm feeding the Reptomin floating sticks I usually turn the filter off otherwise they get stuck around the filter and fall apart. I would just buy some sinking pellets and just vary their diet often. There's a few sites that sell sinking pellets. Xenopus.com sell them.

3. I'm not sure if they feel lonely per se, but they do enjoy fellow ACF's. I would get a 20 long and get a female. If they breed which if he is calling it will happen, lol. Then you can either keep them or just throw away their eggs or let them hatch and the adults will eat their young. As long as he isn't amplexing and making the female lay eggs monthly then all will be perfect.

Good luck!

[tgampper]

Actually, it would be a better idea to get one or two additional males rather than a female. I found that males are not as territorial as other species of frogs. One male and one female can be a bad idea especially if you have an "alpha" female. My female attacked the male often and I had to separate them. Like in most species of frogs, the female is larger. I keep my females separate unless I want to breed them. I have a couple of tanks of just males and they get along quite well.

As mentioned in a previous post, there are both sinking and floating foods available from xenopus.com. Use whatever works for your frog. I have been feeding my clawed frogs Repto-Min exclusively for many years with no problems.

In this species, both males and females call. If you have both males and females, you may often hear a very loud duet. They are known to have 6 different calls (2 female, 4 male) which is quite complex for frogs and toads. When males and females are together, the call of the female determines whether or not she is ready to mate.

[rodsboys]

I wouldn't worry about him pushing the rocks around. That is probably a good thing. He can dig up food and escape if there is a mishap. I have pvc plumbing elbows in my setup. The frogs prefer to hid under them rather than in them most of the time. I don't mind, it's their home.
As far as another frog, I would first upgrade to a bigger tank, then use the 10 gallon to grow out any frogletts you may buy. I find that my 1 and only male is much more shy than the 2 females. He is also tiny compared to them though. He will come up to eat, but only if it is dark in the room. Feed only every other day to every third day. Try feeding at night and turn the filter off for 2 hours. After that remove uneaten food and turn the filter back on. He will catch on. You have plenty of time too as they live a long time and can last a little while without eating.

[Kayli]

Thank you for the responses!
I have recently purchased a 20g long aquarium, so I'm looking forward to getting it all set up & finding another ACF to keep mine company. I couldn't believe my eyes! I found the tank, a stand, hood, light, & a bunch of plants for a combined total of $5! Gotta love garage sales.

[mpmistr]

Thank you for the responses!
I have recently purchased a 20g long aquarium, so I'm looking forward to getting it all set up & finding another ACF to keep mine company. I couldn't believe my eyes! I found the tank, a stand, hood, light, & a bunch of plants for a combined total of $5! Gotta love garage sales.

Good find. Make sure you cycle your aquarium before adding the froggies though. They're very hardy but ammonia can harm them like fish.