New Albino ACF, Help?

[ksage505]

Last week I went to the pet store planning to get an african dwarf frog for my ten gallon aquarium to go along with my betta. I was told they were out of african dwarfs but had some african clawed frogs which are "pretty much the same exact thing". Obviously, I should of known better than to listen to a pet store in the first place, but I did listen and came home with a tiny ACF. Once getting the frog home and searching around on the internet I quickly discovered there was quite a difference between ACFs and ADFs. I've found some conflicting information and wanted to go over everything I've set up for my ACF to make sure I've got this right.

1. Hes in a 20 gallon aquarium, alone. I've lowered the water line a few inches to give a good surface area for breathing and hopefully prevent escape if he were to try and jump. The only big opening is the filter opening and I covered it with plastic wrap.

2. Should I have a filter, or no? I read that ACFs are extremely sensitive and a filter will stress them out. I assume with this an internal filter would be the best option? I have a 10-30 gallon internal tetra whisper filter that I could use. Should I be worried about him getting caught in the filter intake? He is still very small.

3. Should I have a heater? I have a spare heater on hand that I can give him right now if needed. I've read that they're ok to be in room temperature? Room temperature in my house stays around 70-74 and drops to 68-69 at night.

4. The pet store told me to feed freeze dried bloodworms. I have been giving him those along with sun dried gammarus. I assume these alone are not a good diet. Is reptomin a good food for them? I've ordered a bottle of it. When he gets larger, would feeder guppies be a good snack?

Anything else important I'm missing here? Thanks

[tgampper]

1. Hes in a 20 gallon aquarium, alone. I've lowered the water line a few inches to give a good surface area for breathing and hopefully prevent escape if he were to try and jump. The only big opening is the filter opening and I covered it with plastic wrap.

20 gallons will be fine for about 3 or 4 ACFs. ACFs are quite different than ADFs. 1) they are much larger; and 2) most likely will eat other fish (although, there are differing opinions), and 3) could tolerate lower temperatures. You made a good choice

2. Should I have a filter, or no? I read that ACFs are extremely sensitive and a filter will stress them out. I assume with this an internal filter would be the best option? I have a 10-30 gallon internal tetra whisper filter that I could use. Should I be worried about him getting caught in the filter intake? He is still very small.

I recommend having a filter, however, they will do nicely without one if you do weekly water changes. They are sensitive to high flow filters. These frogs have a well developed lateral line system (like fish) that detects prey through water movements and electrical impulses. High flow filters cause waves that may confuse the frog.

3. Should I have a heater? I have a spare heater on hand that I can give him right now if needed. I've read that they're ok to be in room temperature? Room temperature in my house stays around 70-74 and drops to 68-69 at night.

I do not use a heater and keep my frogs at room temperature. The optimum temperature is between 69-71(F). Stress and death may occur if the temperature is above 86(F).

4. The pet store told me to feed freeze dried bloodworms. I have been giving him those along with sun dried gammarus. I assume these alone are not a good diet. Is reptomin a good food for them? I've ordered a bottle of it. When he gets larger, would feeder guppies be a good snack?

Freeze dried bloodworms are a no-no. Try live or frozen. Freeze-dried bloodworms may cause bloating. They can also take Tetra's Repto-Min. I feed all my frogs Reto-Min and have not experienced any problems.

Anything else important I'm missing here? Thanks

Water quality is the most important element in the care of ACFs. Always condition the water, I use Stress-Coat (1 ml per gallon). When doing water changes, make sure the temperature of the new water matches that of the tank, ACFs are sensitive to temperature changes. I have been keeping these frogs for 30 years and really enjoy them.

I have noticed from the posts on the forum that diseases are really affecting ACFs. It could be over-breeding or just poor habitat conditions. The two major problems seem to be bacterial infections and bloating. To prevent disease, try a product called Lymnozyme, it is a pro-biotic (not a medicine). Pet shops are not always reliable when it comes to caring for frogs. Check out some of the posts in the aquatic frog section, they will be quite helpful in getting you started with these fantastic frogs (yes, a bit biased )

[ksage505]

Thanks for the help! I think I'll stick no filter for now and do partial water changes twice a week. I have been adding in conditioner with the water changes. I've just been using aquasafe but I do have stresscoat as well. I have a lot of fish so I pretty much had everything I needed other than a pellet food when I got him. I'll check in to the pro-biotic. As far as I can tell, he is doing great so far. Hes eating well and extremely active. He doesn't appear bloated despite the FD bloodworms. Are they ok as just an occasional treat? I know with fish they can cause bloating as well and are just given as a treat once or twice a week.

[tgampper]

I would not recommend feeding your frogs the FD bloodworms. Bloating is quite serious and may lead to kidney disease and death. It's not worth the risk.

[Collegekid]

If the tank a 20 gallon long or tall? That will make a difference in how many frogs you can have in it (if you choose to add more of course!). Either one is plenty for a single frog.


I have a filter on my tank and I don't think it stresses them. It's a hang on the back type with an adjustable flow so I can prevent it from being too strong. If you can make the flow output be about even with the water line it'll disturb the water less.


I would get an aquarium thermometer and find out what the temp is like without a thermometer (both during the day and at night). Then if it gets too cold get a heater (make sure to watch it closely when you put it in to make sure the temp doesn't shoot up too high). I have a heater, it keeps the tank a LITTLE warmer than is ideal during the day (on lowest setting), but is spot on at night.

I agree with getting reptomin and breaking it up for him. I feel like freeze dried bloodworms are not very nutritious, didn't know about the bloat issue. For treats try frozen bloodworms or frozen brine shrimp.


Good luck with the little guy (or girl)!