ACF won't eat pellets

[Kayli]

I am completely new to ACFs. I did as much research as I could before purchasing one. About a week ago, I bought an ACF froglet. He's about 2 inches long. I have him in a 10 gallon tank with stones at the bottom, a flower pot to hide in, and (soft, but fake) plants.

My question is about his diet though. I have HBH frog and tadpole bites that I have been trying to feed him, but he shows absolutely no interest. I was starting to get worried because I had him for about 5 days and as far as I could tell, he hadn't eaten a thing. I did find an earthworm that he ate right away and that made me feel a little better that at least he has eaten something. I'm just concerned that he's not going to get the proper nutrition.

What should I do? I plan on calling the pet store where I purchased the frog and ask about what they feed at the store. Should I move him to a smaller tank until he grows a little more so that maybe the pellets are easier for him to find?

[Jenste]

When you say you "found" an earthworm - do you mean outside on your property? I do not recommend doing so again, the ground can hold on to chemicals such as fertilizers/pesticides for a LONG time and you can't track from where the worm waundered before you found it - so you don't know exactly what you could be exposing the frog too.

Earth worms are fine, but have a reliable source. I buy mine from a local bait shop but you can buy in bulk online and grow your own worm farm if you prefer.

Now, these frogs can go weeks with out eating if they have recently been stressed (such as being shipped to the pet store and then being carried in a bag to a new tank at your house) so don't be surprised if he doesn't eat. What you don't want to do, is throw a variety of foods at him. This will actually make feeding him harder in the long run as he will get spoiled. The HBH are a wonderful diet for them and with patience, they will eat them.

The stones might also trap some of the food, fouling the water. Bare bottomed or sand is easier with young frogs. Do not move him into a smaller tank, even temporarily this can hinder their growth because they won't physically want to outgrow their environment, so they stunt.

So enjoy your new little friend and be patient but firm. He has to eat what is best for him. Also, if you don't have one already - get a filter. These are massively dirty frogs and being fully aquatic, dirty water can make them sick. Google the "Nitrogen cycle for aquariums" to learn the importance of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels in the tank...if you are setting up a new filter then you are in a "Fish-in cycle" and read up about what it entails. Treat this system just like you would a fish tank as far as cycling and the importance of a cycled filter.

Here is a "Beginners" research area off of a fish forum I frequent that has a bunch of links to help you learn about the above topics.
Beginners Resource Center - Tropical Fish Forums

[Kayli]

Thanks so much. That is all really helpful to know! It didn't even cross my mind that the worm could have been exposed to chemicals of some sort. That won't be happening again. I did figure out the filter thing pretty quickly. I was surprised at how even such a little frog can cause a big mess! I also have a gold mystery snail in the tank so I'm hoping that will also help keep things a little cleaner.

[Jenste]

Don't rely on a snail to "clean up for you" - they may eat a bit of algae but they poo a lot more than they eat and they contribute to the mess in the tank!

Especially for a new tank, you don't have enough algae for the snail to feed off of yet, and for a 10 gallon with one frog, you should be able to maintain it. Serious snail keepers also feed their snails other than relying on algae because it is not enough to sustain off of.

I do not recommend snails with frogs at all - when the frog gets older he could attempt eating a snail and choking on it... or here is what happened with my own experience...
http://www.frogforum.net/aquatic-cla...r-my-frog.html

[Collegekid]

Does the HBH food sink? I use reptomin, which floats, and when I first got my frogs I had to sink it for them and they'd eat it up off the bottom (though that might be harder with stones), later when they were very good eaters and would come up and grab at my fingers when I would try sinking the food I started leaving it floating and they figured out to eat it just fine. But yours might just be stressed right now.


You can also feed frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, but it's not a complete diet. Maybe use a little to get the frog excited about meal time and then put in some HBH and hope he goes for it because he's caught up in a feeding frenzy of sorts. I know once mine start eating they'll grab onto anything (including each others arms).

[Kayli]

Thank you everyone for all the advice! It's been extremely helpful. I have since moved my snail to another home. My sister is quite enjoying it. I have also taken about half of the stones out of the tank, leaving my tank half bare. My frog seems to enjoy hiding among the rocks, so I left some. It is much easier to feed without them though! I've also caught on to sinking the HBH food. It does normally float.

Everything is going well for me now! I'm really enjoying frog watching. He's growing so quickly!