Depth of water for African Clawed Frog & tips needed for preventing an escape!

[froglett]

How deep should the water be for these guys?

I've seen some sources state no more than 12 inches, others say at least 12 inches and up to 30 inches.
What is the water level in your tanks? I was thinking around 14 inches. Would that be ok?

Also, I really don't want the frogs escaping from the tank as I have 3 cats, and I imagine they'd find a frog before I even notice it's missing!
Does anyone have any tips on keeping them in?
I know you should have the water level lower than normal, and cover any holes (how big a hole can they get through?).

I am planning on putting a large hollow piece of bog wood in the tank which is 10 1/2 inches high at the highest point. Will that make a difference?

The tank is 69 UK gallon size and about 22 inches high.
I haven't set it up yet, I've just been cleaning it out tonight because it's been in the shed & was an ex marine (given to us by someone who didn't clean it first).

I want to make sure I have the set up correct before I fill it and cycle (the bog wood was used for a coldwater tank originally, but has been in the shed for a couple years so will need a good soak/rinse).
I'm planning on well washed play sand for substrate (my hubby uses it in tropical and marine tanks and assures me it will be fine), and silk fake plants.

[mpmistr]

How deep should the water be for these guys?

I've seen some sources state no more than 12 inches, others say at least 12 inches and up to 30 inches.
What is the water level in your tanks? I was thinking around 14 inches. Would that be ok?

I have no idea why people say no more than 12 inches of depth. African Clawed Frogs are powerful swimmers and very strong for their size. They can surface for air and retreat to the substrate literally in the blink of an eye. I think people confuse them with Dwarf Clawed Frogs.. which are clumsy and weak frogs which WOULD have issues surfacing for air at that depth.

Also, I really don't want the frogs escaping from the tank as I have 3 cats, and I imagine they'd find a frog before I even notice it's missing!
Does anyone have any tips on keeping them in?
I know you should have the water level lower than normal, and cover any holes (how big a hole can they get through?).

I'd keep the water 3 to 4 inches below the top.. that's how I keep my tank and no escape attempts yet.. but yeah I'd have a tight lid + cover any holes for sure.

I am planning on putting a large hollow piece of bog wood in the tank which is 10 1/2 inches high at the highest point. Will that make a difference?

The tank is 69 UK gallon size and about 22 inches high.
I haven't set it up yet, I've just been cleaning it out tonight because it's been in the shed & was an ex marine (given to us by someone who didn't clean it first).

Should be fine as long as you have a lid, if the tank is 22 inches high and the bog wood is only 10 1/2 inches high it should be a non-factor.

I want to make sure I have the set up correct before I fill it and cycle (the bog wood was used for a coldwater tank originally, but has been in the shed for a couple years so will need a good soak/rinse).
I'm planning on well washed play sand for substrate (my hubby uses it in tropical and marine tanks and assures me it will be fine), and silk fake plants.

Shouldn't be an issue.

[packer43064]

Yeah my height is 24 inches. They will go to the top and just chill up there for extended periods of time. So unless it's 20 feet deep, I doubt your average aquarium heighth will be an issue.

[rodsboys]

I agree with everything Michael said. Sounds like you have a great start. I believe your tank is a standard 75 US gallon aquarium? I didn't realize there was a difference in the UK and US gallon until I moved to Canada.

[froglett]

Thanks guys. Im glad they can have deeper water. It'll be easier to keep clean.

I have no idea how big the tank is in us gallons.

Probably gonna be a couple weeks at least before the tank will be ready. Still need to buy sand and cycle it.
Im gonna use the external filter from the tropical tank we've recently set up so hopefully won't take too long

[mpmistr]

Yeah my height is 24 inches. They will go to the top and just chill up there for extended periods of time. So unless it's 20 feet deep, I doubt your average aquarium heighth will be an issue.

Wow 24 inches is pretty high. You may want to fill the tank up maybe up to 18 or so that would make it impossible for the frogs to escape. I think they can swim the two feet for air no problem but their life may be easier if you kept it at 18" or so tops. What are the overall dimensions of the tank? ACF prefer L&W over H, it gives them more room to swim (and they love to swim).

Then again at that depth running a HOB will be hard, honestly most tanks are 21" high tops.. are you sure it's two US feet deep?

[rodsboys]

Wow 24 inches is pretty high. You may want to fill the tank up maybe up to 18 or so that would make it impossible for the frogs to escape. I think they can swim the two feet for air no problem but their life may be easier if you kept it at 18" or so tops. What are the overall dimensions of the tank? ACF prefer L&W over H, it gives them more room to swim (and they love to swim).

Then again at that depth running a HOB will be hard, honestly most tanks are 21" high tops.. are you sure it's two US feet deep?

I was under the impression that packer was living the dream with a 180 gallon. 6' X 2' X 2'.

[froglett]

This is the tank so far. I washed and added the sand today. Still waiting for the wood to sink too.
I have the silk plants ordered and waiting for them to be delivered.

[packer43064]

Wow 24 inches is pretty high. You may want to fill the tank up maybe up to 18 or so that would make it impossible for the frogs to escape. I think they can swim the two feet for air no problem but their life may be easier if you kept it at 18" or so tops. What are the overall dimensions of the tank? ACF prefer L&W over H, it gives them more room to swim (and they love to swim).

Then again at that depth running a HOB will be hard, honestly most tanks are 21" high tops.. are you sure it's two US feet deep?

The 180 is 72 inches in length by 24 inches in width by 24 inches high. 6X2X2. They love it in there. Not worried about the 24 inch in height. Their always swimming around near the outtakes or chilling at the bottom. Plenty of room for them to explore with it being 6 feet long. They do make some 30 inch high tanks, usually 300 gallons or more. Just not many.

Agreed, with HOB filters it would be hard to filter it. That's why I have a sump and a canister filter along with the 2 HOB's. I figured it would be too much filtration with over 11X turnover an hour, but they seem to enjoy it when their up top and the bottom doesn't get much current so they get best of both worlds.

Can't wait until I get more and really get to see them all exploring!

[mpmistr]

That is awesome. I wish I had a tank of that size, I am keeping my 3 ACF in a 40B and it seems pretty spacious, I bet with a 180G you could probably have more than quite a few ACF!

Honestly I'd keep the water depth around 20 inches (or 4" below max, if your tank is 24" high), I think at that depth the chances of an ACF escaping are virtually nil. (I'd still keep a top though) I wouldn't worry too much about filtration or current, unless it's like a river rapid in your tank or something. I use an Eheim 2217 on my 40B, which I think is a bit beefy for an aquarium of that size and I have no issues. I do keep the spray bar directed toward the glass though to cut down a bit on current. HOB are kind of meh, I don't care for the noise they make and Whispers are the best HOB for these frogs IMO but they take up a lot of real estate inside you tank.. ever since I picked up a canister I don't think I can go back to a HOB again.

Here's some tips (from a newb who is still learning):

--Add some floating plants, they love floating plants a LOT. I have read that apparently keeping floating plants actually lowers their instinct to jump and escape (oddly enough I tossed a bunch of my floating plants because they kept getting algae-ridden and my frog flew the coop a few days later -- go figure). At night my frogs all rest in my floating plants with their noses poked out above the water, pretty sure they are sleeping when doing this. They will almost always exhibit this behavior if there are floating plants present so I assume it makes them happier. Some good examples would be pennywort, watersprite, indian fern, amazon frogbit, ect..

--People say that hiding spaces aren't 100% necessary but.. they really like having hiding places.. I made some caves out of mopani driftwood in my tank and they make great use of it. It just seems to make them very content to have a place to hide out. During the day my frogs almost always are hanging out in their driftwood caves, it just makes them feel secure and reduces their stress I guess.

--I think rather than silk plants perhaps you could add some real plants? Anubias, Java fern, Crypts (they root well and frogs love to hide in them!), Java moss, ect. Helps a lot with water quality too (ACF are poo machines.. plants help absorb waste). These are all low light plants (ACF hate bright lights anyways) and don't really have any special needs (Crypts might like having a root tab under them though).

[tgampper]

I don't think there is any rule concerning water depth. My opinion is that you should do what works best for the frogs. I keep my tank water level at 12 inches. There have been records of these frogs spawning in a 2.5 gallon tank!