African Clawed Frogs

[Deku]

Umm weird thing about it is. I've heard her make "clicking" sounds a few times. Like very very rare. But she's done it.

[Felis]

Clicking sounds mean that she doesn´t want to be amplexed/touched. Mine do this quite regularly, also when competing for food etc.

[Deku]

Clicking sounds mean that she doesn´t want to be amplexed/touched. Mine do this quite regularly, also when competing for food etc.

My apologies for the late reply(hectic week). Thank you for that bit.

[Jenste]

Personally, I would stock with more frogs. I also am big with planted tanks.
My 72 gallon had 12 (or was it 13?) frogs at one point and I might even had been tempted to squeeze a few more in.

I had a fairly heavily planted bottom of amazon swords - tie their roots to large (half the size of your palm or so) thin flat rocks and bury in sand and they will not be uprooted. I also had a large canopy of water wisteria. I left it floating and it grew to a thickness of 6 inches at times. I turned it with my hands every other day so that all the plants got enough light to stay green and monthly I threw out or gave out bucketfuls until I had trimmed the growth by about 1/3-1/2. It grows like mad in all of my tanks.

Looking forward to your set up - - please give lots of pictures during and after setup

[Deku]

Personally, I would stock with more frogs. I also am big with planted tanks.
My 72 gallon had 12 (or was it 13?) frogs at one point and I might even had been tempted to squeeze a few more in.

I had a fairly heavily planted bottom of amazon swords - tie their roots to large (half the size of your palm or so) thin flat rocks and bury in sand and they will not be uprooted. I also had a large canopy of water wisteria. I left it floating and it grew to a thickness of 6 inches at times. I turned it with my hands every other day so that all the plants got enough light to stay green and monthly I threw out or gave out bucketfuls until I had trimmed the growth by about 1/3-1/2. It grows like mad in all of my tanks.

Looking forward to your set up - - please give lots of pictures during and after setup

ummm... I know this is going to sound weird. But would you perhaps take pictures on how you actually manage to tie them to something without them getting destroyed?
If anything I'm looking for two things:

1)Tough, very prolific surface dweller plants(ones that will provide the frogs some "rest")--- I actually like lily pads but I'm n ot sure if its possible to grow them in tanks.

2)Any plant that is EXTREMELY tough(I.E. Doesn't rip appart easily), very durable(beginner plant basically), very easy to keep rooted(unlike anacharis and cabombas--- which I tried and I cried for a bit "not really but you get the picture") in the tank.

I currently have TONS of fake plastic plants that go in the foreground digged under sand. I'm thinking of using some of my left over "egg" crates(basically think of like a chain fence-- but plastic of course), then tying the plants roots on it(or stalk or whatevers sturdier) then putting it in the tank first(while its without water or sand) then pour in the sand over it(so its evenly rooted)and then put the water in(add a couple flat river stones-- because I'm picky about looks to prevent it from ever floating up),

Oh the plants leaves must be tough because if they're not--- they'll float to the filter and clog it and I would be very sad about this.

this set up has to be a 100% mess-free. (i.e. a week or two after its cycle is done I expect it not to smell like toilet, or the water clarity is obscure, or the filters getting clogged)


I hope this new food I'm giving it helps reduce any "mess". Because my current frog doesn't poop like a turtle would(pooping machine--- trust me even the tiniest baby turtle is still messier than an african clawed frog)

I'd go on youtube to see some set ups. But I kinda don't trust youtube since it maybe just some "expert" claiming to know what he/she is doing and really just giving others bad tips(which is like 90% of all the animal care videos)

I remember that it may have been you whom I thought was the african clawed frog prince/princess(not sure yet) someone here regarded as an expert on them.

Anyways. I just hope that if I can keep 13 frogs I'd keep all types of african clawed frogs(naturals, lab, albino, rectics, piebalds, and anything out there)

I'm to ratio it like this 1m: 2f

So If I had to pick I'd say....

Albino:1m 1f(they're okay but not my fav color lol)
Natural: 2m : 4f(I'd choose these over the lab raised ones though)
Piebalds: 3 total(kinda more fun to look at)
Rectic: 1m: 1f(it's a bit better than albino but still)

Total frogs: 13

I'm hoping to get this done by the end of summer. I'm trying to think it completely through and then gather the parts piece by piece

Their diet will consist(and currently consist)of:
-Xenopus express' XL Adult frog pellets
-Frozen krill or shrimp(every other feeding)
-Earthworms(Treat day-- extra feeding day)
-Crickets(once a month-- I'd go for roaches but.. doubt tenants would be happy on that)

[Jenste]

It is very easy to do and I will see if I can hunt down any pictures of how I tied them down. I also have used two lily plants in my tanks with success. The dwarf lily (has reddish green leaves) and the common banana plant. The dwarf lily has sent lily pads all the way across the surface of my 72 bow and has survived ACF and axolotls.

The amazon sword I cannot swear by enough. It grows in thick, shady and luscious with no work lol - my kind of plant!

[Deku]

It is very easy to do and I will see if I can hunt down any pictures of how I tied them down. I also have used two lily plants in my tanks with success. The dwarf lily (has reddish green leaves) and the common banana plant. The dwarf lily has sent lily pads all the way across the surface of my 72 bow and has survived ACF and axolotls.

The amazon sword I cannot swear by enough. It grows in thick, shady and luscious with no work lol - my kind of plant!

what about ones meant for ponds? like the lily pads that are somewhat large.

[Jenste]

I tried a few pond plants myself and here is where I caution you - - they need HIGH levels off ammonia to feed off of and can be highly demanding for oxygen/light/nutrients etc that cannot be met in an aquarium. I did not have success with them.

I have had lots of success with amazon swords, dwarf lilies, banana plants, moss balls, ludwigia, and wisteria. I have never had to tinker with my tank to accommodate them and never dosed any fertilizers, chemicals, C02 etc.... Which is preferable to me as the less I have to alter in a tank, the better I feel about the tank.

[Deku]

I tried a few pond plants myself and here is where I caution you - - they need HIGH levels off ammonia to feed off of and can be highly demanding for oxygen/light/nutrients etc that cannot be met in an aquarium. I did not have success with them.

I have had lots of success with amazon swords, dwarf lilies, banana plants, moss balls, ludwigia, and wisteria. I have never had to tinker with my tank to accommodate them and never dosed any fertilizers, chemicals, C02 etc.... Which is preferable to me as the less I have to alter in a tank, the better I feel about the tank.

I guess I'd go with floating moss balls and I'll check the rest out too.

[mpmistr]

I tried a few pond plants myself and here is where I caution you - - they need HIGH levels off ammonia to feed off of and can be highly demanding for oxygen/light/nutrients etc that cannot be met in an aquarium. I did not have success with them.

I have had lots of success with amazon swords, dwarf lilies, banana plants, moss balls, ludwigia, and wisteria. I have never had to tinker with my tank to accommodate them and never dosed any fertilizers, chemicals, C02 etc.... Which is preferable to me as the less I have to alter in a tank, the better I feel about the tank.

Well, vallisneria americana is a pond plant that does well in my aquarium. Anubias and Java Fern are probably the de facto African Clawed Frog plants because they're rugged, but slow growers and Anubias in particular, is expensive. If anyone does Anubias I would add fast growing plants with it to suck up nitrates because slow growing and broad leafed plants like Anubias are big time algae magnets.. the shade/nutrient sucking floating plants will help it do better if grown submerged.

All the plants you listed though work fine, though Ludwigia is a bit on the difficult side.

My personal favorite for ACF is floating water sprite, the thin leafed variety known also as India Fern. It's a very fast grower and a nutrient sucker, sadly it's not be doing well in my tank lately.. I think adding duckweed was a mistake. Nothing sucks nutrients up quite like duckweed..

[Jenste]

OK don't laugh. I couldn't find any pictures of how I had tied down my plants and I didn't want to uproot any of my large ones right now as they are really well rooted now.

To explain the colors (in case they aren't clear lol) The green is the plant. The gray is the rock. The browns are the roots. The pink is how I tie the thread.

I first wrap the sewing thread around the base of the plant, right where the root system begins. Next I spread the root system and wedge the rock right up into it. I wrap half of the roots around the rock and then wrap the thread around the roots, binding them to the rock in a crisscross pattern to hold them in place. I leave about 1/3-1/2 of the roots free by the time I am done. I pull more roots down and bind them based on how the stability is feeling. Every now and then after doing a few (maybe a half dozen lashes or so) around the rock, I do a loop (or a few) around the base of the plant at the beginning of the roots and the do more crisscrosses etc.

It is a trial by error because every rock has a different shape and texture. I personally prefer oval shaped, slightly irregular rocks as the thread can cling between the nooks and crannies.

If my magical drawing isn't helpful let me know and tomorrow during water changes I will dig around in one of my smaller tanks for a younger plant and do a picture demonstration

[Deku]

OK don't laugh. I couldn't find any pictures of how I had tied down my plants and I didn't want to uproot any of my large ones right now as they are really well rooted now.

To explain the colors (in case they aren't clear lol) The green is the plant. The gray is the rock. The browns are the roots. The pink is how I tie the thread.

I first wrap the sewing thread around the base of the plant, right where the root system begins. Next I spread the root system and wedge the rock right up into it. I wrap half of the roots around the rock and then wrap the thread around the roots, binding them to the rock in a crisscross pattern to hold them in place. I leave about 1/3-1/2 of the roots free by the time I am done. I pull more roots down and bind them based on how the stability is feeling. Every now and then after doing a few (maybe a half dozen lashes or so) around the rock, I do a loop (or a few) around the base of the plant at the beginning of the roots and the do more crisscrosses etc.

It is a trial by error because every rock has a different shape and texture. I personally prefer oval shaped, slightly irregular rocks as the thread can cling between the nooks and crannies.

If my magical drawing isn't helpful let me know and tomorrow during water changes I will dig around in one of my smaller tanks for a younger plant and do a picture demonstration

Although your drawing is magical... it's not magical enough for me to get it. These instructions I'd understand more by pictures.