questions about my ADF (new owner)

[marissakraker]

Hi, so about six months ago a friend gave my 1 1/2 year old a setup that included a african dwarf frog. I've done some research and find alot of different opinions on many things. right now he is in a 30gal tank with half sand and half rocks. I've heard to use sand since its softer on their bellies but then i hear not to use it. so far no issues with him eating the sand, so is it okay? also when we got him i did not know what to feed him so the guy at the fish store said bloodworms, so i've been feeding him live bloodworms and i just put them in the tank and he eats when he wants to. i read not to do this but its worked for over 6 months do you think its okay? i also read somewhere not to feed them live bloodworms, what are your thoughts? he seems to enjoy them alot. can i also feed him live brine shrimp instead of frozen? my daughter loves this frog so i want to do whats best for him, he seems very happy in his tank, but should i add more frogs or some other companion? any advise would be helpful, thank you =) i would normally have done all the research before getting the animal, but like i said the hubby had a friend that stopped by with a tank setup while i was at work so this was a surprise but we are happy with our little froggie.

[Tongue Flicker]

Worms tend to be fattening and may cause bloating if a lot at once is given and eaten. Try brine shrimp if they take it. They could even eat fish fry if its not a bother to you giving them

[Felis]

Hi,

I prefer sand over gravel in frog tanks because food can´t sink in and the frogs can poop out some sand corns if they accidentally devour them (that´s not possible with fine gravel).
ADFs are best fed with a variety of small enough wet frozen or live food items, such as brine shrimps, black mosquito larvae, glassworms, daphnia, enchytraea, tubifex, mysis, chopped earthworms, bloodworms etc. I don´t recommend to feed exclusively on bloodworms, because they don´t contain all the nutrients a frog needs to stay healthy and they seem to promote dropsy if given in large amounts. If your frog isn´t used to frozen food, it may take some time until it recognizes it as food. In that case, you would need to remove uneaten leftovers after about an hour to keep the water clean, but the frog will eventually learn to eat it
Is there only one frog in the 30 gal. or is this a community tank? Fish usually are much more greedy when it´s feeding time, so you would have to make sure that the frog gets enough food. Also, ADFs are rather sociable animals, so maybe you would like to consider adopting some more conspecifics.

[marissakraker]

Hi,

I prefer sand over gravel in frog tanks because food can´t sink in and the frogs can poop out some sand corns if they accidentally devour them (that´s not possible with fine gravel).
ADFs are best fed with a variety of small enough wet frozen or live food items, such as brine shrimps, black mosquito larvae, glassworms, daphnia, enchytraea, tubifex, mysis, chopped earthworms, bloodworms etc. I don´t recommend to feed exclusively on bloodworms, because they don´t contain all the nutrients a frog needs to stay healthy and they seem to promote dropsy if given in large amounts. If your frog isn´t used to frozen food, it may take some time until it recognizes it as food. In that case, you would need to remove uneaten leftovers after about an hour to keep the water clean, but the frog will eventually learn to eat it
Is there only one frog in the 30 gal. or is this a community tank? Fish usually are much more greedy when it´s feeding time, so you would have to make sure that the frog gets enough food. Also, ADFs are rather sociable animals, so maybe you would like to consider adopting some more conspecifics.

ok thank you, i will add more sand for him. yes it is only one frog by himself in the 30 gal tank. we want to get more ADFs to keep him company, my daughter just loves watching him so i figure more will be nice for her and the frog. okay thank you for the food suggestions, the people at the fish store didn't seem to know too much. i will go buy some other food for him today. i hear some people saying you can feed pellets and some form of stick food? as well. also do you recommend feeding on a small dish? i do not now as i didn't know much and was just sort of given the frog randomly.
thanks again for all help. also i do have a filter, its turned to the lowest setting and he does not seem to be bothered by it at all, in fact he will hang out behind the filter, but i am reading not to have a filter with these frogs? so i am going to get a few more ADFs for him, would you recommend any other animals or just stick to just the frogs?

[Mentat]

Sand is fine as long as it is not the sharper quartz or black sand. Felis gave you many good feeding options and will find more in here: http://www.frogforum.net/care-sheet-...warf-frog.html. Although Sandy strongly advocates live feeding; you can also feed same foods in frozen versions if live is not available locally. Do not feed freeze dried foods to frogs! Some owners do feed their aquatic foods pellets like Reptomin. If using those, will need to crush and maybe pre-soak them so it fits in frogs mouths.

Myself recommend keep the frogs to themselves. When getting companions, you might want to consider the possibility of introducing pathogens with them and quarantine the new ones in a separate tank for a couple weeks to insure they are OK.

If your filter is working OK with frog do keep it. It does a great job harboring beneficial bacteria that reduce ammonia and nitrites in tank. As long as filter flow allows frogs to reach surface and pause there to breath; it will be OK. Good luck !

[marissakraker]

Sand is fine as long as it is not the sharper quartz or black sand. Felis gave you many good feeding options and will find more in here: http://www.frogforum.net/care-sheet-...warf-frog.html. Although Sandy strongly advocates live feeding; you can also feed same foods in frozen versions if live is not available locally. Do not feed freeze dried foods to frogs! Some owners do feed their aquatic foods pellets like Reptomin. If using those, will need to crush and maybe pre-soak them so it fits in frogs mouths.

Myself recommend keep the frogs to themselves. When getting companions, you might want to consider the possibility of introducing pathogens with them and quarantine the new ones in a separate tank for a couple weeks to insure they are OK.

If your filter is working OK with frog do keep it. It does a great job harboring beneficial bacteria that reduce ammonia and nitrites in tank. As long as filter flow allows frogs to reach surface and pause there to breath; it will be OK. Good luck !

thank you, yes i got fine sand no black sand. i have been feeding him live food so am thinking maybe i should continue? thank you for the advice for the pellets as i just bought some today. i also tried the live brine shrimp and he loved them. okay if i get another frog i will definitely quarantine it so i don't get him sick. thank you so much!