Dwarf frog question

[Clover04]

Hi there

i currently have 4 dwarf frogs in my 25 gallon community fish tank. My problem is that I'm worried they're not getting enough to eat. They spend their time hiding I only see them if they come up for air. I use a dropper to get the bloodworms right to them but the fish are pigs and I can't always find them to be sure they're eating. I'm considering a small tank for just them but I can't find a place to Put it. Any suggestions for making sure they eat?

[UltraMagnus]

I've been keeping African Dwarf Frogs and fish for many years now. It can be hard to find solid info on ADF's. In my experience, it's best to keep them species only. ADF's aren't the most aggressive feeders and they have poor eye sight. Fish can usually out compete them pretty easily. You can use tongs to target feed your ADF's. It took a little getting used to but mine caught on and became vary used to feeding from tongs. Also, what are you feeding them? Mine much prefer real food over pellets. They really like little chunks of earth worms!

Also, they prefer a shorter tank vs a tall tank, makes it easier for them to get to the surface for air.

[Clover04]

I feed them bloodworms. I have pellets too but they don't eat them.

[UltraMagnus]

Bloodworms aren't really a good staple diet, especially if they are freeze dried! Freeze dried bloodworms can cause issues like impaction. Frozen bloodworms are great as a treat for sure but lacks proper nutrition. There are lots of things you can feed African Dwarf Frogs. Most pet stores sell frozen beef heart, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp and krill in cubes. I feed mine this things plus worms and fish from the store. I take catfish or talapia (both are usually pretty cheap) and cut them in to small strips then freeze the strips. Then when it's feeding time I thaw out a strip in a little cup of tank water, cut off a small bite sized chunk and target feed it to my ADF's with tongs. I also get earth worms sold as fish bait cut small chunks off and feed the little pieces to my ADF's, they like it a lot! I feed the left over earth worms to my big Cichlids so it works out good for me, might not for you since you've got a small tank.

With the frozen cubes, brine and mysis shrimp are the easiest to work with, at least in my experience. I take little bits of the cubes for the frogs, 1 cube lasts several feedings.

It's important to make sure everything is bite sized for them, they can choke if the food is too large and sometimes they have a hard time spitting food out.

Well fed, well taken care of African Dwarf Frogs can live up to 5 years and can be lots of fun! Mine even sing some times, in their own underwater way. Hopefully this helps some.

[Clover04]

Thanks, I didn't know that just frozen bloodworms weren't enough. I'll try the other cubes as well. Should I just feed one thing everyday and save bloodworms as treats? Hopefully I'll find a place for a new smaller tank just for the frogs soon. Do they require a filter?

[UltraMagnus]

other foods should be used as the staple, bloodworms are best as treats. Yes, they will require a filter and heater. Any aquatic animal requires some kind filtration. Waste = ammonia and ammonia is toxic. For just a couple frogs a 5 gallon tank works great, they are small and cheap and easy to clean. When African Dwarf Frogs are comfortable in their environment they are actually pretty active and fun little guys