African Clawed/Filter

[Blake Garner]

Thank you for that information! I was worried I was scaring the little guy to death with my filter. I can't wait to see the little guy grow! They are so impressive as adults but man is he ever a tiny little guy now.

[Jenste]

Diet will definitely change that!!

A great staple diet for them is Reptomin, or HBH/ Zoomed frog and tadpole bites.
If you have the stomach for it, sliced up earthworms (make them bite size) is a fabulous meal - just make sure you avoid catching worms from your yard as you don't know what kind of fertlizers/chemicals they may have come in contact with in your/your neighbors yards. Buying from a bait store or even Walmart is convenient.
Avoid bloodworms, they can cause bloat which is fairly nasty for ACF to deal with.

Substrate should also be considered due to the gluttony of the species - they SHOVE food into their mouths with their hands. Meaning that a small piece of gravel is fair game in a feeding frenzy. Best to stick with bare bottom, tiles, or sand so that if it is ingested it can be passed without discomfort for the frog.

[celticstarb]

I agree with everything Jen said, but would like to add that I prefer not to use air driven filters. And while your frog is small cover small intakes, like HOB filters, with a sponge. Once they are about half grown, this won't be necessary.

As a personal choice, I use sinking xenopus pellets from Xenopus Express. I also feed night crawlers once a week. Like Jen said, stay clear of blood worms, but also don't use brine shrimp unless the package says enriched. Brine shrimp won't harm your frog, but offer very little nutritional value.

I use bare bottom until the frogs are around 1 1/2 to 2 inches SVL. Then I use play sand. At this size, they can easily pass any sand they accidentally ingest.

[Blake Garner]

Allow me to introduce him to everyone! He is in a 10 gallon tank with a glass top and a Marineland BIO-wheel rated for a 20 gallon. I am thinking of re-evaluating the black gravel in light of the danger it may pose.

[celticstarb]

He's a cutie! Needs a little fattening up, but that will correct itself with proper care. Pet stores are notorious for not understanding proper care of aquatic frogs, so most frogs bought from pet stores are skinny. Night crawlers are great for putting weight on a frog. Make sure not to buy the dyed night crawlers (I think they are marketed as glow worms.) Try to avoid the red worms sold as fish bait, as these aren't very tasty and may put your frog off worms.

I like the feeding dish. I use terra cotta saucers for my frogs. Helps keep the tank clean and monitor food intake.

I agree with removing the gravel. If you don't like the look of a bare bottom tank, you could paint the outside of the bottom with fleckstone paint so it looks like a sandy bottom.

Since you are used to aquariums, you know you will have to do daily water changes until the tank is fully cycled.

[Blake Garner]

Fortunately the filter and the filter media came out of one of my fish tanks so it is already fully cycled! Huge plus! Interestingly enough I was using this 10 gallon to house my dubia roaches for my beardie and my tree frog and I thought to myself, "Okay, this tank could be used for something so much cooler than roaches..."

And I figured I would try out an ACF once again! I had one years ago named Herman, god rest his soul. I pretty much had no idea what I was doing back then as a novice 17-year-old pet keeper and I feel that Herman's little life would have been longer lived if I had of! This go around I'm trying my best to dot my Ts and cross my I's so this little guy will be long lived and happy.

[celticstarb]

There is definitely a learning curve we all have when keeping pets. It doesn't help that pet stores often have no idea how to keep the animals they sell.

Having a cycled filter is definitely a plus. I keep two 5 gallon buckets filled with cycled K1 for aquariums. One for saltwater and one for fresh. I add ammonium chloride once a week to feed the bacteria. I haven't tried it for frogs yet because I think the clicking caused by the media would be annoying for them.

You will do great with this guy. Like Jen said, any questions, just ask. There are lots of good people here ready to help.