African Clawed/Filter

[Blake Garner]

Hello all!

I got Harold last night from a local pet shop and I am very excited! Harold is an albino African clawed frog and he is extremely small. I can't imagine he is very old.

Now for my quandary. I have read that having a filter for these guys is extremely harmful and can cause them to be very stressed due to them being highly sensory perceptive and accustomed to stagnant water. Now I am a fish keeper first and foremost so the idea of having a little 10 gallon tank unfiltered seems like heresy and its hard for me to do so. But I guess my question is, do any of you keep them with filters and if so, what kind and how do you know it isn't freaking their little world's out constantly? I'll do whatever is best for the little guy but not using a filter with such a small water column freaks me out...

[Jenste]

They are just fine with a filter, that is some outdated information that still loves circling around. I always over filter my tanks and have had nothing but success in doing so.

I have done a range of filters from internals such as the Fluval U3 or U4, Hang on the back Emperor filters, and external canister filters such as a Fluval 405 and a Cascade 1500s.

It is just about getting the right filter and making sure it fits in your tank. For a 10 gallon a Fluval U2 internal would be great and wouldn't interfere with a lid. You can also look into a Stingray but I prefer to have more filtration as these guys will have the bioload of a goldfish once adult sized, which for an ACF does not take long!

Trust me, the first few moments of you turning on the filter it may be like, Hey? What was that? and then cease to care. They are more startled by the lights turning on than anything else (Make sure you have no rough decor as they swim rapidly around when started and have very poor eyesight.)

You are going to have a lot of fun with your little guy! They quickly learn the bringer of food and many here like to hand feed their frogs when they just have one (can be a pain when you keep colonies).

Any questions please feel free to ask.

Oh, and WELCOME!

[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.