Xenopus muelleri

[chris michaels]

Hi,

I have a pair of Xenopus muelleri, which are doing well (my brother has had them for over a year, I am now keeping them). They were rescued from a petshop to which they had been given by previous owners who realised that Xenopus do not make good tropical fish tank animals.
The male, smaller than the female, has been calling frequently and the female is very plump.

Does anyone have any specific information about any way in which their ideal care may differ from X. laevis, or on how to trigger amplexus and breeding?

The animals are at about 23-24 deg. C in clean, reasonably soft, neutral water. They are fed earthworms and occasionaly other invertebrates and, needless to say, both feed very well. They have recently been moved from a harder water area, but seem to have settled down well (based on feeding, calling and other behaviours). The aquarium is in a quiet area of the house where they are only disturbed for feeding and cleaning.

Thanks

Chris

[willtilian]

please post pics. i dont know much about the subspecie of xenopus your talkin about but i think 2 in a 20 gal would be good.

[chris michaels]

Xenopus muelleri is a species, not a subspecies. I will put some pictures on when I manage to get some recognisable shots of them! There is a little bit of info this species here: Species of Xenopus

The frogs have lots of space, and are set up basically like X. laevis, but I was wondering if there are any specific differences for this species, or if anyone has any breeding experience with them.

Chris

[tgampper]

Xenopus muelleri is a species, not a subspecies. I will put some pictures on when I manage to get some recognisable shots of them! There is a little bit of info this species here: Species of Xenopus

The frogs have lots of space, and are set up basically like X. laevis, but I was wondering if there are any specific differences for this species, or if anyone has any breeding experience with them.

Chris

Hi Chris:

AmphibiaWeb has some interesting information about X. muelleri:
AmphibiaWeb - Xenopus muelleri

Would love to see pictures of your frogs

In the wild, there are two distinct species groups: muelleri "east" and muelleri "west". Both ranges are discontinuous, meaning that the groups are geographically separated. Some scientists think that muelleri "west" (from western Africa) should be a distinct species, Xenopus alboventralis, while muelleri "east" (from eastern, central and southern Africa) retain the current scientific name. The species list from the web site you mentioned is a bit outdated. There are now 18 species of Xenopus and 2 species of Silurana (sister taxon to Xenopus). All of the X. laevis subspecies have been moved to species level or merged into X. laevis. Thanks to DNA analysis, I believe there will be several new species described soon.

[chris michaels]

Hi Terry,

Thanks for your information, very interesting! I will have to find out if there are any morphological differences between the Eastern and Western forms. The link I posted was mainly for the photo - it was the best I could find! The amphibiaweb ones are not great...

I will try to get some pictures. The frogs' subocular tentacle is particularly nice!

I really want tp get these breeding, so I will try to follow breeding protocols for Xenopus laevis.

Thanks again

Chris

[John]

Hi Chris - nice of you to pop in.

[tgampper]

Hi,

I have a pair of Xenopus muelleri, which are doing well (my brother has had them for over a year, I am now keeping them). They were rescued from a petshop to which they had been given by previous owners who realised that Xenopus do not make good tropical fish tank animals.
The male, smaller than the female, has been calling frequently and the female is very plump.

Does anyone have any specific information about any way in which their ideal care may differ from X. laevis, or on how to trigger amplexus and breeding?

The animals are at about 23-24 deg. C in clean, reasonably soft, neutral water. They are fed earthworms and occasionaly other invertebrates and, needless to say, both feed very well. They have recently been moved from a harder water area, but seem to have settled down well (based on feeding, calling and other behaviours). The aquarium is in a quiet area of the house where they are only disturbed for feeding and cleaning.

Thanks

Chris

You should follow the same care guidelines as Xenopus laevis. In the wild, they are quite similar.

Here are some husbandry guidelines:
Muller's Clawed Frog (Xenopus muelleri)