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Thread: Xenopus muelleri

  1. #1
    chris michaels
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    Default Xenopus muelleri

    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

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  3. #2

    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    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.
    African Bullfrogs, Clawed Frogs, Salamanders, Newts, Bearded Dragons,

  4. #3
    chris michaels
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    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

  5. #4
    Moderator tgampper's Avatar
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Quote Originally Posted by chris michaels View Post
    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)
    Terry Gampper
    Nebraska Herpetological Society




    “If we can discover the meaning in the trilling of a frog, perhaps we may understand why it is for us not merely noise but a song of poetry and emotion.”
    ---
    Adrian Forsyth

  6. #5
    Moderator tgampper's Avatar
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Quote Originally Posted by chris michaels View Post
    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.

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  8. #6
    chris michaels
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    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

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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Hi Chris - nice of you to pop in.
    Founder of Frogforum.net (2008) and Caudata.org (2001)

  10. #8
    chris michaels
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Hi John

    I have been a-lurking and a-reading, and now finally have some frogs to actually post about!

    Chris

  11. #9
    chris michaels
    Guest

    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Here are some pictures. They are all of the female, apart from the one of the eyes poking above the water's surface, as the male is more shy - the female tries to eat the camera, the male hides!

    They are not great, but they show the patterning nicely, and you can kind of see the tentacle in some of the pictures.

    Chris
    Attached Images Attached Images        

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  13. #10
    TommyBoi
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Hey there!! Great pics of X. Muelleri!! I would love to have a pair of these some day,I was wondering if there are any places, or labs, that do sell them...Good luck on the breeding, and I know this is an older post, but keep me posted, as Im a HUGE ACF fan, and am looking to expand my colony, and acquire new Xenopus species as well!! - Tom

  14. #11
    Moderator tgampper's Avatar
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Quote Originally Posted by TommyBoi View Post
    Hey there!! Great pics of X. Muelleri!! I would love to have a pair of these some day,I was wondering if there are any places, or labs, that do sell them...Good luck on the breeding, and I know this is an older post, but keep me posted, as Im a HUGE ACF fan, and am looking to expand my colony, and acquire new Xenopus species as well!! - Tom
    Hi Tom:

    I have seen a variety of Xenopus sp., such as X. laevis, X. borealis, X. muelleri and Silurana (X.) tropicalis, for sale at Xenopus Express (Xenopus Express Homepage) and at eNasco (eNASCO Online Catalogs Worldwide Service To Education, Health, Agriculture, Industry). Occasionally, you will see X. fraseri and X. amieti and other lesser known species for sale.

    It is difficult to tell the difference between X. laevis and X. muelleri without doing some genetic testing. However, there is one visual clue that will help: the subocular tentacle (an extension just below the eye) of X. muelleri is more than half [twice] the diameter of the eye (very noticeable). The subocular tentacle of X. laevis is less than half the diameter of the eye (barely visible).
    Last edited by tgampper; March 28th, 2011 at 09:12 AM. Reason: incorrect info in brackets [twice]

  15. #12
    TommyBoi
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Hey T. Thanks for the info. Xenopus Express is where I've always gotten my frogs from, since 1997. I cant believe its now been 13+ years since I started keeping african clawed frogs!! I hope to obtain some of the other species soon! And with my current stock, Im still trying to breed, but the 2 females are being real b!tche$ to the males ;o( while the males are calling, the females dodge them, and stay afloat at the top of the tanks ;o( I have both pairs, each in 20g High tanks, with several bushy plastic plants.

  16. #13
    chris michaels
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    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Well, over the winter the male has stopped calling entirely. I suspect that this is something to do with reduced photoperiod (the tank receives only indirect natural light). Hopefully with the Spring coming he will start again and I can try to get some eggs!

    I notice that you have some muelleri, now, Tommy Boi - how are they doing?

    The subocular tentacle is very obvious in my animals, so i think they are very likely to be X. muelleri.

    C

  17. #14
    dovii26
    Guest

    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Nice pics chris. Where did u get the muelleri from I think I want me a pair

  18. #15
    TommyBoi
    Guest

    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Hey Chris! My new frogs, all adult pairs (M/Fm) of:
    X. amieti; X. clivii; X. Muelleri; and CO3, are doing well, and they all look awesome, I have noticed the subocular tentacles on a pair of them, which is neat. And after my current batch of tads is out of the breeding tank, Im going to try and breed the X. Muelleri pair ;o)
    As for the number of frogs I have now:
    5 X. laevis (Adults - M/Fm Pair pigmented; Albino Male; Retic Female; albino froglet)
    2 X. borealis (Adult pair)
    2 X. boumbaensis froglets
    2 X. amieti (adult pair)
    2 X. clivii (adult pair)
    2 X. muelleri (adult pair)
    2 CO3 (from the Congo) (adult pair)
    and roughly 50 tadpoles...

  19. #16
    dovii26
    Guest

    Default Re: Xenopus muelleri

    Hi tommy can u sell me a borealis, or albino clawed. Leg me kno bro

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