My ADFs: Zig & Zag

[1buscemi]

I was reading more about different foods to feed ADF's, and saw a product called Reptomin Frog. It is specifically for aquatic frogs but wanted to know if anyone had used them before. Are they good to feed to them? I wanted to give them more variety and thought this would be good to give them

[Jenste]

I use Reptomin all the time with my frogs. They come in a variety of sizes and are floating.

It takes them a little while to learn to look for floating food if they are used to sinking food - especially if they are in a tank with fish, you have to distract the fish so the frogs can have a chance to eat, or use a turkey baster to squirt the pellets out infront of their face.

I definitely recommend Reptomin though!!!

[TommyBoi]

Great pics! I love the whole setup, its very colorful..and ESPECIALLY, LOVE the Spongebob Pineapple hut!!

[1buscemi]

Thank you so much for your responses. I actually called Tetra because no stores around me sell Reptomin Frog, and they're sending me a bottle if it free!!!

I'm very happy I upgraded their tank, they seem to be loving it. Since I put tem in it they were playing and swimming all over the place, and all day today they were exhausted!!!

[Jenste]

make sure they are bite sized - if not it is really easy to break them into smaller pieces for the frogs -don't want them to choke!

[1buscemi]

Absolutely...I had given them brine shrimp for a little bit, they didn't like them so I am excited to try something new!! As soon as they come in and I feed them I'll let you know how it goes!!

[1buscemi]

So one of my frogs, I'm pretty sure it's Zig, the female, has been hiding since yesterday. She hasn't even come up for air or anything. She is huddled under the plant and has her arms and legs all tightly tucked into her body.

Not even to eat did she come up, Zag ate all of the food!!

Is this normal? Is it becaue she's shy?

[1buscemi]

If she is preparing to possibly lay some eggs, what would t hat look like? What should I look for? She has been in the bottom corner all day, no movement. She managed to dig herself a little spot under the plant and she's been hibernating there. By her but it looks like the white head if a pimple, ready to blow!!!!

What does this mean???

[1buscemi]

Well now it's just my adf zig...

....zag died today

[1buscemi]

Zig and Zag are both gone now....I have no idea what happened they were upside down for a while, and rheum that was it...I have no clue what it could have been, if anyone knows what could have caused this I would really really appreciate it...

[WaterFrog]

Oh no!! I'm so sorry As you know I'm new to frogs but not so new to fish keeping..it could of been an ammonia spike with the tank not being cycled....could of been allot of things I suppose but if the tank wasn't cycled and you were not changing the water daily with a good conditioner like prime to keep it safer during the cycle then its a possibility. Generally the smaller the tank the harder it is to keep because things can effect a smaller tank much quicker then they would a larger one (it's not impossible though). I hope you don't give up on frogs but maybe make sure all the water parameters are good first. You can get liquid test kits to test the water ammonia, nitrite, nitrate etc. Test strips are unfortunately inaccurate. I know many people will say air breathers do not need good water quality (like bettas) but it simply isn't true...or fair to the aquatic creatures. You can search things on how to cycle a tank (fishless preferred) I wish you the best, so sorry again! Hopefully more experienceed ADF keepers will be able to help more.

[1buscemi]

I tested the water and everything was in the required range...I'm thinking maybe an infection...definitely going to adopt more frogs.

[WaterFrog]

That's awful! It was Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0 and some Nitrate (kept as low as possible)? Was anything different with your PH? Maybe you should tear down the tank and clean everything well to get rid of anything that might infect new ADFs then recycle it. Id just hate for you to lose new ones to the same thing.

On a happier note what kind of frogs are you going to get, more ADFs or planning for something else?

[LilyPad]

I'm so sorry for your loss How terrible.

[Jenste]

I am so so sorry about Zag!!!

Before adopting any other froggies...make sure Zig is still healthy. You were a little concerned about her behavior not long ago. I would keep her by herself for a couple months to make sure she is not also ill.

Then, when getting new frogs, make sure you quarantine them for at least 4 weeks before adding them into Zig's tank to make sure they are not ill.


ADF are very sensitive to ammonia.
Can I ask what your readings are for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?
Also, if you are using paper test strips - be warned that they are very unreliable. There could be a high level of ammonia or nitrite and the tests may not show any indication.
The best test kit is a liquid one and they last for a very long time.

[LilyPad]

I am so so sorry about Zag!!!

Before adopting any other froggies...make sure Zig is still healthy. You were a little concerned about her behavior not long ago. I would keep her by herself for a couple months to make sure she is not also ill.

Then, when getting new frogs, make sure you quarantine them for at least 4 weeks before adding them into Zig's tank to make sure they are not ill.


ADF are very sensitive to ammonia.
Can I ask what your readings are for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?
Also, if you are using paper test strips - be warned that they are very unreliable. There could be a high level of ammonia or nitrite and the tests may not show any indication.
The best test kit is a liquid one and they last for a very long time.

Zig also passed. Best to start over completely, get everything totally cleaned out.

[1buscemi]

I am so so sorry about Zag!!!

Before adopting any other froggies...make sure Zig is still healthy. You were a little concerned about her behavior not long ago. I would keep her by herself for a couple months to make sure she is not also ill.

Then, when getting new frogs, make sure you quarantine them for at least 4 weeks before adding them into Zig's tank to make sure they are not ill.


ADF are very sensitive to ammonia.
Can I ask what your readings are for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?
Also, if you are using paper test strips - be warned that they are very unreliable. There could be a high level of ammonia or nitrite and the tests may not show any indication.
The best test kit is a liquid one and they last for a very long time.

Yes I checked the levels yesterday. The ph was a little high, 7.6
The ammonia was between .5 and 1.0
The nitrite and nitrate were zero

I used the liquid test, where I dip the tube and take a sample of the water...it was easy and had a good scale to compare to.

I think they may have suffered from an infection based on their symptoms. Zag had a film over her eyes, I did not notice Zig's eyes because I wasn't home, and when I did get home, I was to traumatized to look at him...it was absolutely horrifying.

Any suggestions for my next frog family? How can I prevent them from getting an infection? I definitely want more adf's just not for a few weeks. I need these wounds to heal first :-(

[1buscemi]

Yesterday morning I noticed that Zag was on her back like Zig so I immediately quarantined her in a different tank, then I tested the water from the tank they're were in previously...

[WaterFrog]

Yes I checked the levels yesterday. The ph was a little high, 7.6
The ammonia was between .5 and 1.0
The nitrite and nitrate were zero

I used the liquid test, where I dip the tube and take a sample of the water...it was easy and had a good scale to compare to.

I think they may have suffered from an infection based on their symptoms. Zag had a film over her eyes, I did not notice Zig's eyes because I wasn't home, and when I did get home, I was to traumatized to look at him...it was absolutely horrifying.

Any suggestions for my next frog family? How can I prevent them from getting an infection? I definitely want more adf's just not for a few weeks. I need these wounds to heal first :-(

I'm so sorry, I know how hard it is to lose a pet.

Was it a test strip that turned different colors or did you use drops of liquid into the test tube of aquarium water?

I'm sorry but those readings are not in the required range for a cycled tank. Your tank is not cycled, it sounds like it was beginning the cycling process which is dangerous to have any aquatic animal in...even if they did die of an infection most likely the amounts of ammonia and cycling process weakened them and made them more susceptible to it...Sometimes the effects of cycling are not even immediately apparent because you can't see the damage that's been done to them internally.

A cycled safe tank should have a reading of 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and some amount of Nitrate which is less dangerous but should still be kept at low levels through regular water changes......I recommend reading up on the aquarium nitrogen cycle...cycling usually takes some time but it's worth it. Like I said before I think you should break down the aquarium and clean everything thoroughly to make sure any infection won't carry on. Never use any kind of soap or detergent for the aquarium. You can look up ways to sterilize an aquarium for more details, a good option is a bleach solution such as 1 part bleach to 20 parts water, of course everything will have to be rinsed thoroughly and it doesn't hurt to use some extra condition when initially setting back up either. Once that is all done then do a fishless/frogless cycle...once the tank is cycled & everything is stable get your new frogs. (internet search engines will yield lots of results that go in more detail on what Iv mentioned or others will elaborate) Best of luck!!