Well as the title states, I'm not "technically new." I joined this forum about a year ago when I was attempting to raise 4 African Dwarf Frogs. Sadly, they all passed- and after the horrors of faulty cycling I decided to attempt "fish-less cycling" with pure ammonia this year. After 70 days the tank was FINALLY cycled 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 60 ppm nitrate. I performed a 50% water change which brought my nitrates to about 25ppm. After 2 hours I then performed another 30-40% water change, and my nitrates read 5-10 ppm. So with readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-10 nitrate I purchased 2 juvenile African Dwarf Frogs.

The smart *** guy at the pet store dropped my female on the GROUND when I asked him to "take her out so I can make sure she was indeed female." He just took her out of the water with a net and held the net out in front of me like "here look." She almost immediately jumped right out of the net. Luckily the kid wasn't very tall (she didn't fall very far), and after thorough examination- all of her legs are fulling working, breathing appears 100% normal, and I'm not noticing any odd neurological behaviors either. The female seems extremely shy, I'm not sure if this is her normal personality or if today's events just completely stressed her. She's been hiding mostly in between the two times I've seen her dart to the top of the tank for air. The male definitely seems to be the "curious" one out of the two. When first added to the tank he spent about an hour exploring under every single structure and plant. He even attempted to eat a large plant root out from under a rock (which scared me) but he quickly spat it out and swam away realizing it was entirely too large to swallow. He's now resting peacefully under a log house (probably waiting for me to turn off the damn light and feed him!) As I've been typing this my female has meandered out of her hiding spot and she seems to be looking for food. Hooray, I think both are gonna do fine, and I hope they like each other because I intend to breed them (to begin a colony of ADFs in a 50 gallon tank I am about to cycle).

I think I'll name them Bonnie and Clyde.

I am open to any questions or comments. I consider myself extremely educated in this hobby(through years of reading/studying and proper education), although I am still a beginner, and would love to discuss frogs/aquariums with anyone!

If anyone would like me to post my fish-less cycling data using pure ammonia/water mixture I would be happy to! I find comparing data with a "successful cycling" story is a great way to make sure your cycle is "on track."

Thanks for reading!
Emma