African Dwarf Frogs

danifacetastic

I don't know if this is in the right forum but I'm going to get African Dwarf Frogs for my tank tomorrow...only one or two. They'll be separated cause it's a divided tank but is there a way to tell females from males? I don't want to end up with eggs.

Grimmjow

I wouldnt put them in a divided tank for two reasons, 1 they are social and 2 they like space and are active. I also had one that killed and ate the fins of a betta but from everything Ive heard and read its like unheard of and is usually the opposite.

Jbb421

I would not seperate the frogs like the previous post said they are social... also be weiry of putting small fish in with them because they will not hesitate to eat what ever is in their way.... the only way i know of to tell gender is the size of the legs... females have much bigger legs... here is a more indepth post "In H. boettgeri the males are slim and when mature they will develop a small gland behind each of their front legs. This gland is called a post-axillary subdermal gland. It looks like a small pimple. These glands apparently play some part in mating, but their role is not well understood.
The females of the species tend to be a bit larger (about 20%) than the males. They will become
almost pear-shaped when mature and their abdomen fills with eggs. The females typically have a slightly longer tail than the males.
The males of the genus are the only ones who "sing" or "hum." Like most frogs, the singing is designed to attract a mate. The males will sing even if no females are in the tank. If your dwarf frog sings, it's a male. In H. boettgeri, sexual maturity begins at about nine months of age" and here is a great site that will answer alot of your questions Dwarf Frog FAQ

RCinAL

I've kept a few African frogs over the years in community tanks. Very interesting critters. They get along well with mild mannered mid to top swimmers but will get a thrashing from aggressive bottom dwellers. They will grab and eat any fish that will fit into their mouths - neons, guppies, and other really small ones - if they happen too close. Almost anything bigger will be fine.

You must either keep the water level low or cover the tank well as they tend to be escape artists. They can't climb the glass but can find any opennings if the water level is high. A couple of mine met their demise like this. They can be hard to feed as they seem to find it by smell and feel, so the fish will beat them to all the food if you don't watch it. Mine were easily trained to eat tubifex worms and brine shrimp from my hand and would even come to the top to get it. I had to start out by using a straw to get the food right in front of them before they learned to come to me. Tubifex worms can be crammed in the end of the straw and slowly wiggled in front of their nose till they get smart about feeding and become tame enough to go for it. Females seem to eat better, get bigger, and act tamer. The best way I know to tell a female is to look for the big fat one at the store and hope for the best. None of my males did as well as the females, but maybe that was just my luck.

Crap. This is making me want another one.

Good luck.

slickscustoms

i bought two of these frogs last week. mine are not active at all. they tend to stay at the oposite ends of the tank from each other. they are very small and young im sure. they are smaller than the two guppies i have.

aunt kymmie

LMAO, I think you should get another one.

Chicklet

The first few I bought of these guys refused to eat anything I gave them,
Even live foods they ignored until they finally died.

However I have since bought some again and they have all done excellent
They stay together in the same tank and eat most anything that comes their way,
They become especially active after getting frozen blood worms, They really seem to enjoy those.
I keep them house with young Cherry barbs, Zebra Danio's, Guppies and whatever else I drop in there to finish growing out,
They have yet to bother any of the fish.
They are kept in a covered tank with lots of floating watersprite, They really do seem to enjoy hanging around in that stuff.

kaythenewbie

As for mine, I keep them with small fish and ghost shrimp with no problems. You do have to make sure your tank is well covered. I even had to cover where my heater dial is and my filter's outflow with wire mesh.

The easiest way to tell males from females is by looking at their armpits. The males will have a white dot or pimple under their arms and the females don't. But it's pretty hard to spot. I keep one male and one female in my tank, they will eat their own eggs and the fish eat eggs too, so I haven't had any tadpoles swimming in my tank.

Feeding them can be a pain. Although bottom dwellers, they aren't good scavengers. I hand feed mine using tweezers to hold the food and dangle it about one inch above their heads. Then they'll jump and strike at it. Mine have learned to recognize the tweezers and will go to them as soon as they notice my arm in the tank. I feed them frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, and frog pellets. Be sure to soak their food for a bit in warm dechlorinated water or the frogs will develop intestinal problems/blockages.

I don't know if this goes for all frogs or just mine, but my frogs have discovered that they love algae wafers and sometimes zucchini (which is in the tank for some otos). Although the frogs seem completely oblivious to their own food no matter how close it is to them, they will hunt out algae wafers no matter where I hide them in the tank. So you could try feeding them that occasionally too.

danifacetastic

I got a pipette from a science teacher at school today and I'm going to try and feed them frog pellets and freeze dried blood worms and shrimp.What other kind of veggies could I put a slice of in there so hopefully the frog can nibble on?

RCinAL

I would try kaythenewbie's algae wafer trick. That sounds like the easiest way to get some vegetable in their diet to me. My kid is suposed to bring one from school next week from a science teacher too. Looking forward to it.