Adf Tank Recommendations

[Fish_Girl]

Hi all! Basically as the title says im looking for recommendations for a new tank for my 5 ADF's. They are currently in a rather old Rekord 60 and im dying to replace it with something a little nicer! I highly doubt we will be getting anymore fish, the most i would think about getting in the next few years would be a Betta, but that is a very big maybe! im perfectly happy with my 5 little robust froggies right now and want to get them a new home, so could anyone recommend something? Have been looking around online and having a hard time finding something that is a similar size in volume to the rekord 60 but that isnt ugly/has a small opening on lid/is too high. Does anyone out there have the perfect froggie tank that they would recommend?

I do like the look of the bow fronted fish tanks and have found one that is similiar size to the rekord 60 but would really like recommendations before purchasing anything!

Thanks in advance

 

[Jenste]

is the rekord 60 sixty liters? (approx 15 gallons?)

if so, I definitely would not go any smaller...
If I were you and in your position, I would buy a 20 gallon LONG - -this way you could (if you so wanted) increase your colony size by 5-8 MORE frogs, and you have a lot more space to decorate the tank in a custom style. . . want a sandy side and a rocky side? a heavily planted side leading down to a nice big open area? a section of caves and rocky ledges/over hangs?
(I am having fun helping you brainstorm!!! lol)


and this would also leave you room to insert a betta or maybe a trio of guppies (1 male/2 females OR 3 females OR 3 males) for some color and motion up top if you wanted! (the frogs would appreciate some fry to nibble on!)

 

[Fish_Girl]

Thanks for the reply! I havnt had chance to get back and check my thread until now. I really wouldnt want to get anything bigger then i already have as I am trying to figure out where to put the new tank when i get it because i dont like where it is now. problem is we dont have too much space in the house! Plus i wont be getting anymore froggies and as i stated the most i would consider is a Betta but i highly doubt we will even be getting one of those. Just want a nice new tank to keep my froggies happy

When we get it we want to put sand in this time around and probably go with some silk plants rather then live ones as we had a problem in the past with the plants bringing in baby snails which was ok when we had loaches to keep the problem at bay, but obviously the froggies arent going to do that! lol and obviously some new hidey holes.

So yes as i said previously we are looking for a similiar sized tank to what we have really, just one that is suitable for the frogs in both size and the type of filter. At the moment we have an undergravel filter and pump and i hate it. We were given the tank that way years ago and never got around to changing it. I was recommended to get a hagen elite stingray 15 for the tank but told to change the cartridges in them-unfortunately i didnt see this recommendation until months after it was made so not sure what that means! lol could someone explain? even though we have been keeping fish for a few years now im still pretty much a beginner thanks to being given a tank that was already set up etc ive just had to "add the fish" all these years really. So this time i want to do it right with our own tank! Would really appreciate knowing what other people on the forum keep their froggies in and if they needed to change the type of filter in the tank to suit them?

 

[Fish_Girl]

Replying to my own thread again lol Is there a section on this forum that i am missing that i could find ideas of what tanks other ADF owners keep? that would be most helpful! I just dont want to fork out for a new tank to discover i made the wrong choice so really would appreciate reccomendations from others that keep african dwarf froggies!

I have found one called SuperFish Aqua 60, which is basically the same size as our rekord 60 but with the bow front i was hoping for. Just dont know if the filter that comes with it would be safe to use with the frogs. The very last thing i want to do is lose any of them because in my inexperience i get them a tank with the wrong type of filter, i think thats what im most paranoid about with buying a new tank to be honest. Im sure i can find a new tank easy and no problems with heating or lights etc, just nervous of the filter systems that alot of them have! Is there any type that i need to be avoiding?

I went to the LFS last week and fell inlove with how they have one of their tanks set up, it looked gorgeous. They had put a sort of wall running along the middle bottom of the tank and filled the back half up to the top with small gravel so that it looked like a step if that makes sense and had plants planted in that half. It looked so lovely and gave me an idea for when we get a new tank! Its a shame we dont have the space for a larger tank really as I would have been after the one we saw otherwise lol Really would love to see piccies of others froggie set ups too for some ideas so again if there is a section of the forum or a thread im missing with that sort of thing in id appreciate being pointed in the right direction! I just want the perfect ADF set up really

 

[Jenste]

you are in the right section - unfortunately it doesn't get a lot of traffic because not many people own frogs.

for set up for ADF - -

sand substrate, live or silk plants, plenty of caves to hide in - those little logs work well.

any decor you put in - inspect carefully. Turn it over - if you see a large whole in the base meant to let trapped air escape from then you also see a whole where a little frog could wiggle under and get trapped - if they can't find their way back out with in a few minutes they will drown. I speak from personal experience - - I had a cave like structure, one wall thicker than the rest so that when turned upside down all the trapped air inside would escape, and two of my little ADFs were found stuck in there once I noticed they were missing and tore the tank apart to find them.



but simplistic is best - - since they are bottom dwellers, don't over crowd the bottom with decor such as little signs saying "no fishing" etc etc - - leave as much of the bottom open or as some sort of over hang for them to hide in.


if you leave a lot of plants floating (silk or real - i prefer real water wisteria - it grows like crazy and does a great job of aiding in water quality) then it makes the whole tank feel safe and secure like a cave because it blocks the direct light that they find when then go up for air.

 

[Fish_Girl]

Thanks Jenste! I dont suppose you know much about the type of filter i could get? lol

We will definately be using sand in the new tank and some nice silk plants. they already have hidey holes but i shall probably invest in some new ones for them-why not! lol If we were to use some small plant pots like i have seen in others tanks, is there anything i need to do to them before they are safe to go in the tank? And i shall definately watch out for any holes-did you find your frogs in time? i hope so. And yes i wouldnt put any of those useless decorations in the tank that are of no benefit to the frogs or fish for that matter. I think the nicest looking tanks are always the ones that suit the needs of the being living inside them anyway!

I like the sound of the water wisteria, do you find you have any problems with it bringing in snails or other pests? We havnt had real plants in the tank for quite a while now which means we also dont bother putting the tank lights on, its of no benefit to the frogs and we can see them just fine without the lights lol

Shame more people dont keep these little guys, i adore our froggies

 

[Jenste]

I have used all sorts of filters with them....internal and external hang on the back types... just no undergravel types - just direct the outflow towards the corners or walls if the out put seems strong


Other than that I have never had an issue.

If u live in the us I can send u clippings cheap from a snail free ACF tank

 

[Jenste]

Thought it might help you plan your design a bit if I posted pictures of some my frog tanks - both past and present.
Each one is a bit different - some more done, some more simplistic, but gives you ideas of what routes you can take...

I primarily use rock substrate but have some pictures with sand also.
I also primarily have kept ACF, but have had ADF in the past.
I try to make it "covered but open"
(excuse some pictures with waterspots! I am an amateur photographer lol)
While the majority of my scaping is for ACF, it is the same idea for ADF. I included a video of my main tank - - it better shows the set up than pictures....


10 Gallons:

30 Gallon: (used as a grow out tank)

72 gallon:

My video

 

[Fish_Girl]

Thankyou once again for your reply Jenste! Thats a very kind offer for the wisteria but i live in the UK, really appreciate it though! have been looking on ebay at some and definately think il give it a go when we get the new tank so thanks for telling me about it

Those are some lovely tanks you have, i watched the video too and im inlove with your froggies they are utterly gorgeous, though not too keen on their eating habits! lol can you tell its my partner that feeds the frogs? You have certainly gave me some more ideas, im being torn all over the place about how I'd like the new tank to look lol

Thankyou also for putting my mind at ease about the filters, the tank i have been looking at(the superfish aqua 60) seems to have a decent frog safe looking filter with it-i read you can control the flow and direction so can easily face it towards the side of the tank. I will keep looking but i really like the look of that tank so think we might end up with that one. Just a shame that i cant find any reviews about it anywhere, i like to read others opinions before purchasing something usually but might just have to go with it this time and find out for myself!

Looks like i will have to start looking into how to cycle a tank, only ever tried it once before when we attempted at getting the frogs their own smaller tank a couple of years ago but we ended up emptying it out and giving it to my partners sister after a few months. Im not very patient so thats going to be the hardest thing about setting up the new tank!

Anyway thanks again for all the help and the lovely piccies, i shall keep you updated on what i decide and will post some photos of my own once i have it all set up, might be a long wait though as we wont be doing it until the new year!