This is a care profile I wrote for ADF's after much research. It has also been checked and revised by the members and experts of a large frog forum, and is basically agreed upon. Also, these frogs may be nearly blind, but I find that mine are actually fairly intelligent in comparison to other frogs. For mine, it only took one feeding to figure out that the eyedropper meant "food!".
African Dwarf Frog (Hymenochirus boettgeri)—The African Dwarf Frog is a small, and thus rather delicate, fully aquatic frog that I would recommend for people with a little more experience. It is a very peaceful species toward fish as well as its own kind, but can be picked on a lot by fish, so it is best to keep it in a species-only tank or with small, gentle fish. When kept in groups, they sometimes enjoy playing “follow the leader” and will often sleep all piled on top of each other. Always be very careful not to get Dwarf Frogs and Clawed Frogs mixed up. They can appear very similar when young, but when they grow up, they are almost opposite. Dwarf frogs are tiny, peaceful little guys that might get eaten by a bigger fish. Clawed frogs are very large and often aggressive, and will eat any fish it thinks is small enough. The easiest way to tell these species apart (they are often mislabeled in the petshops) is by their front feet. Dwarf Frogs have webbed feet while Clawed Frogs do not. In the home aquarium, Dwarf Frogs can often be quite active, especially at night, but it is not uncommon for them to float in strange positions at the bottom, or, if they’re feeling especially lazy, at the top of the tank (that way they don’t have to swim very far to get air), sometimes for hours on end. Don’t worry, they’re not dead; they’re just “spacing out.” Another thing to remember about Dwarf Frogs is that are excellent at escaping, so be very careful that there are no gaps whatsoever in the cover, or else they may end up flying out of the tank and onto the floor, where they will not last long.
Unlike most frogs, which hunt by watching for anything that moves, Dwarf Frogs are scavengers and do not necessarily require live foods. They appreciate pretty much any food that sinks, especially frozen/freeze-dried bloodworms, brine shrimp, tubifex, small pieces of krill, etc as well as some live foods, such as any worms small enough to swallow, brine shrimp, daphnia, and aquatic insects. Due to their poor eyesight, it may take a while for your frog to find its food. It is often suggested that you use a long tweezers or eyedropper to dangle food in front of your frog so that it gets enough to eat and the water isn’t fouled up by excess food.
African Dwarf Frogs get up to 1 ½ inches in length, and should have around 2 gallons each, although 5 gallon tanks or larger may be easier to maintain. Don’t forget that even though these frogs are aquatic, they do breathe air, so make sure that they can easily reach the surface. Although water chemistry is not particularly important, they prefer a pH just above 7—around 7.2 to 7.6 while water temperature should be kept at 70 to 82 degrees F. Filters are recommended for these frogs, but be careful that the filter isn’t so large that the frogs will get stuck to the filter intake. If necessary, you can cover the intake with cheesecloth or pantyhose to prevent their limbs from getting caught and broken. Make sure that your frogs have plenty of hiding places; if there are not enough places to hide, they may become restless and stressed out, especially in brightly lit tanks. Live plants are recommended. Use smooth river rocks or pea gravel as a substrate. Sand or fine gravel can be ingested by your frogs, which can cause gut impaction and death.
*NOTE: These frogs do shed their skin, sometimes as often as once a week, so don’t be alarmed if your frog’s skin appears to be falling off.
**NOTE: If well taken care of, these frogs can live for as long as 30 years!
