Adf

[Paradise3]

I'm actually thinking of buying, setting up and cycling a 5.5 gallon tank just for 2-3 ADF.... Would this be OK? I am researching early so I know exactly what to do. I'm getting £30 just after Christmas so I will use £17 of that on the tank I have chosen, unless I can persuade my god father to get me that as well as the new 3ft/Roma 125ltr, and the rest on getting all the stuff needed. I've chosen to get some De-chlorinator to get rid of all the chlorine in the water. I will make sure they are ADF not ACF. If it's albino, it's ACF. Also if it's eyes are on top of it's head, it's ACF. The ones my LFS has in ATM are ADF, I've checked.
What do you all think of this plan that is set in action just after Christmas? I may be off school tomorrow as well because in my hurry to get ready this morning I slipped down the stairs and sprained my ankle so it's hurting a lot right now and I can't walk properly.

Cheers,
Alessa!

 

[Jenste]

aw, a tear just came to my eye- - you made me proud! lol (another way to check ADF vs ACF is the webbing on their feet - all 4 = ADF, just back 2 = ACF)

a 5.5 is perfect for 3 ADF. - pretty easy to set up too... sand substrate is easiest - it is cleaner and you don't have to worry about their food falling between the gravel, and it is nice and soft on their bellies.

then a little hiding place (one of those little log tunnels is perfect)

then (if you can find it) toss in a tiny piece of water wisteria, leave it floating so they can hang out in it if they choose (and it absorbs ammonia/nitrite)... all you need is a really tiny piece because it will grow and grow and grow. I like leaving it floating because it will make a nice covering that will dissipate light so the frogs feel braver exploring because they can always be "hiding".


hbh frog and tadpole bites or broken up reptomin sticks are perfect for their diet - - only treat them with frozen brineshrimp/blood worm as they are not a balanced diet


and last but not least - - TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES

 

[Jenste]

I was so excited I almost forgot - - don't worry if you get 3 females, 3 males, 2 males 1 female, or 2 females and 1 male....they are not territorial in the slightest and will get along no matter what gender ratio you have!


if you don't know how to determine gender, I'll post it now for ya

males - have a small white/grey/pink/tanish pimple looking thing in their armpit (behind their hands). they are also generally thinner but this is hard to tell when the frogs are young, they all look thin generally.

females - will be fatter (once they start maturing) and also upon maturity they will develop a little cloaca (a bump, tail-like protrusion on their rear end). the cloaca is used for passing waste and eggs. the males rear end will look indented/flat compared the the bump on the female.


bum diagrams lol (drawn as if the frog is facing the left of this page)
male - (front of the frog) ] (back legs of the frog)
female - (front of the frog) } (back legs of the frog)

and yes, i AM a dork

 

[Paradise3]

aw, a tear just came to my eye- - you made me proud! lol (another way to check ADF vs ACF is the webbing on their feet - all 4 = ADF, just back 2 = ACF)

a 5.5 is perfect for 3 ADF. - pretty easy to set up too... sand substrate is easiest - it is cleaner and you don't have to worry about their food falling between the gravel, and it is nice and soft on their bellies.

then a little hiding place (one of those little log tunnels is perfect)

then (if you can find it) toss in a tiny piece of water wisteria, leave it floating so they can hang out in it if they choose (and it absorbs ammonia/nitrite)... all you need is a really tiny piece because it will grow and grow and grow. I like leaving it floating because it will make a nice covering that will dissipate light so the frogs feel braver exploring because they can always be "hiding".


hbh frog and tadpole bites or broken up reptomin sticks are perfect for their diet - - only treat them with frozen brineshrimp/blood worm as they are not a balanced diet


and last but not least - - TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES

Which ones are easier to find? HBH frog and tadpole bites or Reptomin sticks? I can easily treat them with bloodworm because I have to buy them anyway for my axolotl! lol
I have already got the sand substrate, it just needs some cleaning. Do they eat small crickets and mealworms? I'm just asking because I know my axolotl loves them as a treat if there are any too small for the bearded dragon. I knew about the ways for telling the difference because I read your site, along with about 20 others.... It was actually your site, and the fact that they are soooo cute, that made me actually start to think about it! So I carried on reading and now I have a plan in place!
Will get pictures with my shiny new phone, Samsung Jet Ultra in case you were wondering. 5MP camera, sports setting for taking pictures of fast moving things(comes in handy when you want a pic of my fish!!) Other settings so you don't miss out the little details. I'm loving it I am! So, bombard me with info!!! Pics are welcome too....

Cheers,
Alessa!

P.S. You probably noticed my new picture... It's my gorgeous little darling Sox!

 

[Jenste]

(yes I noticed your Sox - - ADORABLE!!!)

as for the foods - in the USA, both are available in most fish stores, petco and petsmart included I believe. in the UK, reptomin is easily available.

If you can find them, for ADF I personally prefer the HBH frog and tadpole bites because they are sinking pellets. You can soak the Reptomin prior to feeding to get them to sink, but being able to skip that step with the HBH makes them easier for feeding.

As far as nutritional value goes, they are both fantastic.

Any type of tiny worms are fine, stick to fresh or frozen...not freezedried because the frogs can become constipated - - blood, black, meal etc are all fine.

larger worms like earth and night crawlers are too big even if chopped up.


as for crickets - - for ADF its often too much of a pain. They tend to prefer eating off the bottom rather than surface, so by the time they realize their are crickets doing the doggy paddle at the surface, the crickets are climbing up and out of the tank (and into your house).

ACf are bigger pigs so they find the crickets much faster. But it still makes me paranoid!!! if there is anything they can climb up they will - - they are almost better escape artists than the frogs!!!




also - for the tank - make sure every bit of the lid is sealed - - I just lost a frog because it managed to escape - - a 3.5 inch ACF managed to wiggle out of a .5 inch hole in diameter and died from dehydration - - they think they are exploring for "more waters with more frogs to mate with" but they don't realize that there are no such "ponds" in the house

 

[Paradise3]

(yes I noticed your Sox - - ADORABLE!!!)

as for the foods - in the USA, both are available in most fish stores, petco and petsmart included I believe. in the UK, reptomin is easily available.

If you can find them, for ADF I personally prefer the HBH frog and tadpole bites because they are sinking pellets. You can soak the Reptomin prior to feeding to get them to sink, but being able to skip that step with the HBH makes them easier for feeding.

As far as nutritional value goes, they are both fantastic.

Any type of tiny worms are fine, stick to fresh or frozen...not freezedried because the frogs can become constipated - - blood, black, meal etc are all fine.

larger worms like earth and night crawlers are too big even if chopped up.


as for crickets - - for ADF its often too much of a pain. They tend to prefer eating off the bottom rather than surface, so by the time they realize their are crickets doing the doggy paddle at the surface, the crickets are climbing up and out of the tank (and into your house).

ACf are bigger pigs so they find the crickets much faster. But it still makes me paranoid!!! if there is anything they can climb up they will - - they are almost better escape artists than the frogs!!!




also - for the tank - make sure every bit of the lid is sealed - - I just lost a frog because it managed to escape - - a 3.5 inch ACF managed to wiggle out of a .5 inch hole in diameter and died from dehydration - - they think they are exploring for "more waters with more frogs to mate with" but they don't realize that there are no such "ponds" in the house

Poor you! OK I'll give the crickets a miss and just feed them to Alex(axolotl) Any tiny meal worms can go in for the ADF when I finally have the tank cycled. What sort of filter is best for a 5.5? I can probably make a home made filter like I did for Alex but it would mean me buying extra tubing and another air pump... Unless I can persuade My god father(Lee) to help me out... I'm sure if he can afford a Roma 125ltr that costs £228 he can help me out a little bit with this small plan which won't cost even £100... Shall I try to get his help? Would an ADF manage to get through a 3mm hole? there will be a gap between the lid and the top of the water but I'm just wondering.... The lid sort of bowes upwards, so it will be more of a gap than if it was a normal lid. Was the frog that escaped part of your breeding group or one of the babies from them?

Cheers,
Alessa!

P.S. I'm in the UK....

 

[Jenste]

the frog that escaped was part of my breeding group -- it was Cyclone, my Piebald (rare coloration).

and if you think there are gaps that could be a problem, a really cheap and easy solution is to just put a little piece of clear tape over the hole. ADFs will meet the barrier and turn back - - ACFs are much more stubborn lol

for a filter, if it comes with one of the HOB styles, that is fine. You can also get an internal little one ( you can even look at the kinds made for fry if they appeal to you). Three frogs will not overly stress your filter.

If you feed live worms - make sure you go back later and stir up the sand incase any bury down - you don't want them to die under the sand and pollute your water.

Live brineshrimp are fun to feed - watching the frogs try and chase them is quite cute.


Don't stress your budget too much - - a small and simple little filtration system will do just fine considering you do little weekly WCs. the messiest part of ADF is they often don't eat their skin, so you just have to remove the sheddings that you find dangling from your decor

 

[Paradise3]

Actually Wednesday is WC night for both my fish and my axolotl! So WC's shouldn't be a problem...
My 15 gallon hex tank doesn't have a lid but the fish do fine without one, woke up this morning (after still attempting to get ready for school with a sprained ankle) to find one of the cat's nearly head first in the tank, just drinking the fish water! Surprisingly enough, It was Little Sox(we have 2 cat's called Sox, Big Sox and Little Sox)
Little Sox sit's and watches Alex because he's very active for an axolotl, so I must be doing something right for him! As for small filters, I'm guessing they don't like fast flow? So would a sponge filter be OK for them?

Cheers,
Alessa!

 

[Jenste]

now if you were a noob to fish keeping I would not recommend this...but you can do a "frog in" cycle with less risk than a "fish in" cycle.

as long as you are able to do a partial WC (small) a day then you are fine. Many frog owners keep ADF with out a filter at all as long as they do frequent little WCs a week.

sponge filters are fine. and yes, they do not like a strong current - generally it is an easy fix such as directing the outflow at a corner

 

[Paradise3]

I would deffo be able to do small partial waterchanges nearly everyday because when I get home from school, instead of being the usual teenager and going straight on the laptop. I go to check my fish and I'm occupied by them and Alex for about 1 hour! Just wiping the sides down in Alex's tank and feeding my fish and Alex and other fishy stuff.

Cheers,
Alessa!

 

[Jenste]

no prob!

If you can think of any other questions let me know - - can't wait to see your new babies!!

 

[Paradise3]

BTW I don't think I'm going to school tomorrow so I might be online a lot during the day. My ankle really is killing me now! Me thinks it's time for some more Ibuprofen!

Cheers,
Alessa!

 

[Paradise3]

No school so will be researching today.

Cheers,
Alessa!

 

[Essjay]

Can I jump in?

Jenste, I have two adfs and live in the UK so I can't get the HBH frog food. But I have been able to get Zoo Med frog and tadpole food.
http/www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=285&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=5&SearchContext=YTo1OntzOjg6IlNlYXJjaElEIjtzOjE6IjUiO3M6MTA6IkRhdGFiYXNlSUQiO3M6MToiMiI7czo4OiJLZXl3b3JkcyI7czo3OiJ0YWRwb2xlIjtzOjg6IlNlYXJjaF94IjtzOjI6IjE4IjtzOjg6IlNlYXJjaF95IjtzOjI6IjE2Ijt9
Is this suitable for them as their staple diet? They also get some type of frozen live food twice a week (blood worm, black mosquito larve, brine shrimp or daphnia).

I have to feed them with a pipette or my betta, who shares the tank, will eat the lot. My frogs now eat the live foood straight from the pipette - as soon as they see it coming they swim up to meet it and eat the food from the end. I've never heard of this before. Have I got peculiar frogs? They don't do it with the pellets, just the live food.

 

[Jenste]

You have normal frogs, do not worry!


Zoomed is fine - it will fulfill your frog's dietary needs perfectly!

And as you have learned, the frogs can be trained for dinner time - they are probably showing more preference when it is something live because it is more flavor - - but the frozen variety live foods should be used as a treat, not a staple.

It's somewhat like us - - would most people run to the plain salad of mixed veggies and no dressing even though it is good for us, or would we be looking at that juicy grease dripping burger coming off the grille?

lol same mentality.

but as long as most of their meals are a form of pelleted diet designed for reptiles and amphibians then you are doing well!