African Dwarf Frogs

[dgwebster]

I just bought a pair of african dwarf frogs (genuine article) for my community tank yesterday from a very well reputed store near my home.

However, im a little concerned on the feeding of them. the person that normally takes care of their feeding in the store was not in to answer questions. However the girl did check their feeding box and found that they were just using algae wafer with frozen bloodworms every few days.

So here is the stupidest question ever. How to feed them? I put some bloodworm in (from a jelly pack I had left over as a danios n tetra treat), they never even went near it. I put in 2 wafers. same problem.

So what i need to know is:

what time is recommended? e.g. evening after lights off, evening lights on etc. I have read they are more active at night... which makes me think feeding after lights out may help get them more food?

Frozen bloodworm? I guess it needs taken out and defrosted for an hour or two before placing in tank? same thing, feed after dark to ensure froggies get some?

The tank is rather well planted (they seem to love the cabomba for resting on at various levels of the tank) a fake ornamant log with holes in it and a coconut cave (soon to add a coconut tunnel too) to provide plenty of space at the moment as the guys are only about half an inch long, and so so cute.

just any care tips would be more than welcomed, as i have mentioned above, im able to find details on their diet but they dont mentioned best feeding times and practice etc.

Also I heard in the store that when they get larger you can chuck in a frozen pea and watch them go daft after it. any other good vege's you can suggest?

 

[emma12321]

Hi,

Mine will eat most frozen foods but bloodworms are their favourite. They will only eat them if they are in front of their face, they are rubbish at hunting they just snap at whatever floats past them. I keep mine in a tank on their own as i'd be worried about them starving if they were in with fish. Mine get fed every other day. You could get a turkey baster and squirt the worms in front of them if your fish are eating all the food. mine will eat at anytime during the day and don't seem more active at any one time. I have a male and female and they have spawned twice but eaten the eggs both times, the male sings to the female which is realy cute.

Emma

 

[dgwebster]

The turkey baster is a fab idea!! will head to the store when the snow goes off, cos i just cant be bothered with the cold right now.

I fed the fish their normal flake food then dropped in a bit of blood worm (they are in this like jelly stuff that claims to be preservative free) and some of the fish pinch a bit, but mostly are already too occupied. the problem i have had so far is getting the food near the frogs for them to eat it. you drop it above their heads and they bloody well move across the tank!!

i am looking to get a second hand 4' tank, if i do i may well keep the existing one for as a frog only tank, but at the same time they look really good in a community tank, gives a more balanced nature feel to it. or i am just mad

 

[dgwebster]

stupid question number 2:

I know that they shed skin, but what does this look like.

I think of them just did it in the last 24 hours, there was...well.. how to describe... a very thin almost filmy type bit of stuff around its waist and lower legs, seemed attached to it and did not seem to be in any distress or pain... at first i thought it may be a bacterial infection or something growing on it, but it appears to be gone now. it had very opaque colour, but quite skin-type looking. I would liken it to skin flakes from sunburn, but thinner and more opaque...

on the other hand, im already noticing a size different in the two. they are approx 3/4 an inch now.

 

[soritan]

I find turkey basters to pack too much of a punch to feed ADFs. The tiny explosion from squeezing the bulb tends to send bloodworms all over the tank, and blast the frogs away. It quite startled me when I first tried it. I now feed my frogs using chopsticks, however it's more common to use 'reptile feeding tweezers', aka 'big honking tweezers'.

It sounds like a shed to me. They tend to look a bit... uhn... rotten, their skin sometimes peels off in sheets, but usually they just look like they're wearing something loose, moldy, and opaque, before they suddenly rip off their face and eat it. My frogs even fight over the skin, if another frog is nearby when the shed takes place... I suppose it's good eats, as far as frogs are concerned. I know when I first saw my frogs get ready to molt, I had the same reaction, "OMG my frogs are sick and I have no idea how to treat them!" (moments later, frog eats own face.) "Oh. "

 

[dgwebster]

lol I cant just imagine the surprise of that one. My frogs are doing very well and growing very well. For a moment i thought one had eaten one of my zebra danios last night, but I just found it - the internal filter had slipped, trapping the danios between the filter and the tank glass. Its scales have suffered some damage and is now in a hospital "bucket" but hey, at least im no longer blaming the frogs.