Frog Question

[chewit]

I have a frog in 1 of my tropical tanks unsure what type but everything is fine
went into a different pet shop an she said i shouldnt have a frog with tropical fish an needs to be only filled half with water
is this a problem
Have had my frog about 2 months

 

[swanseastilo]

I have a frog in 1 of my tropical tanks unsure what type but everything is fine
went into a different pet shop an she said i shouldnt have a frog with tropical fish an needs to be only filled half with water
is this a problem
Have had my frog about 2 months

What frog is it. I used to have an african clawed frog In a full tank every so often he would swim to the top of the tank stay for a minute come back down. He used to live with. Guppies Neons and angel fish. Got rid of him as they grow to big.

 

[MBOU]

There are generally two different types of frogs etc commonly sold, the african clawed frogs that get pretty big for a frog and WILL eat fish, got apalling eyesight so may not eat fish regularly if fish are fast enough but hardly worth risking... have also seen them easily reaching 35 years old.

Or the more popular African DWARF frog, also known as Congo Frog. These guys dont get very big, an inch or so if you're lucky, they will prey on shrimp and small fish, i've seen sub adults happily chow down on large harlequin rasbora.

TBH neither make great tank mates for fish but people will insist on keeping them.

 

[Jenste]

Hi, maybe I can help.

As stated above, there are two possibilities - - African CLAWED frog and African DWARF frog.

for novices, best way to tell is to look at the front hands - - if you see webbing on the front hands and the back, you have an African Dwarf Frog, Hymenochirus, who will grow up to 2". OK with a few species of small and extremely peaceful fish who are not bottom dwellers - but happiest and healthiest in it's own tank. Water should never be deeper than 12-14". Even shallower for younger frogs.

if there is no webbing on the front hands and only webbing on the back feet, you have an African Clawed Frog, Xenopus Laevis, who will grow up to 6". Can not be housed with fish because they can and will eat everything they can catch.

What are you feeding this frog? It is not a fish so should not be expected to eat fish food.

Once we figure out what species you have we get go about setting you on the path to caring for it properly.

 

[chewit]

Well im sure has web feet on front an back seems to be fine with my swordtail an fan tail
always at the bottom
hope doesnt get to big

 

[chewit]

i have nutrafin max food an bloodworm an shrimp in frozen food

 

[Athena]

Are you able to take a photo to post on here so we can be sure which type of frog it is? If it is an African Dwarf Frog, then they really are supposed to be kept in little groups of 3 or more.

When that pet shop told you to half-fill you tank with water, to an extent they are kind of on the right track there but perhaps they thought you meant you had a normal pond frog in a tank LOL. Basically, these aquatic frogs need to be able to reach the surface to breath air but they are not great swimmers, so if you have a tallish tank of anything over 15" height, then the frog will struggle to reach the top. You might see it swim halfway, then struggle to go any further and float back to the bottom again.

If this is happening, then please do reduce your water level by a few inches (halfway is a bit extreme). The older they get the stronger their swimming becomes but to avoid putting stress on them, make life easy for them by reducing that water level a bit.

African Dwarf Frogs (ADFs) are fully aquatic frogs and do not sit outside of the tank water, like pond frogs. If they accidentally were to get out of the tank, their bodies dry out and they die. So make sure your tank lid is not left open.

Another point to mention is feeding. They are not quick to reach food like fish are. They take a while to sniff it out before lunging for it. If there are greedy fish in the tank it's likely the fish will get the food before the frog has a chance. So you might want to buy a turkey baster (or use tweezers) to place/squirt food directly in front of your frog (whilst the fish are busy feeding elsewhere).

Regards, Athena