New Adf

[Rediahs]

Hey guys,

Thanks to the help here, I cycled my tank over the course of 2 months and now just added my first creatures: 9 harlequin rasboras and 1 african dwarf frog. The rasboras are getting along great, shoaling every once in awhile, very active all around the tank, no signs of stress.

But the african dwarf frog worries me a bit. I noticed on the bus ride home that he wasn't moving in his bag. Even when I poked him he wouldn't move. But he isn't dead... when I put him in the tank (after 1 hour of drip-acclimation) he swam to the most hidden spot in the tank and I tried to feed him by putting sinking pellets in front of him. He wouldn't eat, and he seems really slow. It has been approx 8 hours and he's still really slow. I heard they're really active? He only moves once in awhile... usually he's perfectly still. For a little while he stayed on his back for like 30 seconds and didn't move. I was really scared he was dead then but eventually he got up and swam to a normal position.

You think he's still getting adjusted, or is something wrong with him?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Chrissi

African Dwarf Frogs are naturally timid little creatures and yours might just be traumatized by the change in habitat. It's also possible that he was injured when he was being netted. About all you can do right now is wait and see. You might also consider moving him to a small tank by himself or with another ADF. They are great little pets, but cannot compete with the fish for food.

Let me ask you the question that we always ask someone who gets a new ADF, and that is, "Are you sure it's an ADF and not an African Clawed Frog?" If he is a real ADF he will have hands that look like mittens and not like individual fingers. It will also be brown and not albino.

Please be sure that there are no openings on the top of your tank. They are great jumpers and will escape if they can.

I will be moving your thread over to the Invertebrates, Amphibians & Aquatic Reptiles section where you are most likely to get responses from members who keep them.

 

[Rediahs]

Hi Chrissi

African Dwarf Frogs are naturally timid little creatures and yours might just be traumatized by the change in habitat. It's also possible that he was injured when he was being netted. About all you can do right now is wait and see. You might also consider moving him to a small tank by himself or with another ADF. They are great little pets, but cannot compete with the fish for food.

Let me ask you the question that we always ask someone who gets a new ADF, and that is, "Are you sure it's an ADF and not an African Clawed Frog?" If he is a real ADF he will have hands that look like mittens and not like individual fingers. It will also be brown and not albino.

Please be sure that there are no openings on the top of your tank. They are great jumpers and will escape if they can.

I will be moving your thread over to the Invertebrates, Amphibians & Aquatic Reptiles section where you are most likely to get responses from members who keep them.

Thanks for moving it.

I believe it's a dwarf frog... his front feet are webbed. I'm not sure what you mean by "mittens" but he has very webbed fingers, like the rubber flippers you buy. He's also not albino.

I am fine with hand-feeding him sinking pellets... today he didn't eat but I'm not surprised since he looks so scared. My plan is to feed him while the other fish eat, so that they are occupied and won't go after his food.

I'll just wait and see if he gets better I guess!

 

[hotpink143]

Hello there!

ADF's are generally the most active at night. Also, I agree that he may just be frightened and stressed from all the moving.

I hand feed my 3 ADF's. I do this because no matter what, the fish eat their food. I can ensure that they are getting enough to eat. Frogs can often die of starvation when competing with fish for food. Even if you drop their pellets while the fish are eating, the frog isn't just gonna zoom out strait to the food.They don't have the best eye sight and are not very good "hunters" lol.

Just keep your eye on him for the next couple days and I really recommend hand feeding him, especially during this time if you are concerned about his health. A froggy that doesn't eat is not a good sign as these little guys will gorge themselves at the first sight of food!

Also, as a side note: I don't recommend sinking pellets. I alternate between frozen foods; Mosquito Larvae, (also known as Glass Worms), Beefheart, and Bloodworms. Never feed freeze dried food to a frog. It can expand in the frogs stomach and lead to serious digestive problems and death. Also, the frozen foods are much easier to hand feed. You just cut out a chunk or pop out a square and hold it in front of his face. Haha. Stop feeding when you see his tummy rounding a bit. (A few bites is usually sufficient).

And finally, frogs are happiest in groups. So, you should keep no less than 3 if you want a happy ADF!!

Hope this helps!! Let me know how he adjusts!

 

[Inchworm]

I believe it's a dwarf frog... his front feet are webbed. I'm not sure what you mean by "mittens" but he has very webbed fingers, like the rubber flippers you buy. He's also not albino.

Yep, then he's an ADF. They both have flipper like back feet, but the front "hands" are a tip off. As long as they are webbed, it's the real thing.

 

[Rediahs]

Okay.. I tried to give him some frozen blood worms but all that happened is it made a mess in the tank.... I waved it in front of his nose, and a whole bunch of worms fell off... so I took the chunk out and grabbed worms and waved them in front of his face and he didn't even move... had to siphon it all out...

I also put my betta in the tank, so I had to shoo away the betta while I was trying to feed, because he LOVES bloodworms but he is completely overly stuffed from earlier, I fed the rasboras and the betta apparently ate all the scraps. I didn't know bettas did that. He started foraging on the bottom for any pieces of flake that fell and now his belly is HUGE!!

But the ADF still won't eat... lights off and nighttime now so I'll try again tomorrow morning.

 

[arobinson1984]

I think he may just be getting used to his new surroundings, if I remember rightly mine were the same at first.

They should ideally be kept in groups of 4-6 to keep them happy but saying that, mine has been fine on his own for last couple of months as my lfs stopped selling them so I haven't been able to get him any friends yet.

ADF's are very sensitive to chlorine traces so ensure you conditionyour tap water correctly or even use 1.5x the amount of conditioner required.

Regarding the feeding, they struggle to get food in tanks full of fish but mine manages fine, feed them bloodworms. A little trick you can try is to get a turkey baster, defrost some bloodworms in a cup of tank water, suck some of the bloodworms into the baster and gently squirt them just above your frogs head, this will ensure he gets food and before long you will prob find he will come and eat them from the baster and eventually your hand if you wish.

Andy

 

[saltynay]

As stated it is just nervous, mine are in a group of 4 and only climb out when the lights are off although they don't mind indirect lighting via room lights, most of the time they are just chilling behind and under the filter and stick their heads out every so often. They go into a zen state sometimes which may be why yours didn't react to being poked or laid on its back it was just so relaxed it didn't care.

 

[hotpink143]

What happened with the little guy?