Dwarf Clawed Frogs

[newtamander]

I'm new to clawed frogs and was wonering too tell male from female also how many gallons I need for 4 of the Dwarf varity.

 

[Shadow]

I have had mine fo nearly a year now so I will give you a bit of info. The male seems smaller and lighter in colour (well mine does). I would say around a 5 gallon tanks is suitable for 4 African Dwarf Frogs.

 

[newtamander]

Thanks . Also what kind of filter should I use?

 

[Firefly Buff]

I wouldn't say that Dwarf frogs are particularly filthy so if you were to get a small submersible filter it would probably work ok. If you were to have an undergravel filter it could also work. I once had a pair of frogs in a one gallon tank with under gravel filtration and they really thrived. I think it depends on the frog. Some will be more active and therefore particular about their water current but some are going to hide no matter what you do and only come out at night making it hard to tell what they prefer. Also the tank size depends on what size frogs you bought. Usually at local pet stores they have Medium, Large and Extra Large dwarf frogs for sale. If you have 4 of the medium variety you could have a smaller tank than 5 gallons and do alright. If you have four of the extra large variety you might even want a 10 gallon. It depends on how large you want them to get and how heavily planted you intend to make it. Like fish, the frogs won't attempt to outgrow their environment but it will put stress on them if they were supposed to be bigger and you give them a small space. They need hiding places to stay unstressed. I reccomend plants vs. decorations like caves becuase you still want to be able to keep track of them. It's easier to look around your tank and locate everyone in plants than try to figure out if they are hiding inside a castle or cavern where it would be impossible to see them. Plants ranging from 3-9 in would be good if you are having a 5 gallon.

 

[Jennewt]

I'd recommend a 5 or 10 gallon tank. I wouldn't recommend a submersible filter for a tank under 10 gallons. It would create too much current. Since ADF don't create much waste, you would be OK with something as simple as a sponge filter or box filter, or even just an airstone.

 

[SnakeDancer]

They are fairly easy to sex once they've become a bit mature: the males will have a small white patch on the side, just beyond the armpit. Females are also plumper.

I've found them difficult keepers. Of a group of about 6 that I kept last summer, one is still alive - but she's doing very well. I suspect they don't do well on blackworms, which is what I was feeding at first. They love them, but ... a few weeks later they were dead. Now I've stuck to chopped earthworms and dried tubifex worms. In the summer when the bugs are out, I'll add some variety to that. (The correlation with blackworms may also just have been a coincidence, but it made me paranoid about feeding.) Even the pet stores tell me they have a hard time keeping this species alive. So be prepared for that. If you get some that do well for you, though, cherish them and see if you can get them to breed....

 

[Firefly Buff]

As far as I am aware the males will have a small redness visible around the armpit gland and yes the males tend to be a bit smaller. Some reccomendations I have on food. Get either frozen or if you have to freeze dried bloodworms. They are high in protein and are an important staple to these little guys diets. You can find a cup to put the frozen bloodworms in that suction cups to the side of the tank. I reccomend this for two reasons, the cubes they sell frozen in stores expand a lot as they thaw and you end up with lots and lots of food that will screw up your water conditions if it sinks and doesn't get eaten. Also if you keep the food together the scent is stronger so the frogs can locate it. Since they rely on their noses if the food is scattered all over the tank you are more likely to end up with waste. Some will only eat at night so you may need to leave a little more food than you see eaten but you don't want to have a tank full of uneaten food. Some other good food options are brine shrimp or if they will eat it they sell sinking pellets designed for aquatic frogs. I haven't had as much luck with the pellets. Brine shrimp is sold both frozen and freeze dried. The freeze dried varieties are convenient if you keep fish with your frogs.

 

[Firefly Buff]

The submersible filter I was suggesting has very little to no current if placed in a 2.5 gallon tank. Here is a link. It runs on an air pump and refills of the media can be bought at local walmarts for 3 dollars for a two pack. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752355

 

[martintruckenbrodt]

Hello,
are you sure you are talking about the sam species? Please look here to be sure: http://pipidae.net/species_determining_adcfacf.php .

Minimum for a ADCF tank IMO is six gallons: http://pipidae.net/adcf_community.php
For a ACF tank IMO minimum is 15 gallons (2 frogs) or better 20 (4 frogs) gallons.

A filter not really is needed. Use filters with slow water current. I prefer mat filters like this one: http://filter.pipidae.de/hhm_classic.php (german language link).
Don't make too much of water change to prevent problems with skin chnagings. At least not to much of big water chances. Pipidae frogs are beathing about 30% by athmosperic air and they are living in ponds not in lakes or in rivers. So they don't water with or lot of ocygen or very clean water. But you should have a look in not feeding too much.

Please excuse my bad english!

Bye Martin