Housing Requirements for African Clawed Frogs all depends on the number of frogs
you have and how often you would maintain the tank. A good rule of thumb to follow is 10 GALLONS OF WATER PER FROG. This
rule can be fudged in larger tanks due to the increased body of water. I would not keep more then one frog in a ten gallon
tank and more then three in a 20 gallon tank. The ideal tank for up to three African Clawed Frogs is a 20 gallon LONG tank.
Since these frogs spend most of their time on the bottom of the tank, long tanks are better since tall tanks dont offer them
much room to move around.
Substrate can be anything you want.Keeping a bare bottom tank is probably the easiest
way to keep the tank clean. Putting a dark black or brown cloth underneath of the tank can make the bottom look more
natural for the frogs. You can also use aquarium sealent to glue rocks to the base of plastic plants to weight them down
for bare bottom tanks. Aquarium gravel can also be used at a risk. ACF are known to ingest gravel and this can cause them
to become impacted. I would use small enough gravel (pea sized) that could easily be passed or large river stones that can
not be eaten. Aquarium sand is another option. Although you wont want your frogs to eat too much of it and it can get easily
stirred up and clog the impellar in your filter.
Plants are always the great dilema in keeping ACF. They shred most live plants and
plastic plants can tear the webbing on their feet. Plastic also lacks that tranquill feeling you get from live plants.
Most species of anubias can be kept with ACF because they are a tough plant and the frogs can't easily tear into them. They
are also a hardy plant (nicknamed "the plastic plant that grows") and anyone can keep one alive. Some species of anubias
are also found in the same locations in the wild that the ACF are found, so it is a very natural plant to keep with them.
I keep anubias barteri, anubias coffeolia and anubias nana in with my frogs. If you decide to use fake plants I
would stick with silk plants, they wont tear the frog's delicate webbing or scrach them.
Hideing Areas are a must for African Clawed Frogs. They can be quite skittish and
frighten easily. I suggest covering the back of the tank with a natural backdrop (plants, rocks, etc) and offering lots of
places for them to get in/under and hide. Terra cotta pots laid on their side can offer a great place to hide and look beautiful
in a natural tank. Piles of driftwood, secure rocks and other decorations can make great hiding spots as well.
Filtration for African Clawed Frogs should be a must. These frogs are messy and
produce a lot of waste! (Think goldfish times 10). BUT they are also sensitive to vibrations in the water. I would not use
any type of undergravel filter or anything powered by an airstone. This would be like you living with a jack hammer going
off 24-7! (very unpleasent). I personally think the best filter for these frogs is a Whisper. This filter has the least amount
of "waterfall" affect of all the filters out there, so it keeps the water distuurbance at a minimum. I would also overfilter
when it comes to the care of these frogs, it really helps with the water quality. For example, i use a Whisper powerfilter
ment for a 70 gallon tank to filter my 40 gallon tank. Canister filters are another great option for filtration. You can get
diffrent attachments for them such as spray bars and filter medias (peat,floss, ceramic, etc) but they can be quite costly.
Water Quality is important for these frogs since their skin is permeable. They are
extremely hardy and forgiving aquatic pets and can be kept in any range of pH (mostly 6.5-7.5). They are a COOL WATER frog
so keep their temperature between 70-75 F. They dont need a heater in their tanks as long as the temp. doesn't drop below
70. As long as water changes are done on a regular basis (depending on tank size and frog load) these frogs will be healthy.
Lighting can be either flourescent, incandesent or none at all. They do not mind
any type. Just remember to turn off the lights for them at night.
Penn-Plax makes a product called the Deluxe Battery Opperated Gravel Vaccum. I strongly
investing in this product as it really helps ease the pains of cleaning tanks with substrate. Use it everyday to clean the
gravel of waste, food and other debris between water changes. It helps! Here is what penn-plax had to say about me mentioning
their wonderful product on my website :
Thank you for the nice comments. Yes you can mention our product on your
website. I am personally aware of your
website and have been on it when I
was investigating getting a frog for my daughter. Nice website.
Thanks again,
Betsey
Freedman
Consumer Service operations
Penn-Plax
WOW! Penn-Plax is aware of my site, what a huge compliment and a special thanks to Penn-Plax for always producing
high quality products that aid in the better care of my pets. I have been using the battery gravel vac. for a year now, even
with a bare bottom tank, it reallys helps and is a product I wont be without. I hope you contact Penn-Plax to order one, find
a dealer nearest you or inquire about them.
