African Dwarf Frog Housing and Feeding

In Depth Information on Common Aquatic Clawed Frogs

African Dwarf Frog Housing and Feeding

Hymenochirus

Tank Maintence

Tank care of African Dwarf Frogs is very simple. Please allow one gallon of water per frog. They are not very messy and they don't produce a lot of waste but their food tends to foul up the water more then they do. They do not need a heater as long as the water doesn't drop below 70. I keep my dwarf tank at 75 and they are happy and healthy. Don't put them in very high and deep tanks. They aren't the best swimmers and it would be stressful on them to be straining to reach air.

Substrate can be bare bottom or aquarium gravel. Bare bottom is the easiest to keep clean. Use a turkey baster to remove waste and uneaten food off the bottom. You can lay a black or brown (or any color) cloth underneath the tank to make it look more natural and secure for the frogs. Aquarium gravel gives a more natural and realistic look. But you will need to clean it every two weeks. DO NOT use large marbles, river stones, etc with the dwarf frog. They can easily get wedged underneath a large stone or marble and not be able to reach air or get crushed. Sand can also be used and works quite well with dwarf frogs. They are too small to stir it up enough to clog a filter impellar. Although they can ingest large amounts of it during feeding. If this happens place a small plate in the tank and place all food on this plate. This also teaches the frogs to go to the plate for food.

Plants offer a natural environment and a sense of security for dwarf frogs. Fake or real plants can be used. If using fake plants i would stick to silk plants because plastic plants can scrach dwarf frogs. Dwarf frogs can be kept with any type of living plant. They are not destructive towards even the finest of the aquarium plants. The smaller types of anubias plants work really well with dwarf frogs. anubias nana has broad thick leaves that offer great hiding places for dwarf frogs.

Hiding Places are a must for dwarf frogs. They are shy creatures and like a wide variety of places to retreat too. Small terra cotta pots turned on their sides look beautiful in a natural tank. They love thick clumps of anubias nana to hide in. Anything that a little dwarf frog can get into will make a great hiding place. A majority of the aquarium decorations being sold today double as some sort of cave or hiding area.

Filtration keeps the water clean but a filter is not needed. In small tanks (3 gallons and smaller) i would not use a filter. Most small tanks that size come with internal filters powered by an airstone. This is a bad idea for dwarf frogs since they are sensitive to water vibrations. I would discard the internal filter and just do weekly water changes. In tanks larger then 3 gallons i would use a Whisper powerfilter. It is the quietest of all hanging filters and has least amount of surface disturbance. There is no need to overfilter if you tank is just dedicated to dwarfs (or the occasional snail or algea eater).

Lighting is optional as well. You can use flourescent, incandescent or none at all. But do turn out the lights for them at night, keeping lights on 24 hours is very unnatural and unsettling for them. It also encourages rapid algea growth.

African Dwarf frogs can be kept in a wide range of pH's. I keep my dwarf frog tank at a neutral pH of 7.0-7.2. Weekly water changes should be done to ensure clean water.

African Dwarf Frog Tank

Ideal environment for Dwarf frogs (gravel, silk plants, hiding areas)

Bare bottom "Kritter-Keeper"

This setup is easy to maintain and dwarfs thrive

Great Hiding Place Idea

Terra cotta pots "dwarf size" cost only cents at your local craft store

Terra cotta pots for hiding spots

Dwarf Frogs love them

Feeding Requirements

The best way to feed African Dwarf Frogs is on a small terra cotta plate (you can tiny ones at any craft store for about 50 cents, they are ment to go under the small terra cotta pots) if you are using gravel in their tank. The food gets lost easily in the gravel and these frogs don't do much foraging for their food (if it isnt in front of their face, chances are they wont find it). I place their food in a small bowl of water, I then draw it up in a turkey baster and then squirt it out slowly onto the small plate in the tank. This way they are able to find the food much easier can fill themselves up.

African Dwarf frogs thrive on a varied diet of live, frozen, freeze dried and pelleted food. Specially formulated pelleted food contains all the vitamins and minerals they need to grow healthy and happy, this should be fed as their staple diet.

Types Of Food

Live guppy fry : or any type of livebearer fry
Frozen or Freeze Dried Brineshrimp
Frozen or Freeze Dried Bloodworms or Glassworms
HBH Frog and Tadpole Bites
Reptomin
Gammarus
Frozen Beefheart
Frozen or Freeze dried krill or baby shrmp
Earthworms or nightcrawlers choped into small bite sized pieces

African Dwarf Frogs can eat just about all the foods that African Clawed Frogs will eat, except in small quantities and pieces.

More Methods of Feeding

You can just drop the food in the tank. The frogs will pick up the sent of the food and begin to search for it. Routine is key to feeding this way. Put the food in the same spot everytime and tap on the glass a little. Soon the frogs will go to the same spot everytime when its feeding time. When the feel the taping they will associate it with food. They do not have aggressive appetites like the African Clawed Frog does, so sometimes they may miss the food you put in the tank altogether.

Hand feeding is a much easier way to feed African Dwarf Frogs. Just hold the food in your fingers and feed it to the frog. If they get scared and swim away just follow them, eventually the sent of food will be too tempting. This way you know all the frogs are eating and finding the food. It also makes them super friendly and not shy of people! My dwarfs come to the front of the glass whenever they see my face since i started handfeeding them.

Using a turkey baster is also a fun way of feeding them without getting your arm wet. Draw their food up and squeeze it out slowly right above their heads. Pretty soon they will go straight to the tip of the turkey baster for food.

Dwarf frogs eating bloodworms

Dwarf frogs eating HBH pellets

dwarf frog eating a bloodworm