African Dwarf Frogs

[Ahappymel]

My son was given this as a gift yesterday:

http://www.brookstone.com/Frog-O-Sph...FSYoawodi3au_g

I am reading about these African Dwarf Frogs and it seems that this habitat is horrible for them. It says you need a gallon of water per frog and a lot more hiding area. And they need to eat more than twice a week according to the website I was at (Brookstone instructions say 2 times a week).
Either way, I feel bad for the little guys in the tiny little habitat, they look like they are trying to escape.
Anyhow...does anyone have experience with these kinds of frogs?
Can I move them to a small tank? Fresh water? Easy tank mates? Frequency of feeding?
Thanks!-Mel.

[Oubliette8]

Yes, they can be moved to a small tank. Make sure it has a cover so they cant jump out. I'd imagine a 2 gallon tank should be fine. I've read they can be kept with peaceful community fish- tetras and zebra danios are probably ideal. However, a 2 gallon tank is not really big enough for 2 frogs AND fish. The general rule of thumb for freshwater aquariums is an inch of fish (full grown) per gallon of water. You have to figure the frogs in there too. In a 10 gallon you could probably keep 2 frogs plus 8 1 inch fish. Yes, its freshwater. Frogs can be quite messy, so you'll need to do tank cleanings more regularly than if you just had fish. Also, when you set up the tank, add the old gravel into the new tank. It should contain beneficial bacteria and will seed the gravel in your new tank. If you don't seed a new tank with bacteria, the natural chemicals in the water take a few weeks to cycle and settle to safe levels. Adding in seed gravel, or buying good bacteria from the petstore (they make a refrigerated kind- I can't recall its name right now) will make the tank safe for frogs and fish much quicker.

[sagewinna]

We had those, from a Grow-A-Frog kit, many years ago. Their lifespan is around 5 years. They are escape artists. They will cram anything that moves into their mouths, so don't house them with anything that can't swim very fast. One of mine, which had been rehomed to a friends house, got a small fish stuck in it's mouth and she had to remove it! We ended up with a male and female and a lot of eggs.

I did a bunch of research after I found out what kind of frogs they were (Yes, I should have researched them before hand and I learned a hardlesson!) and they are very destructive to natural habitats and it's illegal to release them.

Mine weren't very messy. The male made a beautiful noise when he was trying to get the female's attention, and they were interesting to watch.

[momof2kiddos]

We have 2 happy tree frogs living in a 10 gallon fish tank. DS got a Habitat for a gift and we ended up with 2 frogs now in a 10 gallon tank with the habitat inside for there little pond. We got some sticks from outside out to put in there for climbing and put a screen locking top on it. They eat about one or 2 small crickets every other day and we have a cricket habitat for the crickets. I purchase 1 doz. Crickets a week from the local farm store and it runs me about 1 a week.

[Oubliette8]

I just wanted to point out that while that is appropriate care for tree frogs, it is not for African Dwarf Frogs. ADF's are fully aquatic- their habitat should be almost entirely underwater. Adding something near the surface for them to cling to when they stick their noses out to breath would be ok, but not necessary. And they don't eat crickets routinely, and are going to be far too small for even the smallest crickets for most of their lives. They need a sinking pellet type food, or certain kinds of aquatic larva- like bloodworms.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I have one in my 20g with my fish. They do eat fish so they help control my population since I have live bearers and they reproduce super fast.

[Ahappymel]

Originally Posted by Oubliette8

I just wanted to point out that while that is appropriate care for tree frogs, it is not for African Dwarf Frogs. ADF's are fully aquatic- their habitat should be almost entirely underwater. Adding something near the surface for them to cling to when they stick their noses out to breath would be ok, but not necessary. And they don't eat crickets routinely, and are going to be far too small for even the smallest crickets for most of their lives. They need a sinking pellet type food, or certain kinds of aquatic larva- like bloodworms.

Yup, they are completely immersed. There is a little tiny bamboo plant in there that could barely take them above the water if they wanted but they don't seem to want to
They came with tiny food pellets which the instructions say to give (2 pellets per frog) 2 times a week.
Most crickets are bigger than these frogs : )

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

They can eat pieces of earth worms and something they truly love are frozen bloodworms. I can get them at my local pet store but they can also be found online a good place is a fish auction site called aquabid.

[BreaMarie]

I just wanted to add that it's ideal for ADFs to have a heater in their tank. They can survive without it, but they're usually more active with it.

[Ahappymel]

UPDATE:
Due to issues broached above, we as a family decided to donate the frogs to my littlest boy's nursery school. They have several large tanks (some heated too) and we think the froggies will be happier in a nice big habitat with a heater : )
I hope they transition well!