ACF's and bottom feeders

[FrecklesandFreddie]

Good morning all, I have recently upgraded the size of my tank for my two ACF's and I'm wondering if I can add a bottom feeder. Will my frogs eat it? I feed them live fish about twice a week and pellets in between.

Thanks in advance, I'm still learning about these guys.

[mpmistr]

Good morning all, I have recently upgraded the size of my tank for my two ACF's and I'm wondering if I can add a bottom feeder. Will my frogs eat it? I feed them live fish about twice a week and pellets in between.

Thanks in advance, I'm still learning about these guys.

ACF will eat any fish they can fit in their mouths, period. Bottom feeders with bristles/spines are especially dangerous as they will result in the death of both frog and fish.. I would not recommend it.

Also do not feed goldfish/minnows of any sort.. they contain an enzyme called thiaminase that blocks B1 vitamin absorption, which will eventually make your frogs sick. Not to mention that fish store feeders are riddled with disease and parasites.. I'm breeding guppies to feed my frogs, breeding your own is the only safe way.

Honestly if you absolutely must have a bottom feeder my only suggestion would be keeping a LARGE Apple Snail (I keep a large snail in my tank .. but my frogs are still quite small) or Ghost Shrimp (effective scavengers but they will be eaten however they're dirt cheap and can be replaced).

[FrecklesandFreddie]

Thanks for the advise, I had a dwarf ACF for about 4 years...loved that little buggar to death. My two new ones ( I've had them for about 2 months now) are much bigger. One is about 3 inches in body length and the other is about 2 inches. I've been feeding them rosies purchased from the pet store. My old tank (3.5 gallon) has been cleaned and is cycling. I will try the guppies, not sure how to breed them though. I will pass on any type of bottom feeder, thanks again for chiming in.

[mpmistr]

Thanks for the advise, I had a dwarf ACF for about 4 years...loved that little buggar to death. My two new ones ( I've had them for about 2 months now) are much bigger. One is about 3 inches in body length and the other is about 2 inches. I've been feeding them rosies purchased from the pet store. My old tank (3.5 gallon) has been cleaned and is cycling. I will try the guppies, not sure how to breed them though. I will pass on any type of bottom feeder, thanks again for chiming in.

Do you have african dwarf frogs or clawed frogs? Dwarf frogs can be placed in a community tank.. if your frogs are over 2 inches they're probably african clawed frogs and yeah, they are very very different, bigger and more aggressive (only when it comes to eating though).

I would stop feeding rosies (they're minnows -- they contain thiaminase), frozen food and pellet is a much safer way to go. Earthworms and red Wrigglers are good for live food too.

Also these frogs require at least 10 gallons PER frog.. make sure you have an aquarium that is large enough, for two frogs a 20 gallon long would be ideal.

[FrecklesandFreddie]

Yes, they are clawed frogs and so darn cute!!! I have a 20 gal tank (I thought it was too big, but I guess not). I will NOT feed them rosies again, thanks! I have pellets, freeze dried shrimp and bloodworms. I didn't feed my dwarf anything but pellets since he was so small but these guys are bigger and I want to be sure I'm taking proper care of them so I can have them for many many years. You mentioned "frozen food"...is the freeze dried NOT a good idea?

Sorry about all the questions, I just found this site a couple of weeks ago...you folks are a wealth of knowledge!!

[mpmistr]

Yes, they are clawed frogs and so darn cute!!! I have a 20 gal tank (I thought it was too big, but I guess not). I will NOT feed them rosies again, thanks! I have pellets, freeze dried shrimp and bloodworms. I didn't feed my dwarf anything but pellets since he was so small but these guys are bigger and I want to be sure I'm taking proper care of them so I can have them for many many years. You mentioned "frozen food"...is the freeze dried NOT a good idea?

Sorry about all the questions, I just found this site a couple of weeks ago...you folks are a wealth of knowledge!!

I've only been keeping ACF for about a month and I've been trying to learn the ropes myself.

I keep two ACF in a 20g aquarium right now as well, but my frogs are still quite small, maybe a little over an inch. I am planning on moving them to a 55g when they are larger (i've got it set up in another room). Until they are adults I imagine a 20 gallon will suite them just fine, mine seem to have a lot of room to swim around since they're still young. If your 20g is a long tank than you are in good shape, if it's a taller tank like mine, it's probably not the most optimal tank for adult ACF but they should be fine really.

Avoid freeze dried food (can cause constipation, bloat, and poor health), I've read avoiding blood worms all together are a good idea but everyone seems to have a different opinion on that. I would suggest frozen foods not freeze dried.

I feed my frogs frozen foods such as PE Mysis Shrimp and very occasionally Hikari Bloodworms, they go crazy for both. The staple of my frogs diet is Reptomin though, which seems to be the most popular food for these guys. I place guppy fry (small baby guppies) in my aquarium for my frogs but so far zero have been eaten (they hang out on top of the water line and my frogs don't look up there!).

Oh and just to avoid any kind of tragedy you may want to make sure you use no substrate, large river rocks/pebbles, or very fine sand (like pool filter sand, not stuff like tahitian moon they sell at pet stores). Your typical aquarium gravel is a bad idea, these guys can gobble up gravel and choke/become impacted which would be bad news obviously.

[Geoff]

Oh and just to avoid any kind of tragedy you may want to make sure you use no substrate, large river rocks/pebbles, or very fine sand (like pool filter sand, not stuff like tahitian moon they sell at pet stores). Your typical aquarium gravel is a bad idea, these guys can gobble up gravel and choke/become impacted which would be bad news obviously.

These frogs can distinguish what's edible and quickly regurgitate gravel, stones, etc that they accidentally scoop into their mouths. Also, a question you may wish to think about is: if frogs go around ingesting rocks, gravel, bark, etc., how is it possible that they've managed to survive for so long in the wild? The "impaction" myth has been around for as long as the Internet but it has no basis in fact in my experience of keeping Xenopus continuously (mostly on aquarium gravel) for 26 years.

[mpmistr]

You very well may be right I guess I'm just not willing to risk it, I've seen them spit non-edibles out before without any problems. I believe ADF however do swallow gravel some times (seen pics) and I have no doubt that it is POSSIBLE just rare. Why risk it?

I personally prefer sand any ways so that's what I usually go with.

[FrecklesandFreddie]

These frogs can distinguish what's edible and quickly regurgitate gravel, stones, etc that they accidentally scoop into their mouths. Also, a question you may wish to think about is: if frogs go around ingesting rocks, gravel, bark, etc., how is it possible that they've managed to survive for so long in the wild? The "impaction" myth has been around for as long as the Internet but it has no basis in fact in my experience of keeping Xenopus continuously (mostly on aquarium gravel) for 26 years.

That's kind of what I was thinking, but I've made sure their environment is a safe one. I have my old tank set up to house their "feeders". I've purchased a rather large supply of ghost shrimp, maybe 50 or so, also I went with the frozen shrimp brine (sp) as well as the pellets. My little guys/gals (not sure of their gender) seem to be happy and healthy. Thanks for the reply!!

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[rodsboys]

These frogs can distinguish what's edible and quickly regurgitate gravel, stones, etc that they accidentally scoop into their mouths. Also, a question you may wish to think about is: if frogs go around ingesting rocks, gravel, bark, etc., how is it possible that they've managed to survive for so long in the wild? The "impaction" myth has been around for as long as the Internet but it has no basis in fact in my experience of keeping Xenopus continuously (mostly on aquarium gravel) for 26 years.

I don't know of too many habitats in Africa where the bottom is covered with aquarium gravel. If a guy wants to be cautious for whatever reason, let him.