Adf tank, foods, etc

Hello! (Sorry for asking so many questions, I am new to fish keeping) I am going to get some African Dwarf Frogs (ADFs) soon, and I have a few questions. They are:
- I have a somewhat large hole in the lid of the tank so my plants can get light. Will the frogs jump out? I've read some stories about people's ADFs jumping right out of any holes in the lid.
- If they will jump out, what can I do to block the hole so that the frogs can't get out but my plants can still get light? I have a plant in there that needs somewhat high amounts of light, and I fear that blocking the hole with, like, cheesecloth or something will kill it (although it isn't doing too well anyway. Maybe I will replace it, or give up on having a planted tank, then I could just block up the hole entirely but I do not want to give up on live plants yet. Do the plants even need a hole for light, or can it just go through the plastic lid? So many questions!)
- What can I use to attach some cheesecloth to the filter input so that the ADF's limbs don't get caught inside? Like, can I use duct tape or something?
- I plan on feeding it ZooMed aquatic frog and tadpole pellets mostly, along with some frozen bloodworms. Is this a good diet?
- How much should I feed? An employee in my local fish store said to feed two or three pellets, but that doesn't seem like much. However, I don't want to make it too fat. The frogs are pretty small.
- How often should I feed? I'm thinking once every other day?
- I want to put a Ramshorn snail inside to help with keeping the tank clean. Will the frogs be fine with this? Other than that, I am keeping it a species-only tank.
- Will the excess amount of light I use for my plants harm the frogs? I have one big hiding place, and hopefully when the plants will grow out then they will have more.

Thanks so much for reading, I'm so sorry about all these questions.

 

1. They will jump out if they can.
2. You can close the hole with plastic mesh.
3. Duct tape will loosen underwater.
4. Yeah, but feed live foods too.
5. ?
6. The snail will prob. be fine.
7. If there is a cave they should be okay.

Hope this helps!

 

1. They will jump out if they can.
2. You can close the hole with plastic mesh.
3. Duct tape will loosen underwater.
4. Yeah, but feed live foods too.
5. ?
6. The snail will prob. be fine.
7. If there is a cave they should be okay.

Hope this helps!

Thanks! What I meant by the fifth one is that I was asking how many pellets I should be feeding the frogs. Is there a good, safe alternative to the duct tape that I can use, though? Thanks again!

 

I would try a rubber band or two.

 

hey there, i'd highly recommend going through these three posts if you haven't already!

Care Sheet For African Dwarf Frogs (a little outdated imo; there are a few things in here I don't 100% agree with that I'll mention later, but an overall good caresheet)

Important - Chytrid Fungus in ADF's and ACF's

Chytrid In The Summertime

i'm going to reply later today and try to answer your specific questions. i'm busy atm but I don't want to lose this thread lol

 

1) Yes if they can climb or jump out, they are likely to try it at some point.

2) You can use plastic craft mesh (super cheap at craft stores) cut to fit and tape to lid. Covering the holes completely shouldn't matter really if your lights are inside the hood. Not sure what kind of plastic lid you have on it or what lighting.

3) You can use a pre-filter sponge on the intake of filter or put a mesh filter media bag over it using the drawstring if it has one or rubber bands.

4) Pellets and frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp (thaw in a small container with tank water) are both fine.

5) You can start with a few pellets and see how much they will eat at one time to get an idea of the right amount. Mine do not like pellets very much, so it comes down to how much they will take without having a bunch leftover to rot in the tank. My guppies are pigs and will eat the frog's food, so I spot feed them until they won't take any more food every other day and let the guppies clean up the small amount of leftovers.

6) The snail should do fine.

7) As long as there is a sufficient amount of lights out time they should be ok. They do like any sort of cave or decoration they can hide in, as well as plants.

 

first off, what size is the tank? do you have any pics of the tank? what kind of light? i'm a little unclear on what kind of setup you have lol, i'm curious.

- mine never tried to escape, but it's definitely a good idea to have a lid or some kind of mesh top.

- i'm assuming you have a hob? adfs like low flow filters because they're lazy swimmers and easily swept away. I had to adjust my hob to the lowest flow setting for one of my adfs because she would always start floating and falling over if I increased the flow. my other frog was fine though, she was just weird. a lot of people just stick a piece of filter sponge over their intake. it should stay on better than a cheesecloth and not need any rubber bands or anything and provide more filtration and surface area for beneficial bacteria.

- my frogs wouldn't touch the pellets. I personally don't feel comfortable feeding my pets overly processed foods containing a lot of fillers. pellets can also easily cause bloating, which adfs are prone to. is the most recommended brand i've seen.

adfs LOVE frozen bloodworms, but tbh they aren't very nutritious and can cause problems. I fed my frogs a diet solely consisting of bloodworms which I would NOT recommend. my one frog did fine for 5+ years, but the other was overfed (my fault) and got dropsy. I had to euthanize her. I was feeding them san francisco bay brand bloodworms, which don't have a lot of good reviews. their brand is notorious for mishandling their frozen foods and they might carry parasites or are just plain nasty. i'd stay away from that brand (hikarI is probably the best brand, but i've decided not to risk bloodworms anymore no matter where they're from). again, I had no problems with them up until that point, and many other people use it just fine, but if you get a bad batch...

anyway, adfs need a varied diet. feeding them once every other day is great to prevent bloating. I would only give them 2-3 pellets a day, same with worms or shrimp or whatever you choose. the adf care sheet I linked you has a giant list of food options. I was feeding my adfs frozen mysis shrimp and spirulina brine shrimp in the end.

- one ramshorn probably won't do much, and it might breed. i'm not sure about their reproduction rate when they're alone, but they are pest snails, and can multiply quickly.

- one of my frogs hated the light and would stay in his cave 90% of the time. the other seemed unbothered by it. I think they'll be fine.

I encourage you to also please be aware of the chytrid fungus and how to prevent/treat it! adfs also seem to be very susceptible to other fungal and bacterial infections these days. i'd go ahead and read through some threads on the amphibians forum just to get an idea and do a little research. not trying to dissuade you from getting these cute little froggies, I just want you to be aware of any potential issues and how to be prepared for them in case they happen. if i'm being honest, I stopped buying adfs because they would always get sick and die within a day or two.

 

Wow, thanks for all the information and replies! My tank is a 5 gallon and my setup looks like the attached picture.It's got Golden Liodella, medium Amazon sword, and Mayaca Fluvatis in it, along with some rocks (I forget what type) and some gravel with minerals for plants. I forgot the wattage of the lights, but they are LEDs I think. I set the filter output to the lowest possible setting, and it seems fine for the frogs. I have some spare metal mesh lying around, if that would be fine to use to cover the holes? I've heard that superglue can be used to attach things underwater. I also had no idea that chytrid fungus could grow on aquatic frogs! Thanks for that. I already knew that is was prominent on land frogs, but not aquatic ones. Again, thanks a ton for all of the help, I'm thinking that I'm prepared for these little guys!

 

oooh, I love the cave! metal mesh will be fine. I think the only problem it poses is maybe rusting in the future.

show us pics when you get the frogs!!

 

oooh, I love the cave! metal mesh will be fine. I think the only problem it poses is maybe rusting in the future.

show us pics when you get the frogs!!

Ok! Thanks so much