Adf With Amano Shrimp?

Hello everyone,

I have a 30 gallon long tank with some RCS, Amanos and a male and a female BN pleco. I'm considering giving away the BN plecos as they fight a lot even though they are a breeding pair. They spawn often so the male is in his cave most of the time, but during the weeks where he isn't, he chases the female around all the time and attacks her during feeding. I'm guessing this is somewhat how they normally behave, but I feel bad for the female.
As mentioned I have RCS and Amanos as well and I'm especially fond of the Amanos. I'm considering switching the BN plecos with 2 - 3 ADFs, but I fear for my shrimp. I know the RCS are most likely to get eaten since they're smaller and slower, but I can live with that. However, I love my Amanos and would be quite sad to see them getting eaten. The ones I have are different sizes, but when they get to full size which some of them are they're quite big and fat.

Do you think 2 - 3 ADFs will eat full grown Amano shrimp?
It might be worth mentioning that I have a lot of hiding spaces and many plants close together, kinda like a little forest.

I'm also a little confused about whether or not my tank is compatible with the ADFs. I have some black gravel about 3 - 4 mm that does not have smooth edges and a lot of driftwood, some of if with somewhat sharp edges. I also have different kind of rocks. I don't know why but I always feel like people with ADFs in their tank don't have a lot of decorations or driftwood, which makes it seem like ADFs can't just move into any community tank. Is this true?

I'm completely new to frogs, but I have researched quite a bit. I just don't wanna get an animal that I can't take care of in the best way possible.

Of course the tank is well established and cycled.

Thanks for any advise for any comments!

 

I wouldn't put any ADFs in with shrimp, for the frogs' safety. A full grown Amano is the same size as or even in some cases larger than a full grown ADF and their claws are very dangerous. ADFs are very sensitive things that are easily injured and kind of honestly are not great at being frogs (terrible swimmers, bad eyesight, awful at finding food). Your shrimp will easily out compete them for food unless you remove the frogs for feedings and feed them separately. They will also compete for space on the bottom of the tank and frogs are not fighters. If the shrimp fight the frogs, the shrimp will win.

If you wanted to do a frog tank (I recommend species tanks for them anyway), they enjoy tanks with lots of hides, lots of plants (real or fake - if they're fake, be sure they're silk), and friends. They're very social. Two to three is a good number but the more frogs you have, the happier they'll be. Also, any decor must pass the pantyhose test. Frogs' skin is so delicate that some keepers (myself included) won't use nets when catching them because most nets are rough. And unlike fish, once a frog is injured it is EXTREMELY difficult for them to recover. My successes with sick frogs are not at all normal - my recent losses are. A bit pat of their recovery and success is that they live in a species tank and are fortunate enough to be a member of a very docile species.

 

Thanks for all the advise!

When you talk about the Amanos being dangerous for the ADF, you mean that they'll of course use their claws on the frog as they do on everything else, right? Are ADFs really so sensitive that they will be injured from this?
If so they should definitely not be together since my shrimp are very active using their claws non-stop.
I could probably manage the feeding. Just gonna feed the shrimp first and when they're all off eating somewhere I could feed the frogs, however this won't make them compatible anyway.

The pantyhose test is putting the decor in a pantyhose and see if they rip, right? Does this mean that I have to pull out the decor that's already in my tank to test it, cause that would be really difficult with some of the stuff. Especially the big piece of driftwood with the seven java ferns attached.

What do you use to catch them if not a net?
And how many would you suggest in a 30 gallon long if it's only ADFs in there? I don't want as many as possible, but enough so that they feel as comfortable and social as possible.

Thanks again!

 

ADFs don't have a slime coat like fish or other frogs - I tend to think of them as elderly people with easily tearable skin.

If you put them in a 30 long, be sure to target feed them - it's a lot of space and they're very blind. It's five gallons for the first frog and then one to two gallons per additional frog. You could have a huge colony in there. I moved my colony recently from their baby tank (10) to a grow out (20 long). By next year they should be in a 40 for their final home.

At least five frogs would be a perfectly fine community for them. I've noticed that the bigger their community the more active and happy they are. Just be sure that everyone is eating because sometimes they're greedy.

I catch my frogs by hand. I try and catch them in my fist (and sometimes I get a fair amount of gravel, but as long as you don't press down, it won't hurt them) but sometimes I herd them against a wall and use my fingers to scoop them into my palm. I try and handle them as sparingly as possible - when moving tanks or once a month when I vacuum the gravel and rearrange their decor. Again, they don't have a slime coat so I don't want my skin to hurt theirs.

They do hide a lot, which is why it's so important to do the pantyhose test on all of their decor. You're exactly right, you run pantyhose along the decor and if it snags (and you don't think you'll be able to smooth that part out), it's too sharp. They also need silk plants if you aren't going to have a planted tank. If you want to do a planted tank, go for it - they'll love you.

 

ADFs don't have a slime coat like fish or other frogs - I tend to think of them as elderly people with easily tearable skin.

If you put them in a 30 long, be sure to target feed them - it's a lot of space and they're very blind. It's five gallons for the first frog and then one to two gallons per additional frog. You could have a huge colony in there. I moved my colony recently from their baby tank (10) to a grow out (20 long). By next year they should be in a 40 for their final home.

At least five frogs would be a perfectly fine community for them. I've noticed that the bigger their community the more active and happy they are. Just be sure that everyone is eating because sometimes they're greedy.

I catch my frogs by hand. I try and catch them in my fist (and sometimes I get a fair amount of gravel, but as long as you don't press down, it won't hurt them) but sometimes I herd them against a wall and use my fingers to scoop them into my palm. I try and handle them as sparingly as possible - when moving tanks or once a month when I vacuum the gravel and rearrange their decor. Again, they don't have a slime coat so I don't want my skin to hurt theirs.

They do hide a lot, which is why it's so important to do the pantyhose test on all of their decor. You're exactly right, you run pantyhose along the decor and if it snags (and you don't think you'll be able to smooth that part out), it's too sharp. They also need silk plants if you aren't going to have a planted tank. If you want to do a planted tank, go for it - they'll love you.

Thanks for replying!

I bought the frogs yesterday. I moved some stuff (and fish) around and I've put them in a 14 gallon tank. I got the advise that it was better since it's not as tall. It's also easier with the water flow. The 30 gallon long has a pleco in it and plenty shrimp, so getting them to eat any food would be impossible and the current would hurt them.
They're in a species only tank with six real plants and a baffled filter and heater. I unfortunately didn't notice it at the shop, but I got one frog who's missing an entire front flipper. He seems to be doing fine, though and it seems the flipper has been missing for a long time. It almost looks like he was born without it.
I tried feeding them yesterday, but it's really hard. One came out to eat and found the bowl and I found another under a plant that I tried to feed by waving blood worms in its face. I think it ate some of them. The other two I couldn't find.
Today I've tried feeding them again as they're a little skinny, but I can only find three. One is pretty active and even found the bowl with food in. The other two I fed by hand again. The fourth I couldn't find.
I've ordered a turkey baster type of tool to feed them with, since I couldn't find any at stores near by. I'm still waiting for it to arrive, so it's pretty difficult to feed them.
Do you have any tricks when it comes to feeding them? So far it has taken me 20 minutes to get some of them to eat. How do I feed them if they won't come out of their hides and I can't find them?

 

After about a week they'll learn that turkey baster = food so when you lift the lid to feed them, they should poke their heads out. For now, check very carefully for everyone and if you can't find one, put a worm or two near likely hiding places.

They may also be stressed from transport. Mine don't always eat the day I bring them home. I just place some food by them and usually it's gone by morning. If they're not eating within two or three days, that could be a problem.

 

I'm still waiting to get my turkey baster, but everything should get much easier once I get it.
Yesterday at feeding I saw all four, so they're definitely still in there and alive. I also think that I got everyone to eat something. One definitely got enough food, as it found the dish. They're probably still a little stressed out from being put in a new environment.
How much are these frogs supposed to move around? How active are they once they settle in?
Right now they mostly hide and they don't move around a lot. I know that they're supposed to move around in their own awkward way walking around a little and then stopping and then moving around again, but when they move they mainly just walk a couple of inches and then stop. Is this normal or will they get more active?
Also, do you think that four is an appropriate amount for a 14 gallon?

Thanks for replying, I really appreciate it!

 

No problem!

ADFs are more active at night. If you turn off your tank lights an hour before bed every night you'll see them playing around. They do hide a lot, that's normal. They also don't swim well and that's normal too.

Four is a great amount for a tank that size!

 

I have a 20 gallon tank with 5 ADFs and 1 amano shrimp. I had the frogs first and the very first week when I added the shrimp the female frogs were very curious and were watching it, sometimes trying to get it. But the shrimp was very fast to swim away. This shrimp is very fast!
Now I had the shrimp for about 2-3 months. The frogs don't seem to care about it. They live peacefully together.
I don't have a problem with feeding. When I feed the frogs I put food in front of the shrimp too and it usually doesn't go where the frogs feed.

 

When I first got some adfs, It took them a while to get out of their hides for feeding. First, I usually lightly tap a few times on the aquarium glass to let them know it's feeding time or I simply put a tiny amount of food to have them come to the front, they usually come out faster when it's blood worms. They should get used to your turkey baster in no time