New African Dwarf Frog Won't Eat:

Hello again! Sorry to be a noob and post two questions in a row without contributing much to the community, but I really am very new to this and research is no substitute for experience.

That said, I have a newly cycled 10 gallon tank (pH 7.4, nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia all at 0), with three plants, good hiding space, two nerite snails, one mystery snail, four ghost shrimp, and an African dwarf frog. The tank is a standard long kept at 75 degrees.

I've only just added the frog about 30 hours ago, but he hasn't eaten anything. I've read that they're blind, so you need to put the food right in front of him. I've offered him frozen Omega One premium brine shrimp (thawed) a few times since he moved in. I drop them basically on his head and he hasn't touched them yet. I probably seem like I'm jumping the gun in such a short time span, but I really don't want to kill my first frog and would rather bring him back to the aquarium store if the conditions I've provided for him are wrong.

My concerns are: Is it possible the water's too deep? (10") Is it possible the other animals in the tank are stressing him out? Is it possible the current is too high? (There is some current produced by the sponge filter in one corner of the tank, but it's all at the surface.) Is it too early to be worrying about?

Thank you in advance for you time and advice!

Okay, so right after I posted that, he flipped over and was lying on his back. I took him out of the water and he started moving around again, so I moved him to a 2 gallon heated tank that tests at all the same specs so see if a smaller isolation tank helps him out. Why would he float along the bottom of the tank on his back?

 

30 hours isn't a big deal. Mine often don't eat for two or three days. Mine also will not eat unless the food is moving. I feed mine live fish. When I feed them tubifex worms I have to use my plant tweezers and wave the worms around until it catches their attention. Mine very very very rarely eat any flake/pellets/immobile food.

Okay, so right after I posted that, he flipped over and was lying on his back. I took him out of the water and he started moving around again, so I moved him to a 2 gallon heated tank that tests at all the same specs so see if a smaller isolation tank helps him out. Why would he float along the bottom of the tank on his back?

They often float at the surface and very often upside down. This is common. So never flush your frog until you're 100% he's dead. They do this often somtimes while stressed and sometimes for no reason.

I would stop messing with him and moving him and simply give him time to get comfortable. Make sure he has something to hide in/under. They love to wedge themselves under driftwood and rocks. Moving him will continue to prolong his stress


Edit:

Also the shrimp and snails shouldn't stress him. He may eat the shrimp and nip the snails though. Mine eat ghost shrimp, and have killed a few mystery snails in the past. Its possible he might not even bother them.

The current and depth doesn't sound like an issue. I have a bunch of them ane they're in deeper and faster moving water and they have no issues. Warm water helps prolong their life... they can survive in the dirtiest water ever but clean water obviously is better. Just give him time to settle in. If he shows no interest in food after another day and a half then maybe there's cause for concern (or take a head count on your shrimp) also mine hunt at dusk and dawn when light is low and fish are sleeping. They sneak under neath and strike them.

 

Thank you for your reply. I didn't think he was dead. He was swimming to the surface and seemed to give up halfway and flipped at the bottom, so I thought he couldn't make it to the surface for air and brought him out to take a breath. Is it possible 10" is too deep for him? I'll try the feeding method you suggested and leave him in the small tank for now. Maybe I should switch to worms, because he hasn't reacted at all to the thawed shrimp and they're too small to wave around in tweezers.

 

I've tried shrimp in the papast with no luck. They like blood worms and tubifex though. Also I edited my above post again

 

Thank you so much! I'll try bloodworms if he doesn't eat any shrimp tomorrow.

 

Freeze dried tubifex worms are easy to feed. Just break off a corner of the cube like maybe 1/8th of the whole cube and just let it float in the current so its moving or try waving it slightly in front of his face. Usually if they attack it once they will learn to "hunt" it when its drifting on the surface.

 

My African dwarf frog wouldn't eat either for like a week (!). What I ended up doing was feeding him frozen blood worms with a pair of long tweezers. I had to put them right in his face before he got the idea. Super cute but not real bright.

 

Thanks again to everyone who's replied! I switched to blood worms and waved them around in his face as suggested and he started eating. I've read about people training them on a feeding plate. Has anyone tried that with any success? I don't really like putting my hands in the water so much. I'm worried it might destabilize conditions if I ever have anything on my skin from showering or whatever else.

 

I tried the plate but it failed. mine didnt eat for two weeks when I first got them. the hight of a ten ten gallon is fine. mine just swim half way up then down and like to just lay in the current. i'd say after another two days to put him back in the 10 gallon.

 

I'm planning on moving him into the bigger tank eventually, but don't have an alternative need for the one he's in right now and he's doing so much better that I'm going to leave him there for a good bit. Also, based on what someone said about my ghost shrimp, I want to give them a chance to grow a bit more before he moves back in. Maybe I should just get some long tweezers? What are the chances of my polluting the tank with too much contact with my skin? I was my hands kind of an excessive amount and wash dishes frequently, so my concern is with soap. All of my aquarium containers are aquarium specific so as not to cause cross contamination with chemicals. How often is safe to reach into a tank?

 

Just wanted to add, I feed mine frozen bloodworms. I suck them up into a medicine syringe and hold them directly in front of their faces. They jump at the worms and will eat as many as I feed. I do this about every two days.

 

Maybe I should just get some long tweezers? What are the chances of my polluting the tank with too much contact with my skin? I was my hands kind of an excessive amount and wash dishes frequently, so my concern is with soap. All of my aquarium containers are aquarium specific so as not to cause cross contamination with chemicals. How often is safe to reach into a tank?

I would think that if you thoroughly wash your hands with warm/hot water before putting your hands in (or just get mega-long tweezers so that your hands don't even get wet -- I have a pair that's 18" long!), you shouldn't have a problem. That's what I do. First soap, then a thorough rinsing, and then a water-only "wash."

It is my understanding, however, that you shouldn't put your hands into your tank if you have any open sores, because you could pick up a weirdo infection.

 

We hand feed my brother's ADF raw tilapia, he loves it.

 

They make the little worm holders that suction cup to the inside. They're inexpensive but I'm not sure how well it would work.

I also use gloves whenever my hand is going inside any aquarium. I get big boxes of vinyl powder free gloves.

Also you can get a whole set of very nice aquascaping tools for 7 $ or a single pair of tweezers for 3$ on amazon or walmart website. I've been using the 7 $ set for years and have come in handy more times than I can count. Not just for pruning and planting.

Like mentioned above you could always get a medicine syringe which is like 1$ at drug stores. They're good for measuring additives and dechlorinators. I keep a few on hand. Even better is a coral syringe its much much longer and you won't have to get your hand wet. They start at 8 $ on amazon iirc.

 

I use a turkey baster to feed mine, they eat frozen brine shrimps but prefer blood worms. Some of them eats pellets while others don't recognized pellets as food.