African Dwarf Frog Care Sheet

The African Dwarf Frog is a rather interesting little frog, that is low maintenance and easy to care, which makes it an excellent choice for a beginning frog keeper.

They are aquatic frogs that will spend the majority of their time under water but, they do have lungs, which means they must surface for air, much like a dolphin or whale. Some other features about this frog you might find interesting is, they do not have any teeth, a tongue or ears. They use their sensitive fingers and keen sense of smell to find their food, then stuff it into their mouths with their hands.

The African Dwarf Frog color varies from a light brown to an olive green, and some may develop dark spotting on their back. They range in size from 2-2 1/2 inches, so they don't require a large aquarium.

Housing Your African Dwarf Frog

As small as these frogs are, you can comfortably house 2-3 frog in a 10 - 15 gallon aquarium, allowing one gallon of water per frog. You never want to fill the aquarium all the way to the top though. Remember, they need to surface to breath, so make sure you leave a couple of inches between the lid and the water surface. Another thing to keep in mind; these frogs are slow swimmers, and spend a lot of time on the bottom of the tank, so make sure you don't make the water so deep that they can't make it back to the surface to breath.

Be sure you have a tight fitting lid on the tank, to prevent the frog from escaping. They do have the ability to climb short distances on glass.

Water Quality and Temperature

For the moment, think of these frogs as tropical fish. They have specific water quality and temperature needs similar to that of a tropical fish.

Water quality is very important to ensure a healthy frog, so your tank should be kept clean using an Aquarium Filter along with regular, weekly water changes. If you are using tap water to fill the tank, be sure to de-chlorinate it with a Water Conditioner otherwise, use mineral water.

Keeping the proper PH levels is also an important requirement. PH levels should be maintained between 6.8 - 7.8 so be sure to test the PH levels regularly with a PH Test Kit.

The water temperature should be kept between 72 - 82 degrees Fahrenheit, 75 degrees being optimal, so you may need to install a Submersible Aquarium Heater to maintain the correct temperatures.

Lighting

African Dwarf Frogs are nocturnal and in order to maintain their natural instinctive routines, they require a day/night lighting cycle. Without a lighting cycle, they can become disorientated and stressed, which can lead to illness or death.

Never put the tank in front of a window to simulate these lighting conditions. The sunlight coming through the window can cause the tank to over heat. Use an Aquarium Light with a cycle of 12 hours on and 12 hours off. Be mindful, some lights can raise the water temperature by several degrees.

Substrate

Some types of aquarium gravel are suitable as substrate, but make sure it is the Aquarium Pebbles type. Some of the smaller granule types of gravel can be rough and can damage the delicate skin of the African Dwarf Frog. If you plan on using live plants in your tank, then Live Plant Soil makes a perfect substrate.

Decorating Your Tank

There are two reasons you are going to want to place decorations in your tank. One, to make it aesthetically pleasing, two and more importantly, you want to give your frog plenty of places to hide and explore.

When choosing plants, if you are opting for artificial plants, only use the soft, silky type. Again, these frogs have very delicate skin so, you don't want to use hard plastic plants that may have sharp edges on it, that can cause an injury. Live plants are always the best choice in order to create a more eco- friendly environment.

To finish out the tank, include some larger rocks and a Hide or two.

Diet

Providing a varied diet will keep your African Dwarf Frog happy, healthy and thriving.

There are many types of food sources that can be fed such as:

Frozen or Freeze Dried; Baby Shimp, Beefheart, Bloodworms, Brineshimp, Glassworms and Krill.

Frog and Tadpole Pellets

Live Food; guppy fry, Earthworms and night crawlers. All should be purchased from a reliable feeder source. Never feed your frog wild caught live prey. It could lead to parasites.

When feeding your frogs, always drop the food into the tank in the same place and tap on the glass near the bottom of the tank, in the spot you are placing the food. After some time, the frogs will learn where to go to feed, but will only eat off the bottom. Since these frogs do not have very good eyesight, they will begin associating the taping with feeding time.

Only feed the African Dwarf Frog every couple of days and only feed as much as the frog will eat within a five minute time period. Over feeding will result in the tank becoming dirty more quickly. 

In Conclusion:

The easiest and most simple way to set up an African Dwarf Frog tank is to purchase an Aquarium Kit. It will come with almost everything you need. The items that are not normally included in these kits are inexpensive items such as, the PH test kit and substrate.

Good luck with your new pet frog!