African Dwarf Frog Care Sheet

African Dwarf Frogs are air breathing, fully aquatic frogs that live in still, shaded water in lowland rainforests and in pools by slow-flowing rivers. As adults they range in size from 1”-2.5” in body length. ADFs live in large colonies in their natural environment. For this reason I recommend keeping three together at a minimum.

Species-only

These animals fare best in a species only aquarium. In the wild fish are either predators or prey and putting them together in a contained environment is a risk. At a minimum it is stressful. At worst it can result in the deaths of both animals.

Other amphibians may be carriers of chytrid fungus that doesn’t harm the host but will mean death for an adf.

Shrimp may become a meal and may or may not be digested by the frog; if it is not digested it can cause impaction and ultimately death.

Snails can trap a frog’s limbs and cause it to drown, and can attach to a frog’s skin causing wounds. Small snails can cause impaction if swallowed. Larger snails have long body parts that frogs may nip at. Some can do this relentlessly, causing the snail’s death or the frog being trapped as the snail closes up to protect itself.

Aside from the direct risk there are many other reasons to maintain a species-only aquarium. Most fish medications are not safe for frogs. The medications that are safe are given at half doses to treat frogs. Fish are typically faster eaters and have been known to starve frogs. Owner’s sometimes overfeed the tank to compensate which results in obese fish and a filthy tank, and the frogs can still starve. Frogs are carnivorous and many fish foods are not healthy for them. 

 Environment

ADFs naturally live in still, shallow water. They require low flow filtration and a water temperature between 72-80ºF. The recommendation is to maintain a water depth of less than 12” with space at the top for them to surface for air. They experience greater depths during flooding when they would swim in search of shallow water or when diving down to evade predators. Constantly living in these conditions is stressful. Young frogs require even lower depths and old, wounded, or sick frogs can drown in deeper water.

The water they live in is shaded. Providing cover from bright light and offering lots of places to hide in plain sight will make them more comfortable and you will see more of their natural behavior. Floating plants, low-light loving plants, and dimmable lights are excellent choices. I find that they enjoy a siesta period during the middle of the day with the lights dimmed or off completely. If you're using fake plants that don’t require light at all you can either keep a low intensity aquarium light (most hoods that come with kits have low light) or leave the light off entirely and allow the natural light in the room to dictate a day/night cycle for them.

Aquarium

The guideline for water volume is 4 gallons for the first frog and 2 gallons for each additional frog. A larger water volume is always better as long as it remains below 12” deep. Parameters from the source water may allow for more or less frogs. Not overfeeding and a willingness to clean regularly can allow for more frogs. Keep in mind that the actual water volume of a tank is usually less than the tank is labeled for and decreases as things are added to the aquarium including substrate, decorations and filters. A standard 5 gallon tank holds about 4 gallons with nothing else in it; it will hold around 3 gallons with standard substrate depth, plants and decorations. A standard 10 gallon tank or larger is recommended. Tanks larger than a standard 10 gallon start to increase water depth. This can be mitigated by adding a deeper substrate and allowing more empty space at the top. Allowing plants to emerge above the water line can help them remove nitrogen and is very attractive. If the goal of having a larger tank is to increase the population of your frog colony the focus should be the increasing the size of the footprint; the 20 gallon long, 30 breeder, 33 gallon long, and low boy/frag tanks are all excellent options. 

Sponge filters and corner box filters are highly recommended for small tanks. Standard 20 gallon long and larger aquariums can use HOBs but I don’t recommend them for smaller aquariums. Some filters have strong intakes that can suck frogs onto the filter and trap them. Some have slits that can trap frog limbs. If you have one of these you will need to cover the intake to prevent wounds and drowning.

Bare bottom tanks or a substrate with a diameter >5 mm is important to avoid impaction. Sand is not recommended. Floating plants and easy care, low-light plants that do not require fertilizer or injected CO2 are good choices. 

A lid with no openings is recommended to prevent escape. They generally only attempt to escape if they are ill or there is something wrong with the water quality. They can only live out of water for around 15 minutes. They can travel remarkable distances in search of water. Having a secure lid will give you time to notice the problem and solve it.

Feeding

The recommended diet is frozen mysis shrimp, live black worms, and frog pellets. Bloodworms and freeze-dried foods have been associated with bloat. There are more nutritious options that are readily available at the same cost so no reason to risk it. My froglets have all been fed frozen mysis shrimp, daphnia and tubefix worms, live baby brine shrimp, daphnia, seed shrimp and blackworms during their development. They have not been fed pellets so may have an adjustment period to adapt. 

Fake VS Natural

This isn’t a competition; both are perfectly fine choices. They both have risks and benefits. Some are the same and some are different. The benefits of both are that they provide hiding places and aesthetic appeal. 

Some fake decorations have sharp edges that can wound frogs, have paint that can chip off, leach chemicals in the water that can change the parameters or directly harm animals, and often have hollow spaces in which frogs can get trapped. When choosing fake decorations keep all of this in mind. The FB aquarium forums are full of information about specific decorations and ways to mitigate some of these issues. For our frogs, any decoration with hollow spaces that lead to the surface with no means of escaping through the top could result in drowning. 

Natural decorations present some of the same issues. Different types of wood and stones/substrates can affect the kH and pH of the water. They may have sharp edges that could wound a frog. And they may have hollow space that can trap frogs. A unique benefit of live plants is that they act as biological filtration. They will remove some of the nitrogen from the water. 

Any decoration that is taken from a tank at the store has the potential to come with small snails. Live plants can be purchased as tissue cultures grown and sold out of the water. These will most likely experience some melting when put into the aquarium but will ensure a snail-free environment. There are methods for removing snails when quarantining plants but the most effective solution is to buy tissue cultured plants.

Maintenance

Perform Regular weekly water changes of 30-50% while vacuuming the bottom of the tank. Replace with dechlorinated water that matches the temperature within a few degrees fahrenheit. You can wipe down the walls of the aquarium before the water change to remove any algae or diatoms that develop during the week. If you have fake decor you can remove it to clean underneath and wipe them down in either discarded tank water or tap water. If you notice the filter flow has slowed down or particles are floating in the water thoroughly rinse the filter media in discarded tank water. Too much cleaning all at once can disrupt the nitrogen cycle. This is something we just have to develop a feel for. I recommend using a liquid test kit before water changes and a couple days after to get a sense for how your system responds to water changes and cleaning. Some tanks can have everything cleaned all at once without a blip and others suffer a bit. Testing like this isn't something that has to be done forever but it helps while establishing a new tank to get an idea of what is going on in the system. If the cycle suffers a little it usually doesn't take long to get back on track. Reducing feeding, lowering the temperature until it repairs itself and performing water changes as needed will help.

Salmonella

Salmonella is a bacteria that infects humans usually from eating food contaminated with animal feces. It is far more likely that we will infect our frogs than them infecting us but it is possible to contract Salmonella from handling amphibians and things in their environment. Best practices are to wash hands and thoroughly rinse and dry before and after caring for their aquarium. We do not want to place our hands in the aquarium if we have lotions, powders, or perfumes on our hands so I recommend using a soap that is free of these and maybe even allowing some time between washing hands and attending to the aquarium.

Chemicals

Seachem Prime water conditioner is safe for amphibians. Many dechlorinators contain ingredients that are meant to aid fish with their slime coat. These ingredients are harmful to frogs. If we are in a pinch it is better to use them than to introduce chlorine to the aquarium but it is otherwise best to avoid them.

Chemicals and powders that adjust pH usually cause more harm than good. It is rare that pH needs to be changed but there are better ways to accomplish this. I am personally glad to help you with this if needed. The Facebook group African Dwarf Frog Help and Support Group has several very capable admins that can also help with this. I highly recommend joining.

Bottled nitrifying bacteria is not a chemical and can be used to help with the nitrogen cycle if needed. Some brands are better than others but in my experience the name brand products do help with nitrogen issues. It is imperative that these not be expired and that they are stored properly during shipment and in our homes. 

The Nitrogen Cycle

I require evidence of the nitrogen cycle before shipping my frogs.

Cycled sponge filters are available for purchase. They may require separate shipment. If there is any ammonia or nitrite in the tap water I recommend having the filter set up for a week before having your frogs shipped.