African Dwarf Frogs

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hvfd13

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Jan 2, 2010
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Hey guys, i just got two african dwarf frogs for my tank. I have read several websites that explain the best way to care for them, but im worried that feeding may present a problem. Since these frogs are slow eaters, it is common for them to starve (in this situation where they share a tank with fish) The fish tend to eat the food before the frogs do. So, does anyone else have any experience with these amphibians? An article advised to put a little bowl of some sort, like a terra cotta pot, and use a turkey baster to put the food into it such as amphibian food pellets or frozen blood worms,. Has anyone tried that before? Is there a better way? How about live brine shrimp? Live food or frozen food a better choice?

Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated! Thanks.
 

Ashes2ashes

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May 4, 2010
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One of the best ways to feed ADFs is to hold food in front of them with either tweezers or your fingers and they will snatch it. They are pretty close to blind, so they have a hard time seeing the food to find it and eat it. They do well having food held in front of them. They find it in terracotta dishes as well IME, but if you have fish in the tank big enough to eat the pellets/bloodworms a lot of times the fish will snatch the pellets before the frogs get to them. What kind of fish are they being kept with? It might be good for you to just try different things like the terracotta dish and holding food in front of them to see which way they are able to get the most food. Good luck. - Ash
 

hvfd13

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They are kept with a danio and an algae eater. I just bought a little dish and one of those arm extending devices with the claw at the end so i can try to lower the food into the dish and/or in front of the ADFs' faces.
 

spypet

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Jan 12, 2011
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years ago when I kept DAF's in a community fish tank,
I didn't cater to them like that, since when they are
hungry they are good at smelling and finding fresh food.

one trick I use that also works great with shrimp is to
mount a rigid 1" diameter tube vertically from the waterline
down to the substrate so you can drop food in the tube
and the food can drop straight down into any sort of dish.
it's a great way to train animals where the food will be,
and monitor their intake without it fouling up your tank.

another trick that's DAF specific is to make a platform
a few inches below the waterline for the DAFs to come
up to, and get their food there, not off the substrate.
so I'd drop some frozen or live bloodworms, pick up a
DAF and shove the stuff in his face up on the platform.
after a little training, they smell new food and come up,
instead of you having to manually bring them there.
 

Frogmanx82

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Tubifex woms on the end of a stick. Eventually you can get them to the surface and feed out of your hand.
 

hvfd13

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spypet, i read that they dont rely on their sense of smell to find food, they use their vision to??? however, from what Ashes said (first post) they are close to blind. So now i have contridicting information. You and Ashes are saying the same thing, ADF websites saying opposite. In no way am i calling you guys wrong, i am simply trying to find out the most i can about these little critters.
 

spypet

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I suspect they smell or taste the water to locate food.
I know this because I would put out bloodworms clear
across the tank from a DAF, and within 5-10 minutes
he would locate the worms and be chomping on them.

you simply have to create a place they can squeeze
in to get to the worms, while discouraging the fish.
 

BrainLady

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Jan 11, 2011
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I have five ADF in a 75 gallon tank and have never done anything special in terms of feeding them. They forage for hours and will eat bits of the algae wafers left behind, or I see them at the top getting a blood-worm. I didn't know they are almost blind..... I imagine they use their sense of smell. If I drop shrimp pellets in the tank, or algae wafers I will see two or three of them together eating. They have never been bothered by my community fish and now they are six months old...."love is in the air": I saw two of them engaging in Amplexus (froggy love) which was so cool to watch!!
 

Ashes2ashes

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The problem with just leaving food and hoping for the best would be that your danio will most likely snake any bloodworms etc before the frog sensed it being there, and if you are feeding sinking wafers, whatever kind of algea eater you have may or may not snatch that first. They can see a little if the food is in front of their faces, and they can "sense" food through other means from what I understand. I kept ACF's, my experience with ADF's is only through friends, but the way they hunt from what I have gathered is pretty similar aside from the ADF's being much smaller and less aggressive. I would def try feeding them with the extending claw and your fingers, and you could also try putting food in the dish to see if they get to it before the other fish. I would just try different things. As long as they are getting their food, I wouldnt worry about how. Just do whichever way works best for you or that you find most effective. :)
 

Tropical_MTS

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I have 2 in a 36 gal tank with other fish. I use frog pellets I feed them in the same place so they know where the food is. Also I only feed them everyother day. They will also feed on extra food left over from the fish. Its not healthy for them to live on fish food alone but its ok for the day without feeding. Just give plenty that way even if the fish eat some they will be eating as well. I started out with blood worm but they float didnt work. And feeding them with tweezers works but time consuming and depending on how deep the tank is.....you get the idea. Love them they are awsome creatures. I love to watch them play! Goodluck
 
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