I would do one today. Then repeat as needed it could be daily. With the bio load you have I have no idea how long it will take for the ammonia to go back up.
African Dwarf Frogs - Help!
- Thread starter ryanelizabeth
- Start date
Welocme Ryanelizabeth!
Partial water changes are the only way to get your amonia down as your tank cycles. I would do a couple of daily 50% to start, and then drop to 25%. The API Master Freshwater Test Kit (a liquid test kit, not dip strips) is the best way to monitor amonia levels. Once you get the kit you can just test daily and do a partial 25% water change whenever you detect any amonia at all. After a few weeks your tank will cycle and yuo will be ok. By the way, ADF shed their skin regularly. It is normal. Your kids will love to watch, especially when the frogs eat their own skin
It looks like they are trying to pull a shirt off. Hang in there. You came to the right place for help!!!
Partial water changes are the only way to get your amonia down as your tank cycles. I would do a couple of daily 50% to start, and then drop to 25%. The API Master Freshwater Test Kit (a liquid test kit, not dip strips) is the best way to monitor amonia levels. Once you get the kit you can just test daily and do a partial 25% water change whenever you detect any amonia at all. After a few weeks your tank will cycle and yuo will be ok. By the way, ADF shed their skin regularly. It is normal. Your kids will love to watch, especially when the frogs eat their own skin
It looks like they are trying to pull a shirt off. Hang in there. You came to the right place for help!!!
Hi, and welcome Ryanelizabeth.:welcome: I have 2 ADFs, and floating on the top is not uncommon. Mine do it a lot, but then later they'll be down on the bottom, or zooming around the tank. They also can get this strange "zoned out" look...They call it the "zen" look. :frog:
Sometimes they are in a weird ballet pose; one foot on the gravel bottom, and then just slooooowly fall over backwards, lol.
They sometimes hang out, just suspended in the water, propped on a leaf stem.
If your frog is not bloated looking, or doesn't have redness to his skin underneath, as in the belly area or legs, he's probably OK.
Clean water is very important, though. As stated by the others, you must keep your ammonia levels down, and then the nitrites that appear also need to be kept down. Frequent water changes will help keep him healthy, but will not interfere with the cycling of your tank.
The aforementioned API test kit tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, and ph. All these things have to be monitored on a daily basis, especially when you have a new tank.
Once it is cycled you can test less frequently, but as a newbie myself, I tested every day, sometimes several times a day.:nilly:
Even now I test every day, maybe I'm paranoid, because even once your tank has cycled the balance can be thrown off by many things; overfeeding, adding new fish, decaying plants, etc. Especially if you have a small tank, which I do. (10 gallon)
The big tanks are more stable and easier to keep, really, once they cycle. Small tanks are more prone to spikes, and swings of your parameters, especiallly ammonia and nitrites.
The folks on this forum that have been at this a lot longer than I have, are so good at fishkeeping, they don't have to do it everyday, but I don't feel that I'm "there" yet, lol.
This is the right place for you to be to get help. Everyone here is so helpful and generous with their time and even more than just generous with their input. They will literally go out of their way to help you.
Last edited:
They also can get this strange "zoned out" look...They call it the "zen" look. :frog:
Sometimes they are in a weird ballet pose; one foot on the gravel bottom, and then just slooooowly fall over backwards, lol.
They sometimes hang out, just suspended in the water, propped on a leaf stem.
All very accurate descriptions of normal behavior
Thank you Melody. I was turned on to these little frogs two years ago, when my sons kindergarten class watched them transform from tadpoles to frogs. They needed homes, so I grabbed two of them. They are very interesting to watch! Unfortunately they disappeared from my 2 gallon tank, by a small, dime sized opening on the top. Then the fish I had left in the tank died probably from ammonia poisoning. Not knowing anything about keeping fish, I finally did a little research and learned starting a tank is a little more work then I could handle at the time. So the tank was put away.
But I'm at a good point in my life, with older children, and a husband who won't have cats or dogs, so this is our only option. The frogs have been so fun to watch the past week, and then I made another mistake not testing ammonia, I was testing nitrates & nitrites and forgot about ammonia! I even read that post on cycling. UGH!
So I've done two 50% water changes (one yesterday, one this morning), tested ammonia this afternoon, it's in the 2.0 range after the water change. So I'm not sure if I should do another water change tonight?
The little frog I have left is starting to shed his skin. I'm thinking this might not turn out well for him.
Thanks for all the great replies!
But I'm at a good point in my life, with older children, and a husband who won't have cats or dogs, so this is our only option. The frogs have been so fun to watch the past week, and then I made another mistake not testing ammonia, I was testing nitrates & nitrites and forgot about ammonia! I even read that post on cycling. UGH!
So I've done two 50% water changes (one yesterday, one this morning), tested ammonia this afternoon, it's in the 2.0 range after the water change. So I'm not sure if I should do another water change tonight?
The little frog I have left is starting to shed his skin. I'm thinking this might not turn out well for him.
Thanks for all the great replies!
It is normal for them to shed their skin. You definitely need to keep doing large water changes until your amonia level reads 0!
Need More Help!
So my last ADF died this morning. I started two water changes a day starting last Sat. The ammonia test level never changed (maybe due to the ammolock the fish store gave me???). My ammonia levels have stayed between .5 to 1.0, a light green. My nitrite has never shown anything and my nitrate has been a faint pink, in the safe level.
So do I continue to do two 50% water changes a day until my ammonia goes down, or stick with once a day?
Do I test the water after the water change to see if it has gone down?
Thanks for all your help...grieving for my little friend this morning
I miss him already!!
So my last ADF died this morning. I started two water changes a day starting last Sat. The ammonia test level never changed (maybe due to the ammolock the fish store gave me???). My ammonia levels have stayed between .5 to 1.0, a light green. My nitrite has never shown anything and my nitrate has been a faint pink, in the safe level.
So do I continue to do two 50% water changes a day until my ammonia goes down, or stick with once a day?
Do I test the water after the water change to see if it has gone down?
Thanks for all your help...grieving for my little friend this morning
I miss him already!!Your frogs most likely have a fungus called chytrid(sp?). I went through this and finally gave up on them. Apparently this fungus is pervasive with ADF's and by your description it sound like the culprit. There is a cure but it is fairly involved.
