# dwarf frog vivarium



## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Tired of seeing "plain" tanks (fake plants, colorful gravel, ornaments, etc) for dwarf frogs and clawed frogs, i decided to make a naturalistic tank.

What's kinda sad is that one has more possibilities to grow plants because you don't need to worry about temperature as much. Dwarf frogs and clawed frogs have no need for humidity, so you can add a lot more light and ventilation to the tank. It's disappointing how so many don't appreciate aquatic frogs...because they are "common." IMO, they are more entertaining than my darts!  

The frogs love their tank! Its a standard 10 gallon with canopy from AHsupply. There is creeping jenny, Marble Queen sword (that is throwing out a lot of plantlets), ludwigia glandulosa, hygrophila polysperma, anacharis, hornwort, anubias barteri and hydrocotyle leucocephala.

I really wish now I could have added a background, but I can't use flevopol for this tank. Perhaps get some cork and suction cup/hook it on the back?


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

any comments? any other pictures of their dwarf's tank?


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Looks neat to me.  Then again its frogs so it has to be neat.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Shelly


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Lots of foliage growing here.










A sword plant that knows no limits. It constantly is making runners and propagating itself.


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## MJ (Jun 16, 2005)

> It's disappointing how so many don't appreciate aquatic frogs...because they are "common."


I dont think its becuase they're common but more to do with the fact they're just plain fugly :wink:

Tank looks real nice tho 8)


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

true in many ways. 

However, I don't really think the more common species (Hymenochirus and Xenopus laevis) are ugly, but I wouldn't say they are beautiful either. 

Now, see some relatives (especially members of the Xenopus fraseri subgroup or P. pipa), you wonder, "what in the hell was god thinking?"  

My firebellied toads aren't gorgeous (considering they are mostly olive green) but I get more fun out of them than my mantella ebenaui.


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## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

Great job! I never grow tired of people really taking care of their pets!! Those should be some   frogs.

John


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## OneTwentySix (Nov 11, 2004)

Enlighted Rogue said:


> Great job! I never grow tired of people really taking care of their pets!! Those should be some   frogs.
> 
> John


The sad thing is that Doug's probably one of maybe half a dozen people that's spent over $50 on their tank furnishings for these frogs. It's really disappointing that an animal as cool as this is labeled a disposable pet.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

There are quite a few that keep dwarfs in planted tanks (check out http://www.plantedtank.net) but I generally frown when people try to mix them carelessly in their displays.

However, yes, too many end up in the hands of the inexperienced because the price is so low...and it doesn't matter because they're cheap.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Why can't you use the flevopol in the tank?

I like all the plants  Obviously the plants like it too


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

because flevopol breaks down underwater. :?


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## jejton (Sep 3, 2006)

Whats the plant with the white flowers in the pic with the Amazon swords?


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

Some more photos. I hate taking pics with the flash because it skews the lighting. But the pic is more likely to blur. The "plant" with the white floweres isn't a real flower. Its just some silk garland I hang on my wall I got at the craft store.



















This is either ludwigia glandulosa or an alternanthera species.


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## Nuggular (Apr 8, 2005)

Thats a really nice setup.

What do you feed your dwarf frogs???


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

raw chicken, fish, beef, frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, and myasis shrimp.

For dry food (the staple), I feed Omega One's Shrimp pellets and Frog/tadpole bites.


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## Nuggular (Apr 8, 2005)

awesome, thx.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

This is a more recent pic of the tank (since the other was taken a while ago). As you can see, the water has gotten much darker because of all the plants competing for light. I did add a "background" one made out of paper. The creeping jenny needs to some trimming.


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## the_noobinator (Jan 14, 2007)

i always fed mine shrimp pellets. then they get fat. be careful, they are escape artists.


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## sweety (Oct 10, 2006)

Hi.

I Love your tank. I need to add more plants to mine. 

Hijack:  sorry: I got two “dwarf “frogs and one is 2x the size of the other. There skin color looks different too. The bigger one looks fat and the other looks skinny. Is that normal or do I have two different kinds of frogs?

Thanks for your input. I hope you don’t mind the hijack.

nadine


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

if one is an African clawed frog, and one is not, you have a problem.

The best way to tell if one is an ACF instead of a dwarf frog is webbing on hands. clawed frogs do not have webbing on their hands. Also, clawed frogs have eyes ontop the head, while dwarfs on the side.

If they are both the same species, one may just be younger than the other or one is a male and one is a female.


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, another thing that could have happend is this, I have heard that dwarf albino AFC's are hard to come by, so walmart sometimes puts normal AFC froglets onto the shelfs instead of buying the dwarf ACF's.

Not sure if this is true but this is what I heard.
Curt.


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## HappyHippos1 (May 7, 2007)

I just got about 40 dwarf frogs from a school, they had the kids build aquariums and feed the frogs. Sadly a ton more, hundreds, probably died because the teachers were letting them go in local ponds. I think the water is too cold for them here in South Carolina. I took 40 home and have then in a 10 gallon but how many can I fit in a 55 gallon. 

Also I have noticed some are breeding or I noticed a pair in amplexus. Will they eat their own eggs. I really don't want more, at least yet.


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## Devin Edmonds (Mar 2, 2004)

More sadly is that teachers were introducing an exotic amphibian into SC. Too many problems with that to list, but on the top of it is the fact that African dwarf frogs are known to carry the chytrid fungus responsible for many of the alarming amphibian population declines and exctinctions which are occuring. better to euthanize a captive amphibian than just toss it in a pond! It's great when amphibians are incorporated into education, I love seeing children get excited about frogs in school, but I'd hope teachers would be a little more responsible.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

It's probably more a case of Walmart employees not knowing the difference between the two, and/or not having a tag (or at least not where it was needed).

Releasing nonnative organisms into the wild has caused horrific problems, don't get me started. AFCs are a particular issue for reasons already mentioned, and are illegal in areas where they could (and in some cases HAVE) become established... much to the detriment of the native stock. California for example... and they could be spreading.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

like dogs, cats, iguanas, parakeets, and goldfish, pipid frogs are often discarded, abused, or become feral.

There is a HUGE feral population of ring necked parakeets lose in Great Britain. 

It is sad that such wonderful frogs are treated like trash. My dwarf frogs have learned to follow my waving finger towards food in their tank. They are very active day and night, and have a very pleasant buzzing call.

Yes, I agree with Devin. After all, we have to do the same thing with feral dogs and cats that cannot be given homes. It is destructive for other wildlife. 

Dwarf frogs can carry chytrid, but they aren't immune to it. I suspect that's why so many dwarf frogs die quickly within the first few months, even if the owners are treating them well. The problem: pet stores often mix them in dirty enclosures with fish, and chytrid carrying clawed frogs which usually means death.

The nice thing though, they don't need nearly as much room as a clawed frog. I keep three nicely in my ten gallon, only 1/3 full. However, they still appreciate a lot of room since they are active anurans.

Buy two very large rubbermaid containers and you should be able to keep several dozen. I would donate the rest to the petstore, or (sadly) euthanize any sick or weak looking ones. I guarantee there will be ill ones amongst the 40 as I doubt the teachers cared for them properly.

I highly recommend frog and tadpole bites for them. Xenopus Express' "Xenopus food" is also good, but the pellets are too large for young frogs.

In my experience, dwarf frogs don't make good beginner frogs as they are said to be. Mostly because they are severely underweight (bloodworms and tubifex as a staple is very bad for aquatic frogs) and could be harboring chytrid. Like all pipids, they are sensitive to temperature and have a narrower range tolerance than dart frogs. 

Keep them between 75-82 degrees. You must try to wean the frogs onto dry food, or you're likely going to have vitamin deficiencies later on. At first the frogs may refuse food, but if you put bloodworms with dry food every time, it hopefully will convince them that it tastes good.


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## Devin Edmonds (Mar 2, 2004)

> Dwarf frogs can carry chytrid, but they aren't immune to it


Good call Doug, I kind of phrased that wrong in my post. But regardless, the risk of spreading foreign pathogens from captive amphibians to wild populations is real, and one which teachers who work with amphibians should be aware of.

Hey, how are those tropicalis doing by the way?


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

You're still correct Devin. They'll harbor chytrid for a while, but then after a few months they'll die (from what I hear). So, you could very well be introducing it without knowing it.

Fortunately, neither my silurana or Hymenochirus have gotten ill. 

There are other diseases though that can be spread, such as Basidiobolus ranarum (another fungal disease) and chylamdia which has been isolated from pipid frogs before.

One reason why pipid frogs have a tendency to "spread" disease is because they are propagated in mass by laboratories and the pet trade. However, I've noticed that decent Xenopus companies are much more scrupulous in preventing disease than pet stores and aquarium farms.

The Silurana are doing well. Unfortunately, they are much shier compared to Xenopus and Hymenochirus. They remain hidden most of the day or bask until dark. You have to keep the light on low in the background or they'll hide again. My female is very shy compared to the male who will swim for hours in the evening. But she has been out quite a bit at night.

They do not see well compared to xenopus or hymenochirus, and seem to enjoy hiding in thick vegetation or dead leaves at the bottom of my tank.

No breeding attempts yet though, but as soon as the mantella tads morph, i'll try my hand at these. I've heard calling and seen amplexus multiple times.


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## Otis (Apr 16, 2006)

sweet tank! i want to get me some dwarf frogs now! btw, they don't need water heaters to they?


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

if the tank is below 74 degrees regularly, best that you do. Be careful of burns. I recommend one of those tronic heater guards and a Tronic heater.

My filter and lights keep the tank anywhere from 74-80.


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## agglutinator (Dec 6, 2007)

Man, I thought I had a dwarf come to find out he's not dwarf at all. As I understand it, dwarfs do not come albino which leaves me with the full sized clawed frog. At less than 2" long the dude can already eat an entire tubifex cube! By the way that is the thing to feed these guys. They love it. After he eats a cube he'll be super bloated and just kinda float on the surface for a few hours. I thought he was dying the first couple time this happened, but apparently that's just his style. crazy...


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

actually, it WILL kill your clawed frog if you're not careful.

Freeze dried tubifex, unless it has been gamma radiated, can carry nasty pathogens.

Freeze dried foods have also caused bloating and intestinal blockages in dwarf frogs.

I would feed them Xenopus Express' Xenopus Food or Reptomin from the petstore. Use crickets, roaches, mealworms, and frozen krill for live food.


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## agglutinator (Dec 6, 2007)

woah, thanks for the heads up. He really does look awful after he eats. Since it has been going on for weeks I didn't think much of it, but, for his sake, I'll give something else a try. It seems to me these guys will eat anything.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

heads up, male Xenopus laevis will be fine in a 29 gallon, but females appreciate a 40 gallon breeder size. You'll understand why they need a lot of room once they start their "Evening swims" at night. They are very active anurans.

If you can't afford a decent sized tank, the 30-40 gallon size rubbermaid containers are the perfect home (lots of labs use them).

You could probably get away with smaller (in gallons) sized rubbermaid containers because they have more surface area than tanks, which is more important than depth.

Just make ABSOLUTELY SURE you don't contaminate any clawed frog water or decorations with other frogs...or you could run the risk of chytrid infection.


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## MonopolyBag (Jun 3, 2007)

What is best to feed these dwarf frogs?


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

> raw chicken, fish, beef, frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, and myasis shrimp.
> 
> For dry food (the staple), I feed Omega One's Shrimp pellets and Frog/tadpole bites.


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