African Dwarf Frog Won't Eat

[rositabandito]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought an ADF kind of on a whim. However, I haven't once seen him eat. At first, I just threw in the bloodworms, right in front of him so he could find them and though he didn't eat, I figured he would eventually so I left them there.

Eventually, I looked it up and saw that you could try feeding ADFs with tweezers, since they can have a hard time finding the food on gravel. I tried this multiple times, but with zero success. I thought maybe he was lonely so I bought another frog.

The other frog won't go after the food I put in front of her, but leaps on it if I use the tweezers. She's also a lot more active, swims around more, (she did some back flips after the first time I fed her which was kind of cool, but maybe not a good sign?)

However, the first frog still has not eaten, though we've had the second one for maybe a week now. The new one continues to eat from the tweezers, but the first one shows no interest.

I guess my tank is kind of small, only a gallon, but it's filtered and has a light and a little plant in it. The only other thing I can think to try is getting some smooth stones to replace the gravel, since I guess they can find the food better that way?

Also, I only thaw the frozen bloodworms in the bag enough to be able to pull them out of the bag-- is there something else I should be doing?

It's so sad, I just want the little anorexic guy to eat something. Is there anything else I should try?

 

[fishboy444]

You should definitely upgrade your tank to a 20 gallon long or something.1 gallon isn't and never will be able to hold 2 ADFs.That may be the solution...

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

Yeah the first thing you should do is get them out of that tiny tank. No matter how happy they might seem, they are probably getting really stressed out being in such a small tank. They say don't get anymore then two frogs per every gallon, but all fish, or frog, needs swimming room. I would say stick with a minimal 10G tank, with a nice covered lid, they are jumpers and will get out of the tank. Letting them have a bigger tank might just change it up. Notice all those sad bettas in the stores in those small cups, and people have them in 1G tanks just sitting there. I put my betta in a 5G tank and he just swims around everywhere and comes up to the tank everytime I walk by. Having that extra space can really make your fish happier.

Also try some other foods. Try flake foods, guppy feeders, and other types of food, maybe they just don't like bloodworms. My betta won't eat any other food but bloodworms, if I tried feeding him anything else he would starve. You got to find out what their personality is, which takes time, but it benefits you both.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Evilameba]

small fish fry, moquito larvae, and brine shrimp are all good foods to try. small wiggling things activate their predator instincts and gets them hungry!