African Dwarf Frogs

[countryfan05]

My nephew (4 yrs old) really wants me to get a African Dwarf frog. So Saturday I got one and by Monday he was at the bottom of my filter? Did he get sucked upo or climb? How can I prevent this in the future? Do you have any advice for me other than that? Thanks.

I have a 26 gal bow front, planted, community fish (tetras, corys, gouramis, danios,etc), I keep my water level high and have a aquaclear filter.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I know nothing about that filter, but if he got sucked up into it, alive or dead, it's probably the wrong filter for a small frog. I'm not sure what you could do to fix that. Sorry.

Mine thankfully has never tried anything like that.

 

[PsiPro]

Putting a nylon over the filter intake will keep everything out.

 

[Mazdaman]

if your water level is close enough he could have got in there himself without the intake. I know when I had mine he would always be hanging out near the top right by the filter intake. The nylon isn't a bad idea regardless, it won't do anything to the flow rate and will act as a nice pre-filter for any large debris or even food.

 

[RoK]

You can use clean, unused pantyhose or a pre-filter sponge to cover the intake on the filter. ADF's are known to get stuck and sucked up filter intakes.

 

[lovemybarbs]

If you try it again, I would cover that up and make sure you have some good tall plants in there for him to climb for air, if you don't have those already. I've heard that some die because they either overeat, or they can't get to the top of the water for air.


How high is the water? Possibly lowering it might keep him in the tank and give him a better chance for air.

Oops. Almost forgot. They like calm water and no air stones. I read somewhere that the vibration aggravates them. I keep my power filter turned down so he can wander easier towards the top.

 

[countryfan05]

Thanks, I have tall plants and lots of them so that is good. I have an airstone but it is under the gravel so it does not give off a bunch of air. As for the water level it is touching if not over the filter lip, I know that is not normal but I don't like the water running sounds, guess I will have to live with it to save my frogs.

Does having the panty hose on the filter make it work less, I mean clean less making my tank more dirty?

 

[lovemybarbs]

I'm not sure, I've never had to put nylons on mine before.

The bubbles isn't the problem with the airstone, it is the motor and the hmmmmmmmmmmm. They have very bad sight and have to rely on their other senses to eat. The hmmmmmmmmmm throws them off.

Here's a link to a site I like to read when I need info.

http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net/Amphibiary/Hymenochirus.html

 

[Cash Turtle]

I use pre-filtration sponges on my filters and I'd say they make things better, they catch alot of stuff before it even gets into the filter.

 

[PsiPro]

It reduced the flow slightly, but increases efficency IMHO becasue flow rate dosn't decrease as it gets clogged. To clean just take the nylon off and put a new one on, or wash it out in the sink.

 

[Jarred Darque]

the frog is getting up from the lip of the waterfall area on the filter I have an aquaclear as weel (GREAT filters BTW, my water stay crystal clear)

If you have gravel in your tank, then a nylon over the filter intake will not harm anything,...if you use a clay or sand substrate then the nylon needs to be cleaned once in a while to get rid of sand buildup, clogging the intake.

The nylon does a great job of keeping deritus out of the filter and cloggin it up. My filter clogged up whilke I was out of town one week. was off for 4 days...luckily my power head kept water circulating enough, the tank lived.

you can also wrap the water outlet area on teh filter with nylon, will keep him from going into the filter

good luck