African Dwarf Frog Haven

[adadkins1]

So, I have had my 2 ADF's in a cramped 1.5g hex tank for a few weeks and I can finally upgrade! I am going to get a 5.5 gallon tank and add terra cotta pots, plenty of gravel, and of course some plants (mostly anacharis so I don't have algae problems...again). Any input on what else would be a nice addition for my little guys?

P.S. Is 2 ADF's full capacity, or could another possibly be added?

 

[siva]

IMO you can easily do 5 frogs in there. In a species only tank I stock 1 per gallon and they really thrive. Their bodies stay about an inch long w/ a relatively small bio-load, and they are aren't incredibly active. They enjoy eachothers companies, and IME act the most "frog-like" in larger groups.

For the gravel, I would use smallish smooth stones. Colored type gravel can be too sharp, and larger smooth stones can make it difficult to keep decor safely planted in.

You mentioned algae, I keep a nerite snail with my frogs and it keeps everything spotless, I would pick one of those up as well if you can. Just don't get a horned variety so they don't hurt themselves on it. They'll enjoy the anarcharis. I would also pick some plants with broader leaves so they can sit in them..even just simple java fern works great for them. I keep a couple types of nice leafy swords with mine too that they enjoy. The really like live plants. I kept them for years with fake plants (what was I thinking lol) and I hardly ever saw them in a plant..now they are in them all the time.

I would invest in a good heater if you can. The first one I used for them had a preset temp and it wouldn't get the water quite warm enough. They do great at 80F if you can get it there. 78 would be OK too though.

 

[adadkins1]

Okay, I will be sure to try and get some broader leaf plants (my amazon sword in another tank has some "plantlets" that could temporarily work) and I will try to get a heater my next pay day. I do have some med. sized gravel, which is fairly smooth, that I thought I may use. I don't want them to swallow the stones if I get ones too small, or get crushed by large river rock type stones. I really like nerites, but I think I figured out the reason I had algae problems:

1. I had a 13 watt cfl over a 1.5g aquarium on for 10hrs a day
2. There was loads of excess nutrients in the tank since I couldn't really gravel vacuum such a small volume of water.
3. I only had a couple anacharis stems, now I will have much more room for some plants.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[siva]

I love the hydor theo for 5 gals. The aqueon all glass have done me well also. I use this: PETCO Pebble Beach Mix Aquarium Gravel at PETCO
It's actually the smallest of three of that type they sell, but I've never had any problems. With the larger variety I tried first, too much food got lost in the crevices and I needed to remove the peice of decor I feed under and clean all the time, where-as with the smaller stones I find they are able to find all the food much more effeciently, FWIW.

I know what you mean with your 1.5. If you can ever pick up one of these, I highly recommend it: AllPet.com - Pet Supplies. I used to use a turkey baster on the gravel in my smaller tanks, because my gravel vac would clear the water out before I could clean well enough..this would take forever..and I have lots of tanks between 1-5 gals. Well with this awesome little vac I can use it on all the small tanks and it's so much quicker and more effecient. It even has 2 extra attachments.

 

[Gubernaculum86]

I have a Betta in my 5gal hex with my 2 ADFs. Everyone is super happy and content.

 

[adadkins1]

I wish I could have another fish in with them, but they are not the smartest feeders and one attacked my betta's fins when it swam by. Hence the reason they were in the small temporary tank for a couple weeks. Glad you could get them to work out.

 

[siva]

Yeah one of my frogs actually scares me a little bit LOL he has attacked my hand during feeding. I worry about adding smaller frogs with him even. I prefer species only for the ADF's

 

[alLexX]

IMO a 5.5 gallon tank is too small for 5 frogs,i would go as high as 3 in that tank.i think 1 frog per 2 gallons is a pretty good way to stock.you wouldnt quite be at 2 gallons pere frog,but you would be pretty close.i keep ghost shrimp,and pond snails with my ADFs,and they get along great.i used to keep feeder guppies in there tank and they were fine,but i moved them because last time my swordtail gave birth(i use my ADF tank as a fry tank)the feeder guppies ate the fry.

 

[siva]

I'm not a fan of keeping shrimp with them, I've found ADF's are noticably irritated by shrimp attenna poking them.

 

[adadkins1]

Yes, I would never trust them to put up with shrimp anyway. I had contemplated a guppy or two, but I think a species tank is the way to go with ADF's.

I will probably go ahead and add 2 more tomorrow if I don't experince a mini-cycle from the switch of tanks (I used the established filter from the 1.5).

 

[adadkins1]

Completed

Here is the tank for now. I will probably add some more plants in the future.

 

[becrac16]

following

you got me interested in turning my 10 gal into an ADF tank too!

But I'd prolly add some guppies

 

[siva]

Nice! Love that substrate

I started with an ADF/guppy tank actually, and eventually split them because the guppies would eat way too much before the frogs could get any. I'd try to sneak the food past them into the frogs feeding cave but they were onto me, of course lol. I would try to drop the food right on the frogs noses, but they would interfere. They'd end up fat and bloated looking which was of course not healthy, and I just gave up and seperated them. Well and then now, with my big froggy boy Sid (cuz he's vicious, get it lol) I know he'd rip up a guppy. Of course folks keep them in community tanks and report success, this is just my experiences.

OH on the filter - is it the little tetra whisper? Is that all you are going to use on this tank?

 

[adadkins1]

Not a whisper, it is called an Aqua-Tech 5-15, with 100 ghp flow. Have you heard bad things, or were you just checking. I may also leave the 3g rated filter until by ghost shrimp is about to drop her eggs.

 

[becrac16]

arent there foods that only appeal (or are big enough) to be eaten by the ADFs only though? Or is every food an ADF eats subject to being eaten by other fish?

 

[adadkins1]

There are food that are more appealing to the frogs (blood worms, HBH Frog and Tadpole Bites, etc.), but the fish don't really care. If it is in the tank, it is fair game to the fish!

 

[alLexX]

I'm not a fan of keeping shrimp with them, I've found ADF's are noticably irritated by shrimp attenna poking them.

my shrimp stay away from my frogs,for the first couple days i had them the ADFs would hunt the shrimp,which was funny because they were about as big(not including legs)but now that they figured out that they cant eat the shrimp,theyve stopped.

 

[siva]

Not a whisper, it is called an Aqua-Tech 5-15, with 100 ghp flow. Have you heard bad things, or were you just checking. I may also leave the 3g rated filter until by ghost shrimp is about to drop her eggs.

Ok, my 1.5 gal came with a little whisper that is surprisingly crappy so I just wondered. The aqua tech is a POS, but on a small tank with a small bio-load like yours, it's going to be just fine. It won't last as long as a better quality filter like a Aqua Clear, or even an Aqueon, and it won't self-prime after a water change like those other brands either, so make sure you don't plug it back in until you've manually filled it all the way with water, and then you'll probably need to stand there and help it along by continuing to squirt water at it with at turkey baster until it gets going on it's own. Also, what I do with my aqua-techs as well as my aqueons, is add my own extra filter media. This helps to cycle quicker, and also so that periodically some media can be replaced when it's deteriorating without replacing all media at the same time and causing a mini cycle. I use nylon bags with fiber floss and/or pourus ceramic rings and add them in with the filter cart. Just don't impede the filter's flow. That is one of the things that make Aqua Clear the best HoB filter on the market..it comes with the different types of media and different places to add it..but you can always add to these more basic HoB's yourself

 

[adadkins1]

I knew Aqua-techs were fairly crummy, and I it is a pain to prime it, but that is the nature of the beast. I would definately have better filters in my tanks if I had enough money to go buy some AC's, but I don't exactly have much income to play with. I just use some batting material that is used for quilting. It does suprisingly well, and has held together for a good 2 months and is going strong after swishing it around a couple times each pwc. Thanks for your ideas about media and some decent filters.

Just got $5, so I will be getting two more froggies tomorrow! Do you think my frogs would be able to make it 2 days without food while I am gone camping this weekend?

 

[siva]

I know right, I only have one AC. I have several aqua techs and they do just fine. I wouldn't put one on a large tank with fish it, but it's gonna keep that water just great for those frogs.

Yes, just avoid getting real little ones if you can...especially since they'll likely be underfed already when you get them home. I have one at the moment that's body is maybe the size of my pinky nail..so cute