ADF impulse buy

[BettaMomma]

Allrighty.
Some of you might know me as the nutso girl who heads into WalMart and other places that sell bettas to check on their welfare on a regular basis. Well today, I was in WM and the bettas looked okay. THEN I scooted over to peek in at the super cutie little frogs.



Needless to say, I bought the little guy bobbing around in the pea soup.

I know I should do my homework on animals BEFORE I buy them but I couldn't leave him behind. For the moment, I had a spare little 1/2 gallon empty tank - hmm.. it's one of those little lime green things with a hinge lid. Someone gave it to me after their fish had died in it (wonder why)... anyway I disinfected it and have it set up with nice clean water on my desk waiting for him to occupy it.

I'm going to start acclimating him by adding small amounts of the tank water to his yucky cup soon.

SO... Anyone have pointers for me? I eventually will get him a bigger tank - but for now I just wanna get him out of the pea soup. I have betta pellets, frozen and freeze dried bloodworms and peas for my bettas. I've done some reading and saw that they need sinking food so the older betta food I have sinks - I'll give him a couple of those. He's coming home w/me tonight from the office so I'll treat him to some frozen blood worms.

What else can ya tell me? Thx for the help, in advance.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi BettaMomma

It's nice to see you posting here in this forum for a change!

My first bit of advice to you will be the same as I give everyone who has just acquired an aquatic frog. That is to look at his "hands" and see if they look like he has fingers or webbing. The difference will be as clear as if you were wearing gloves or mittens.

If he has webbing, he is indeed an African Dwarf Frog and will be great company for your bettas. But, if he has pointy little fingers, he's a baby African Clawed Frog and will get big enough to eat them.

Either way, you will have a fine new pet. I have both and enjoy them thoroughly. Here's a link to a thread with lots of information about them:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=18252

Please let me know which one you have.

 

[Kiarra]

ADFs are real cool little frogs. I think you'll like him.

Care isn't very difficult. I wouldn't count on him eating the pellets. Mine NEVER do! But he'll love the frozen bloodworms, a few of them (how much he can eat without getting fat, basically) every couple of days. They jump out of the water with ease, so make sure any tank you keep him in has a secure lid.

Don't use salt with him, or any chemicals other than dechlor. They're very sensitive to chemicals in their water, and it could kill him.

If you want to know whether he's a boy or a girl, there's three things you can check.

1. Females have a little tail stub.
2. Females are more stout and rounded through the body.
3. Males have a small pimple on their body underneath their forearms. It appears either white or pink, depending on the individual. Some females have it, but it's pretty obvious and pronounced on boys.

 

[BettaMomma]

Wow, HI! Thanks for the info guys.

It looks like I have a little girly ADF. VERY webbed feet and hands and a cute little stubby tail.

Her name is Sandy {Cheeks} (It was Plankton when I thought she was a he). hee hee hee (I have a spongebob theme going on at my house so...)

So far she's DEVOURED 4 betta pellets. She came up to the top to get them too. Odd, cuz I thought they didn't do that. Oh well... it just goes with the program that I'd wind up with an oddball frog, too. heh

Anyway - bloodworms is on the menu round here tonight, so she'll be getting some of those too. Do they like peas too?

She's in one of those plastic containers they sell for bettas with a hinged lid with little slots around the top for air. She'd have to be Harriet Houdini to get outta that thing. The lid snaps shut. I really like those containers. I know they make them in bigger sizes (this one's 1/2 gallon) so I think I might invest in a little bit bigger one for her down the road.

DOH - I just saw a pinned topic on froggies here. Guess I'll go take a look at that right now too.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi BettaMomma

Whew!!!!!!!

I'm glad you got an ADF. They are so often mislabeled and when I heard you got it at Walmart, I was a bit worried.

They are great pets and surprising jumpers. Please be very careful to keep her well covered and be careful doing water changes. If she can escape, she will, and having to chase one across the floor is nerve wracking, to say the least!

Have you ever tried feeding your bettas live blackworms instead of the frozen bloodworms? The frog will enjoy them too and there is less risk of having uneaten bits spoil and lead to bacterial infections. Any that do not get eaten at once will go down into the gravel where he will find them later.

Do you have any pictures? Frogs are eligible to be entered in the POTM contest, along with other non-fish pets, so why not give it a try?

 

[BettaMomma]

OoOooh - well I don't have the camera home tonight, but I will get some taken very soon!

You know - when I first started looking at her little hands, there are little black things on the ends which look like painted long fingernails. It made me think she was a clawed one. But she definitely has very webbed feet.

She is HILARIOUS. I could watch her for hours. The funniest thing is that there is no expression on her face, ever. Just a really dumb look. lol

Thanks for all the info - I can't imagine having to try to catch her on the floor - she's a whiz in that tank.

Okay, well off I go to stare at her being silly some more!

 

[Kiarra]

If you can get the live blackworms, Bettas and frogs do just LOVE them. Mine get those when I have them, but I have to go across the entire valley to get them, so I don't usually. That's why I didn't even think of it in this case.

Good that your little froggy eats pellets. Mine are spoiled brats, and never, ever do.

 

[OrkyBetta]

Hey bettamomma! I have two of these frogs. From my experiance, they don't eat very well in a community tank. I put mine in initially with a betta, and he didn't do well so I moved him. With some patience it can be dine fine though.

My frogs all love the pellets. My girl goes to the top for her pellets, while my boy waits for them to sink. To each their own. I feed mine on the same schedule as the bettas, they eat the bloodworms, brine shrimp, and my boy even eats the peas. Good luck, that is one lucky froggie! They are fun pets.

 

[BettaMomma]

Aaaah, she is such a hilarious little thing.

She has been doing gymnastics all night long. The plant that is in her tank is very springy so she's using it as a springboard. I swear I've seen her do several front handsprings.

And she claps with her back legs.

And she leans up against the side of her tank with her front legs on the glass and tips over.

And she does face plants into the gravel when she's trying to play leapfroggy with... well ... noone

She was just strattling one of the plant stems like she was riding a horse.

lol - if anyone had told me just how hilarious these little things are I'd have gotten one long ago.

 

[Lil]

I know i have one as my sister had to have it ( shes 15 LOL ) He/ she zooms round the tank especially when the guppies nip it they dont hurt it though. I love mine my sister called it Kermit even though we dont know if it is a he or a she. The other night we had a storm looked in my tank and Kermit was just floating by the filter, so ithought oh no its dead. Woke up the following morning and he / she was swimming round the tank as if nothing had happened gave me a fright though LOL

 

[BettaMomma]

I woke up this morning to find my sweet little Sandy floating. She was dead.
I have no idea what happened - there is nothing physically odd looking about her.

I'm so bummed out.
Last night before I went to bed she was very active swimming and jumping around.
What a drag

 

[Kiarra]

Are you certain she's dead? Frogs are incredibly lazy, and like to float on top of the water so they don't have to go far to get air. Usually, if you give the tank a good hard tap, it wakes them up and they go running for cover.

It sounds cruel, but it's less rude than poking them, I assure you.