Feeding ADF

[Aimee]

Hello All,

Two days ago I brought home two young ADFs. Unfortunately the smaller of the two died within 24 hours. The other one is still around, but I can't get him to eat. I have HBH frog pellets and when I put them in the tank, he smells and looks around for them, but when he's right on top of them he won't do anything. He's very skinny and I'm afraid that if he doesn't start eating, he may be joining his buddy soon. Any suggestions? He also floats at the top of his tank a bit of the time...is that something to worry about? Water lvls are >20ppm Nitrate, 0 Nitrite, 0 Chlorine, 0 ammonia, and 8.0 pH....is the pH too high? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I browsed through the threads looking for a similar thread but couldn't find one...

Thanks!
~Aimee

[jclee]

The floating is perfectly normal. They do that a lot. ADFs are usually voracious little guys who will eat anything. I would suggest trying different types of food (mine love their fish flakes and algae pellets, and they go nuts over frozen bloodworms). They're pretty clumsy eaters, (and virtually blind), so maybe the particular food they have now is too hard to grab and shove into their mouths? Also, if it's a very recent acquisition, the frog might just be adjusting to its new home. Pets often require a day or two of R&R before they have an appetite. I don't specifically know their Ph requirements off the top of my head, but for what it's worth, mine are in a tank that's 6.8-7.0, and they're healthy, so it might be worth trying to change the Ph. Did you say what temp you're keeping them at? They do well with ~75 farenheit.

There's plenty of info on the net, so you can learn all abou them. I found one quick overview, if you want to read a little more about them:
http://frogworld.net/african-dwarf-frog/

Good luck with your little guy.

[Aimee]

So I woke up this morning and found the little guy dead in his aquarium . I was really surprised since I actually got him to eat yesterday. Water lvls again: >20 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0 chlorine, 0 ammonia, and pH of 8. Temp has been at the mid 70s F.

Could it have been the pH that did him in...or could it have just been that the stress of the pet shop and the move were too much? Anyways...I'd like to try the ADFs again, but first I'd like to hear what you all think...

Thank you for your reply, jclee...your suggestion definitely worked. I was so excited when I finally got him to eat (he liked freeze dried brine shrimp over the pellets)...I just wish I knew what else was wrong.

~Aimee

[jclee]

I did a little more digging after my first post, and their recommend Ph is 7.0, so that might have been a factor. However, whenever an animal dies really quickly after coming home, my first guess is that the petstore is to blame. This is not always true, but unfortunately, many petstores do not maintain healthy animals, and sometimes, you can't "see" the sick right away, especially if you are new to the animal and don't know what to look for. (Yesterday, I saw a tank with African Clawed frogs, Crayfish, and juvenille Chichlids, all underfed and fighting each other for a scrap of dead trapdoor snail. I expect all but they crayfish to be dead in a week.)

I would be cautious before buying another ADF from the same source, but don't let this bad experience turn you off from them all together. If you do get another (or a few) again (from a different place), make sure to clean all of your gear thoroughly, in case of contagion. Chuck anything cheap and replacable, and soak the rest in a weak bleach solution, then wash and rinse, repeatedly and thoroughly, until it is bleach/bacteria free. If your tap water naturally runs a little basic, maybe fill up with spring water to get the 7.0 ph? Also, if you have rocks that you found on the street, they might be responsible for changing the Ph levels.

Good luck to you.

[Aimee]

Thanks again, jclee. I know just what you mean about the poor care that many pet stores give their animals...just today I was at a pet store that was housing fire belly toads, banana tree frogs, white's tree frogs, and house geckos ALL IN THE SAME 15 GALLON TANK! I was very angry when I saw that.

I think I'll take your advise again and try a different source. I saw some healthier looking ones at petsmart the other day so when I'm ready, I'm going to try there. I've also been poking around the internet looking for more info on ADFs and have come across some conflicting data. I did see a forum posting (I forget what website) though from someone who said they house their ADFs in a pH of 8.4 with no problems. So maybe my little froggies were just doomed before I ever brought them home.

Thanks again for your input, jclee. I really appreciated it!!

[mclare001]

best to stick with bloodworm and avoid using small gravel as i found out this impacts young froglets and that causes death quiet easily. when they reach a reasonable size then you can add gravel or use sand as substrate