The African dwarf frog is a tiny little aquatic frog. They are 100% aquatic, so they cannot survive outside of water for more than 15 to 20 minutes. They are a social frog, so you do want to have at least two in your tank.
Minimum tank size
5 to 10-gallon tank is usually pretty suitable for them, depending on how many frogs you want to keep. They are air breathers, so you don’t want to keep them in too deep of a tank. If you have like a 50-gallon tall tank, you don’t want to put those frogs in there. Smaller tanks tend to be on the more shallow side, which makes it easier for them to come up for air.
Do African dwarf frogs need a filter?
Yes, just be cautious, these frogs are not the strongest swimmers, so you do want to get a low flow filter or add a baffle. Under gravel filters or sponge filters, these are great filtration methods for your frogs. If you do have a power filter or internal filter that you do feel is a little strong, some of these are adjustable where you can turn the float down on the water pump, and if it’s not adjustable, you can always add a baffle. Filter floss or a filter sponge can do wonders on slowing down the flow in your tank.
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The African dwarf frog can be a little on the clumsy side sometimes, and they can easily injure themselves, so you want to make sure that you are using a smooth substrate in the tank and you want to use decorations that do not have any sharp edges. These frogs are a little bit on the shy side, so giving them a little bit of safe decor that does not have sharp edges and live plants or even silk plants, is going to be a huge help for them, and make them feel more safe and secure in their tank.
What is the African dwarf frog average lifespan?
The African dwarf frogs’ lifespan is, on average, about five years, but there have been reported cases of them living as long ten plus years, so you might be able to get to enjoy your frogs for many years to come.
African dwarf frogs diet
These frogs are insectivores, so there are manufactured pellets out there available for aquatic frogs and tadpoles, but they will also enjoy things like Mysis shrimp, tubifex worms, brine shrimp and blood worms. Just be cautious if you are feeding things like live tubifex worms to your frogs, as they can carry parasites, so just be on the careful side there.
African dwarf frog water temperature
The African dwarf frogs’ ideal temperature range in their tank is going to be between 75 and 78 degrees. Like most aquatic life, you want to make sure that there is not a large fluctuation going on in the tank temperatures. So depending on where you live and how warm your tank water stays, you might need to get a heater for your frogs. And as with most aquatic animals and fish, you will ideally want to cycle your tank before adding them in.
African dwarf frog tank mates
Do be aware though that these frogs tend to do best in a species only tank, they can sometimes survive with other fish sometimes with larger shrimp but do be careful with shrimp, they need to be large enough that the Frog will not eat them or they will eat them. And with other fish, these frogs do tend to be a little bit of a fin nipper, so definitely keep an eye on that, some are nippier than others. I had a female that was super aggressive and would even bite at the other frogs.
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