African Clawed Frogs are often kept in aquarium fish tanks as new pets to add variety to the aquatic community so that the tank looks livelier. Sometimes they are often chosen as a non-fish addition and they are liked by most hobbyists because of their friendly and cute odd-sized flattened shape. However, don’t be deceived by the fact that these frogs can sometimes gobble up tiny little fish like neon tetras and presence of them in large numbers can most of the time lead to murky and cloudy water appearance. So how do we deal with all these problems and still enjoy companion of this active amphibian?Unlike normal giant-sized frogs like the toads and other native wild pond species, the clawed type can be easy to look after because they will accept any food that you throw into the tank meant for your pet fish and that includes even dried fish pellets and live foods such as bloodworms. One problem you might face with having them is that due to their large appetite, your frogs can eat a lot and ended up very fat. You might want to control their diet though. However just like any enthusiast, try not to be confused between a young African clawed with a full grown dwarf frogs because both of them can actually look quite similar except that the dwarf type might not be suitable to be kept in the fish tank as they need to constantly swim up floating above water level to catch some air. In the case of an African clawed frog, they are completely underwater creature which doesn’t need to live on dry land and thus they qualify as perfect choice if you prefer a fully aquatic pet. See the insert picture which displays a perfect albino type clawed frogs.
An African clawed frog can easily thrive in different water environments with temperatures ranging to as cold as 20 degree Celsius and everything should be fine provided that ammonia and nitrite level is kept under control. Thus my advice is to get at least a canister filter and fluidized bed filter to keep the water quality in check. Their ability to adapt and coexist with other fish species like community corydoras or oto catfish, gourami and dwarf cichlids means that you can create a small tropical aquarium community that is fun to watch. However, be careful on your selection of tank companions because as in the case of smaller fish like neon tetra, the frogs will eat them while vice versa if you have aggressive predatory fish like the oscar, it will be the other way round as the frogs will now be hunted down for foods. Other than choice of companion which is obviously the first obstacle to having the pet, other follow-up issues that you might want to avoid is the development of dropsy which can harm your pet frog. You might want to check out more information on this to help you avoid the mistake and prepare for eventualities.
Adding them to the fish tank can be an exciting affair and while people will quickly jump into the fray and adding them immediately, there are a few precautions however, that we need to take care of and look into, in order to make sure that everything goes right. First of all, African clawed frogs can sometimes find a way to escape from the tank if presented with a perfect chance and if I were you, I would ensure that there is a proper hood and the filter tubes and underwater cords do not entangled together or else they can use that to crawl and jump out from the tank. To prepare a right environment for their home, although not necessary, it is best that there should also be sufficient aquarium plants so that they can hide in case they get frightened or ended up getting bullied by the fish. All in all, if these basic requirements are fulfilled, nevertheless you will find yourself enjoying the companionship of these little guys swimming along with your fish in the aquarium tank. Related topic: Small African Tetra fish
Some other non-fish addition which you can consider for your home aquariums:
Pet Turtle
Crayfish
Fiddler Crabs
