African Albino Clawed Frogs

[sweetmisery]

Who got these? I think they are gorgeous(though mine are still small). Any advice on how to keep them? Online caresheets are limited about these.

One thing I can say is that they are voracious eaters of frozen blood worms and turtle pellets(mushed).

 

[Mushroom Spore]

http://www.geocities.com/ptimlin/xenopus.html

This is one of the few really detailed, research-heavy caresheets out there. If I ever get one, this is the advice I'm following.

 

[sweetmisery]

THANKS MAN! Very detailed and helpful!

 

[RoachGirlRen]

I disagree strongly with the gallonage sugggested by the first link, though the rest of it is quite good; these frogs get very large, and 1g per frog doesn't cut it, esp. considering their waste load - more like 10g per frog! 1-2g per frog is the reccomended gallonage for African Dwarf frogs.
I have an african clawed frog with a facial deformity. She's still very young, but lots of fun. Here's some more great sites with info on the species; I referenced them a lot when I wrote my own care sheet on them from ultimatebettas.com:
ACF Facts
AquaticFrogs.com
FroggyFriends Discussion Group

And here's a quick-and-dirty caresheet that I wrote, but I really suggest checking the links above.

Common Name: African Clawed Frog
Scientific Name: Xenopus laevis
Also Known As: Albino Clawed Frog, Clawed Frog
Often Confused With: Immature specimens are very similar in appearance to African Dwarf Frogs. Prominent webbing between the toes of the forefeet of dwarf frogs is the best way to differentiate between the two, but slight differences in the thickness of the body, shape of the head, and texture of the skin also exist. If the specimen is albino or piebald, it is probably a clawed frog.
Description: Dorso-ventrally “flat” with a wide abdomen, smooth skin, and small, blunt head. The eyes are dorsally located. Adults and juveniles alike have small, short forelegs and large, muscular hindquarters. The forefeet have four un-webbed toes, and the hind feet have five webbed toes. The innermost three toes have claws. There are no eyelids or external ear drums. Color ranges from a green to brown, typically with a mottled or marbled appearance, with a pale underbelly. Captive bred leucistic and piebald varieties are also common.
Maximum Adult Size: 3-5in (10+cm), with females slightly larger than males.
Area of Origin: Most still bodies of water throughout cooler areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
Lifespan: 15+ years, with lifespans as long as 30 years recorded.
Suggested Care Level:Hardy and acceptable for beginners, but special care needs must be met.
Min/Max Tank Size: 10 gallons per frog at maturity, or 2g per inch of frog. Water no deeper than 12" and no shallower than 6" preferred. Always select wide and long over tall and narrow.
Temperature: Survival range is 40-90 (4.5-32 C) degrees Fahrenheit, but 60-80 (15.5-26.5 C) degrees is preferred for optimal health.
pH: Variable; survival range is 5-9.
Hardness: Variable; soft water is preferred, as metals are highly toxic to this species.
Salinity: Tolerant of up to 40% seawater, but freshwater by nature.
Current: Low current is preferred; strong currents can be stressful and affect behavior adversely. Filters are not essential but waste production is high.
Diet: Primarily insectivorous when young, but will eat fish at maturity. Frog/tadpole pelleted diets, frozen insects or carnivore diets, pre-soaked freeze-dried insects, chopped or whole earth worms and red worms, pinhead crickets, feeder guppies, and wax worms are all acceptable foods. Variety is key to health.
Goldfish and rosy reds should not be fed due to thamanise, which inhibits vitamin B absorption in frogs. Flake foods intended for fish, sinking pellets (risk consuming substrate), and beef heart are also not suggested.
Temperament: Social towards similarly sized fellow clawed frogs, but may attack and eat fish at maturity. Should not be kept in a community tank or with aquatic invertebrates.
Suggested tank mates: Best kept only with conspecifics.
Sexing: While sexual dimorphism is not apparent when young, mature frogs will show fairly significant differences in the sexes. Males are 10-20% smaller than females, with a more slender body, and a flat rump (no protrusion of the cloaca). They also develop dark pads on the under sides of the forelegs and forefeet at maturity. Females, on the other hand, are large with a thick body and thicker legs. The rump has a small “bump” where the cloaca protrudes. They have no nuptuial pads, but may have some darkening of the forefeet.
Breeding:
African clawed frogs reach sexual maturity at between 10 months and 1 year of age. They prefer breeding in room temperature, clean water, under low lighting conditions. A gravid female and a male exhibiting dark nuptuial pads are best encouraged to breed by a 10-30% water change with cool water, with tank placement in a dark, quiet area of the house. The filter should be unplugged to create still, quiet water conditions (as well as too avoid the destruction of the eggs).
Males will court females by chirping, and if she is receptive, she will respond with clicking. Mating occurs underwater, typically on the bottom of the tank. The male mounts the female from behind by gripping the lower abdomen firmly and squeezing to stimulate egg release. The male then releases sperm to fertilize them. The eggs are sticky and cling to any surface on the tank, but will be readily eaten by the pair if the adults are not promptly removed.
It is suggested that females not be bred more than once every 3-6 months (2-4x's yearly) to prevent undue stress and even death. Because of this, it is best to keep the genders separate. Furthermore, while maturity is reached at 10 months, it is best to breed at 1.5-2 years or later for better chances of fertility. It is also suggested that the frogs not be related (most from the same store will be), as this increases the chance of failed fertilization, deformed tadpoles, tadpole death, froglet death, and short life span. Broods may number in the hundreds, so selection of eggs to the desired quantity may be preferred.
Rearing Tadpoles
Please refer to this webpage.
Personal observations, Advice:
I have only recently started keeping this species, but have found some of the following information throughout frog websites:
+ Most live plants will be destroyed by this species. Anubias is one of the few plants hardy enough to withstand the frogs' activities.
+ Silk plants are preferred to plastic plants, as plastic plants may tear the vessel-rich webbing between the hind legs.
+ African Clawed Frogs may consume gravel and sand, and young frogs especially are at risk of inpaction. A bare bottomed tank is easiest to clean and safest for frogs, but adult frogs may be kept on very fine sand or very large gravel (ie. river rocks).
+ Hides and low lighting conditions are best to prevent stress. Terra cotta pots, driftwood, secure rocks, artificial caves, and boiled oak leaves all offer hiding spaces. Some sites also suggest a background on three sides of the tank for more privacy.
+ Opinions on filtration vary. The species is sensitive to vibration and current, but also high waste. Significant water changes every 3-4 days in an under stocked tank should prevent illness, but a quiet, low-current filter such as the Whisper filter may be less stressful on owner and frog alike. Air stones and under gravel filters should never be used.
+ Frogs will shed frequently (often weekly) and typically consume the shedding. If the shedding is not consumed, it should be thrown away to prevent degradation of water quality.
+ As with fish, poor water quality is the #1 killer. Bacterial infections, particularly a deadly condition called "red leg," is common unless diligent weekly water changes are performed. Bacterial and fungal infections can be treated with medications intended for similar conditions in fish.
Invasive Species Alert
Due to their hardiness, this species is a dangerous and destructive invasive in many states. They should never be released in any water way. The proliferation of this species in the US has lead to bans in numerous states, including Arizona, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Hawai'I, Nevada, and Washington. Check local legislation before purchase.
Helpful Links
AquaticFrogs.com
African Clawed Frog Facts
Froggy Friends (ACF discussion group)

 

[Flagg]

xenopus.com has some good info and some very cheap food.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I disagree strongly with the gallonage sugggested by the first link, though the rest of it is quite good; these frogs get very large, and 1g per frog doesn't cut it, esp. considering their waste load - more like 10g per frog! 1-2g per frog is the reccomended gallonage for African Dwarf frogs.

Haha, I didn't even notice that. Sounds like they may have been cut-pasting similar stretches of text from something they'd written for dwarves.

Xenopus.com is great. They even sell the frogs! If I ever get a clawed, I'm totally "rescuing" one of their non-breeder adults. Poor things have one genetic oopsie and get sold off for dissection.

 

[jenniferinny]

I loved mine.. They grew very, very fast. I had mine in a 29 gallon tank for a pair of them and it stayed pretty clean like that.. I wouldn't have wanted to have them in a smaller tank..
One thing I noticed with them is that they'd try to eat everything. You definitely don't want to put regular aquarium gravel in there as they will try to eat it.. I did have a whisper filter on mine which didn't seem to bother them at all. Mine also preferred live prey and seemed to have trouble finding pelleted foods..

 

[RoachGirlRen]

Yeah, it took me forever to convert me little gal from live to frozen foods, and she won't touch pellets. And I think I might try to get her a deformy buddy from Xenopus.com once she's bigger! That's so cool that they offer that.

 

[Flagg]

When I had a couple, they grew ridiculously fast and they seemed to do better with floating food than sinking, though they would eat both. Frozen bloodworms were scarfed up as well, I never fed them any live food except the feeder guppies that were in the same tank.

 

[sweetmisery]

I feed mine with frozen bloodworms as well. They eat like crazy!

Are they fine with fish their size? Or are they vulnerable or attackers? Cuz I got some dragonfins and gouramis from Hell.

 

[Flagg]

More the other way around. They'll eat anything they can fit in their mouths.