African Clawed Frogs - Water Changes ???

[Vyper]

Hi All

I've decided to start keeping 2 albino African Clawed Frogs and I've had them since about November, there doing really well and growing well too. However I wondered whether they need the same amount of water changes as fish ???. For example since there obviously not taking water in to breath would they still be affected by ammonia etc. I've got them in 10g tank and there about 2 inches approx, I do a weekly water change of about 50% and gravel clean too, is this over the top for frogs ?.

I apologise in advance if I've posted this in the wrong section.

 

[OrionGirl]

Nope, not over the top in anyway. These frogs a big bioload, and I've found need more cleaning and filtration that my fish tanks.

You may, however, want to plan on moving them to a bigger setup. I have one ina 20--she's about 4 years old now, bigger than my hand. She uses every bit of the tank.

 

[TKOS]

No, I would say stick with that. Any aquatic animal will benifit from fresh water. If you want them to live long full lives good water changing is a safe practice.

 

[Vyper]

Ok thanks for the advice, I was going to move them into a much bigger tank when they got a little bigger, they're still only about the size of my thumb and still have plenty of swimming room for now, when they get a bit bigger I may set them up in a new 40g tank, however would I need to cycle this, as i say is ammonia/nnitrites etc a problem for frogs ?, I've looked on various websites about African Clawed frogs and although theres plenty of information of keeping/feeding them etc theres not a lot of info about the initial stages. I kinda took a chance with my 10g setup and hoped they'd survive which they've clearly done but if you are supposed to cycle before adding them to a new tank then obviously I'd like to do this before I move them to a 40g tank. Also any suggestions on moving them would be great too, I hear nets are a no no cos they can get their claws caught up in them.

 

[TKOS]

If you move the current filter over with them then cycling shouldn't be an issue. There maybe a small spike but water changes will handle it. Ammonia and nitrite are not friends to any animal. Some survive it better but in the end it will do them damage.

 

[OrionGirl]

Amphibians, in their adult stage, don't suffer from the gill burns that kill most fish in cycing systems, but they are impacted by the conditions of the water more than fish--they lack the protective scales of the fish, and their skin will absorb many chemicals from the water. Frogs do have a slime coating--if you watch, you'll see yours shedding, looks like gummy flakes, that the frogs usually consume as they scrape it off. But, poor water conditions can penetrate the coating and injure the frogs skin. Not good! So, frequent water changes are a must.