African dwarf frog

African Dwarf Frog

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African dwarf frog

African dwarf frogs can be found all around the African continent spreading from tropical to subtropical Africa but the vast majority of them are from the Congo

Congo

Congo, Kongo, or Kongo may refer to:...
area. The African dwarf frog is an aquatic animal living its life entirely underwater, but needs to rise to the surface to breathe atmospheric air because they have lungs and not gills. They are fairly small in size and don’t weigh more than a few ounces.

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Behavior

African dwarf frogs are very active and very rarely will they sit still for any period of time, except when they are lazy and want to not move as much to get air. Sometimes they will just float there with arms and legs spread out. They prefer to spend time in the shallow river

River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
s, creeks

Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
, and pond

Pond

A pond is a body of water smaller than a lake, both being examples of terrain feature. Although the term pond is universally used to describe waterbodies that are smaller than lakes, an internationally recognised size cutoff has not yet been agreed, with values ranging from 2 hectares to 8 hectares used to distinguish the smaller from...
s in the African forest

Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
. Here they can move around unrestricted and not have to worry about how deep they go, as they need to surface for air. African dwarf frogs are generally peaceful with animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s of their own size but their diet

Diet

Diet, in relation to food, might mean:* Diet , the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group.* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake....
sometimes includes smaller animals. Other fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
are known to find frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . The name frog derives from Old English language frogga, , cognate with Sanskrit plava , probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European language praw = "to jump"....
egg

Egg

Egg or Eggs may refer to the following:...
s as a tasty treat. African dwarf frogs spend most of their time eating or playing near the bottom, where they feel safe from predators and to keep cool in the African heat. These frogs find a safe hiding place near the bottom to sleep. They do this a lot; most frogs will sleep up to twelve hours a day.

Sexing

Male

Malé

Mal? , population 104,403 , is the Capital , the largest city in terms of population, and the name of an island in the Maldives. It is located at the southern edge of North Male' Atoll Kaafu Atoll....
s are slim and will develop a small gland behind each of their front legs; this gland is not understood very well but is believed to play some part in mating

Mating

In biology, mating is the pairing of same-sex, opposite-sex or hermaphrodite organisms for copulation and, in social animals, also to raise their offspring....
. Males are the ones known to “sing” or “hum” during mating or when excited. Only males are known to do this, although they will sometimes “hum” even if there is no intention of mating. The female

Female

Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces mobile ovum . The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male....
s of this species are 20% larger than males when fully mature. They have pear

Pear

The pear is an edible pome fruit produced by a tree of genus Pyrus . The pear is classified within Maloideae, a subfamily within Rosaceae. The apple , which it resembles in floral structure, is also a member of this subfamily....
-shaped bodies as their stomach

Stomach

In most mammals, the stomach is a hollow muscular organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication....
s will fill with eggs as they reach a mating stage. Another distinction is that females will have slightly larger tails than males.

Mating

African dwarf frogs mate during what is called amplexus

Amplexus

Amplexus is a form of pseudocopulation in which a male amphibian grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process. At the same time or with some time delay, he fertilizes the female eggs with fluid containing spermatozoon....
. In amplexus, the male grabs the female around the abdomen

Abdomen

In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity....
just in front of her back legs. Amplexus usually happens at night after one or more nights of “humming” by the male. During amplexus, the female does all the swimming

Swimming

Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational....
. The female lays her eggs on the surface of the water, one at a time while towing the male. She will swim to the bottom between layings. The male is fertilizing the eggs during this time by releasing sperm

Sperm

The term sperm is derived from the Greek word sperma and refers to the male reproductive Cell . In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell....
into the water. Amplexus can last for several hours. When the female has laid all her eggs she signals the male to release her by going motionless. After several minutes of being motionless the male will release the female and she will return to her normal behavior.

Size

The African dwarf frog can range in size but most commonly are found to be 1 inch to 1.5 inches long; though on rare occasion there have been some that have grown up to 4-5 inches. The females are larger than the males by about 20 percent. Males usually weigh about 60 grams and females can weigh up to 200 grams. The large difference in size and weight is largely due in part to the females carrying hundreds of eggs in her abdomen.

Food and diet

African dwarf frogs do not have teeth because they do not chew their food

Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
, they swallow it whole. Favorite foods include blood worm

Blood worm

Blood worm or bloodworm is an ambiguous term and can refer to:*The larva of a non-biting midge containing hemoglobin*The polychaete Glycera , often used for fishing bait...
s, water flea

Water flea

Water flea is a generic term for a number of small aquatic animal crustacea characterised by their jumping or jerky mode of swimming. The characteristic of the water flea is that the main part of the body is enclosed by a kind of shell....
s, and shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
, although these frogs will also eat mosquito

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are common flying insects in the family Culicidae that are found around the world. There are about 3,500 species. They have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and six long legs....
larvae

Larvae

In Roman mythology, the larvae or lemures were the spectres or spirits of the dead; they were the malignant version of the lares. Some Roman writers describe lemures as the common name for all the spirits of the dead, and divide them into two classes: the lares, or the benevolent souls of the family, which haunted and guard...
, black worms, small fish, and small earthworm

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. The earthworm is the most known worm in America, and other countries....
s. And on rare occasions you will see these frogs eating water snail

Snail

The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled animal shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails....
s and brittle shell

Shell

Shell may refer to* Exoskeleton, or exoskeleton, including those of molluscs, turtles, insects and crustaceans* Seashell, the shells of various marine animals, especially marine mollusks...
s. African dwarf frogs are bottom-feeders and one will rarely see them eat anything from the surface of the water.

Community

African dwarf frogs love other frogs. They have been know to live in heavily populated areas and one will rarely find an African dwarf frog living secluded by itself out in the wild. Males will make the same “humming” sound when excited as when mating. Since they are not over aggressive animals they fit well with each other, though there has been sighting of hostile individuals that intimidate others.

African dwarf frogs as pets

African dwarf frogs are commonly found as pet

PET

The term pet typically refers to a pet.PET may also refer to:...
s. They first became popular as pets in the 1960s

1960s

The 1960s list of decades were the years from the start of 1960 to the end of 1969. The term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends in the west, particularly United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Italy, and Ger...
and have spread to the pet trade all over the world. African Dwarf frogs make great pets because they are low maintenance. They should be fed at least 5 times a week and their water should be changed once every two weeks or so. These frogs are also very cheap and they can be found very easily at pet store

Pet store

A pet store or pet shop is a retail business which sells different kinds of animals. Pet stores also sell pet food, supplies, and accessories....
s. Be careful when buying them as some people have accidently been given an African Clawed Frog

African clawed frog

The African clawed frog is a species of South African aquatic frog of the genus Xenopus. It can grow up to 12 cm long with a flattened head and body, but no external ear or tongue....
, ACF, instead. As in the wild African dwarf frogs can live with other animals. They can live with several other frog

Frog

Algae eater

Algae eater is a common name for many bottom-dwelling fishes that feed on algae. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly stocked by the trade....
s. This is because other tropical fish

Tropical fish

Tropical fish include fish found in Tropics environments around the world, including both fresh water and sea water species. Fishkeeping often use the term tropical fish to refer only those requiring fresh water, with saltwater tropical fish referred to as list of marine aquarium fish species....
can be too aggressive and fight with the frogs. Additionally the frogs are not quick eaters and the fish can eat all the food while the frogs go hungry. Tanks should be filled up with regular room temperature

Room temperature

Room temperature is a common term to denote a certain temperature within enclosed space at which humans are accustomed.Room temperature is thus often indicated by general human comfort, with the common range of 10celsius to 23?C , though climate may acclimatize people to higher or lower temperatures....
tap water

Tap water

Tap water is part of indoor plumbing, which became available in the late 19th century and common in the mid-20th century.The provision of tap water requires a massive infrastructure of piping, pumps, and water purification works....
and be lined on the bottom with smooth rock

Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
s or sand

Sand

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.As the term is used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 to 2 millimeters....
. The reason for this is that these frogs have sensitive skin

Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
and spend a lot of time on the bottom, where rough rocks or pebbles could irritate the skin and cause discomfort. Stacked or large objects in the tank should be secure since African dwarf frogs are very active and could accidentally knock them over. A good rule to follow is three frogs to every five gallons of tank. The smallest size tank that one should use is one gallon. Feeding is similar to how African dwarf frogs eat in the wild. African frogs do not feed well on fish flakes, this is a common mistake. African dwarf frogs love dried blood worms (which is what most betta

Betta

'Betta' is a large genus of small, often colorful, freshwater ray-finned fishes in the gourami family . There are 28 known species of betta. The type species is B....
fish eat), or cut up earthworms. African dwarf frogs should not be placed in a tank with a light that is on for more than twelve hours a day as they are very cyclical animals.

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