African clawed frogs?

[AVN]

Originally Posted by Michael M

Keeping a crayfish with an ACF is a terrible idea.

I agree in most cases.

Crayfish are highly predatory and get quite large. Your crayfish in all likelihood is causing your ACF terrible stress and is very capable of harming or killing your frog.

This breed of FW crayfish never gets bigger than 3 inches and is quite passive, only comes out to forage for scraps and shys away from Tetras.

These frogs are actually fairly intelligent and believe me he is well aware of when that crayfish comes out.. if he is hiding that is exactly why. Can you blame him?

Please for your frogs sake strongly consider moving him to a safe home..

He's the biggest predator in the tank. I cause him more stress than any resident in the tank, and the only thing I really do to him is try to offer him food with my fingers.

[Michael M]

Originally Posted by AVN

I agree in most cases.

This breed of FW crayfish never gets bigger than 3 inches and is quite passive, only comes out to forage for scraps and shys away from Tetras.

He's the biggest predator in the tank. I cause him more stress than any resident in the tank, and the only thing I really do to him is try to offer him food with my fingers.

Alrighty.. I don't mean to be preachy. I personally would keep them in a species only tank.

I've seen people keep ACF with turtles then come on forums going 'derp how come my frog is missing a leg?'.

This forum section just started no horror stories yet please! lol..

Anyways I guess you answered your own question, your frog hides when the lights go out (I honestly suspect he is not a fan of a certain armored and clawed predatory crustacean). These frogs are only successful at catching live fish at night when they catch the fish resting. They are strictly ambush predators, I've seen them chase fish -- it's generally close but no cigar and they give up after a bit.

In the wild, ACF feed mostly on arthropods and carrion, they are generally not 'fish eaters' outside of home aquaria.

[AVN]

Oh definitely. I didn't mind that you sounded preachy, better to get yelled at than to screw it all up.

I did my research before mixing the species, I've been in the hobby for decades, so I've made my fair share of mistakes. I also have a tendency to try to make things work that really either shouldn't, or will only work in specific circumstances.

Also...

I've seen people keep ACF with turtles then come on forums going 'derp how come my frog is missing a leg?'.

There's a juvie Map turtle in there with him. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

No worries though. The Turtle's a real sweety, the only thing he bites is me when I'm hand feeding him. He's never caught any fish nor fish fry, and mainly spends his time basking or munching moss. The frog is bigger than the turtle, so no worries there.

In the wild, ACF feed mostly on arthropods and carrion, they are generally not 'fish eaters' outside of home aquaria.

Now I understand why he loves foraging in the moss blanket so much.

[Dakota7777]

Anybody have luck with plants? Mine just get uprooted daily and die..

[Michael M]

Originally Posted by AVN

Oh definitely. I didn't mind that you sounded preachy, better to get yelled at than to screw it all up.

I did my research before mixing the species, I've been in the hobby for decades, so I've made my fair share of mistakes. I also have a tendency to try to make things work that really either shouldn't, or will only work in specific circumstances.

Also...

There's a juvie Map turtle in there with him. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

No worries though. The Turtle's a real sweety, the only thing he bites is me when I'm hand feeding him. He's never caught any fish nor fish fry, and mainly spends his time basking or munching moss. The frog is bigger than the turtle, so no worries there.

Now I understand why he loves foraging in the moss blanket so much.

ACF are bottom dwellers, as are crayfish. They both enjoy the same hiding spots.

One has soft delicate skin, the other has claws and is armored and is predatory.

On top of that there is another predator with hard shell and a viscous bite and will grow quite large in time. It's small and sweet now but we both know it will get large and mother nature will dictate the frog is prey..

All your frog can do is attempt to flee these tank mates, this causes stress, stress eventually leads to premature death.

Well at this point I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. : (

[AVN]

I'm not disagreeing with you, in fact I am totally agreeing.

I will be moving the turtle once he gets big enough, right now he's only 2 inches so he's less of a threat to the frog than the frog is to himself.

The crayfish I have to completely disagree with. The frog is 3 inches long, the crayfish is merely an inch long. His entire claw is as big as the frog's claw is long. The worst he can do is pinch him, if that. He spends 20 hours out of the day completely buried in a tunnel he dug in the substrate under a piece of driftwood, the frog is a free swimmer. They NEVER interact.

[Michael M]

Originally Posted by Dakota7777

Anybody have luck with plants? Mine just get uprooted daily and die..

Here's my experience.

Dwarf Hair Grass = waste of time+money. It will be uprooted faster than it grows.

Wisteria will root just fine, you may have to plant it again now and then but it's grown well in my tank.

Moneywort (bacopa) grows fine, stays rooted alright. Occasionally needs to be replanted.

Pennywort, frogs love it as they do most floating plants, they will rest in it.

Jungle Vals, died on me left and right.. may have been sold 'Mondo Grass' labled as Vals..

Anubias works great, attach to driftwood.

Java Fern is the same as anubias.

Christmas Moss I have growing on my driftwood, it's not really grown a ton yet it appears to be taking root though.

***Crypt Wendtii (forgot I had one of these in my tank) is great. Very strong root system, impossible for the frogs to dislodge.. has been growing very nicely in my tank! They get pretty big and provide nice cover, the frogs love to rest in it.

The problem with ACF and plants IMO is two fold. Numero Uno.. they don't like bright light.. I have a Finnex 36" 7k/7k LED on my 40B and I am in the process of moving it higher above the tank to cut down on light.. shoot for low light..

That and they uproot everything.. I would stick to plants that deeply root. Dwarf Hair Grass was a complete nightmare for me.. I moved it to another tank..

[Michael M]

Originally Posted by AVN

I'm not disagreeing with you, in fact I am totally agreeing.

I will be moving the turtle once he gets big enough, right now he's only 2 inches so he's less of a threat to the frog than the frog is to himself.

The crayfish I have to completely disagree with. The frog is 3 inches long, the crayfish is merely an inch long. His entire claw is as big as the frog's claw is long. The worst he can do is pinch him, if that. He spends 20 hours out of the day completely buried in a tunnel he dug in the substrate under a piece of driftwood, the frog is a free swimmer. They NEVER interact.

Oh if the crayfish is that small I am surprised the frog has not taken a go at him. Most crayfish I've seen in aquariums are quite capable of hurting ACF (and fish!).

My mental image is of a huge clawed crayfish, some of the ones I've seen are quite beastly and they're all predatory so I wouldn't trust them.

[Dakota7777]

Thank you for the plant ideas. Mine absolutely loves duckweed, but I hate it haha. I leave in there for her because it's her home, but I hate when I hand feed her and I have ten little clover looking plants on my forearm...

[Michael M]

Originally Posted by Dakota7777

Thank you for the plant ideas. Mine absolutely loves duckweed, but I hate it haha. I leave in there for her because it's her home, but I hate when I hand feed her and I have ten little clover looking plants on my forearm...

I've seriously considered adding duckweed to my tank.

It does have it's perks, it is great for maintaining good water quality and shade for your frogs.. however you're absolutely right, it's messy.. pretty sure you can't be rid of it without a total break down and bleaching of the tank too!

Where did you get your duckweed? Did you get it from a ditch or canal? I've thought about hunting for some but I am weary of adding stuff I find outside to my aquariums (parasites, disease, ect ect..).

[Dakota7777]

I got mine at my LFS. They said hey you can have this clean healthy duckweed if you buy this bichir. So the compulsive shopper that I am, I bought the bichir and got the duckweed. It was nice for awhile, but it took over my tank and like you said, there's no getting rid of it. I cleared it all out (so I thought) and then in two weeks time, my tank was covered in them yet again. They are cool looking, but more of an annoyance plant. Unless you seriously want it, I wouldn't advise. I was told that I would end up throwing out handfuls. Skeptical at first, I said whatever, but sure enough I just threw out two handfuls from my other tank last week and more buds are coming in..

[Michael M]

Originally Posted by Dakota7777

I got mine at my LFS. They said hey you can have this clean healthy duckweed if you buy this bichir. So the compulsive shopper that I am, I bought the bichir and got the duckweed. It was nice for awhile, but it took over my tank and like you said, there's no getting rid of it. I cleared it all out (so I thought) and then in two weeks time, my tank was covered in them yet again. They are cool looking, but more of an annoyance plant. Unless you seriously want it, I wouldn't advise. I was told that I would end up throwing out handfuls. Skeptical at first, I said whatever, but sure enough I just threw out two handfuls from my other tank last week and more buds are coming in..

I kind of wanted to make a 'swamp' look for my frog aquarium, for that reason I am kind of tempted.

I've not seen duckweed around here, I saw some growing in a little creek that may of been duckweed but I'm not adventurous enough to go down and check it out yet.

Hey at least you probably have great water quality. I hear duckweed does have a highly positive effect on water. : )

[Michael M]

This is my ACF set up.. it's a big time work in progress right now though.. tank is only about 3 weeks old.

They love the caves!

[Dakota7777]

They look great in there! I love it !

[AVN]

Originally Posted by Michael M

Oh if the crayfish is that small I am surprised the frog has not taken a go at him. Most crayfish I've seen in aquariums are quite capable of hurting ACF (and fish!).

My mental image is of a huge clawed crayfish, some of the ones I've seen are quite beastly and they're all predatory so I wouldn't trust them.

I have some beastly ones that are quite dangerous. One could mistake them for lobsters. Those of course live in the pond, not in any tanks I would keep anything else in.

As for duckweed, I hope you are in for a serious commitment in terms of scooping out handfuls of duckweed every so often. As for me, I find it much, much easier than trimming most plants. As long as you don't let the duckweed get to the point where it chokes light, you'll be fine.

Aesthetically, I love the way it grows and bunches on the surface. It's also been known to be a tasty snack for some of my fish. you'd do well to have this in an ACF tank! Although you should consider semi terrestrial frogs and lilypads instead!