If you’re a beginner in owning exotic pets, African Dwarf Frogs may have caught your eye as potential companions. With their vibrant colors and playful personalities, they can make fun and interesting aquarium residents.
Before you splash the cash, did you know that these amphibians should never be kept alone? That’s right – while they may seem small and solitary, these frogs need companionship to remain happy and healthy.
Throughout this article, we’ll discuss why it’s important not to keep your African Dwarf Frogs solitary, plus how many of them make the ideal aquatic group. Additionally, we’ll discuss some important things to keep in mind when grouping them. So if you’ve been wondering if your frog friend needs companionship or can do just fine on its own, let’s jump in and find out!
Can African Dwarf Frogs live alone?
No, African dwarf frogs can’t live alone in a fish tank. From an ethical point of view, it would be a cruel act to keep them alone in an aquarium. These frogs are built for socializing in their own world.
It’s not that they will die within a very short time. But not being able to socialize will eventually reduce their overall happiness level. Which can lead to negative health impacts in the long run. If you place your African dwarf frog alone for a prolonged time, it will have excessive stress that can be fatal.
So, it’s highly recommended to provide them with suitable tank mates. The best tank mate would be another frog. You must ensure each frog is getting at least a 10-gallon amount of space in the tank. Now let’s talk about this in more detail.
Why can being alone be fatal for your African dwarf frog?
Whenever an African dwarf frog is left alone in a tank, stress gradually builds up in their bodies. Until the stress level crosses a certain level, their body function will collapse due to the following reasons…
Less movement
When these little frogs don’t have buddies to play around with, they will most likely spend a long time sitting on the tank floor. As a result, they will start to lose their movement speed and lively feeling. And this situation can build stress on them.
Because of the stress, they will face unusual heart rates and reduced metabolism rates. A combination of these two problems can escalate further health issues in your little pet.
Loss of appetite
It would be hard for your cute amphibian to realize the underlying problem of stress. The absence of a partner will give them a hard time. Loneliness will throw away all their fun & kick in a lot of stress. And, slowly they will lose interest in eating food due to loss of appetite.
Whenever the appetite loss rate goes for too long, it would be quite impossible to bring them back to a normal healthy level.
Read More: How Long Can African Dwarf Frogs Go Without Food?
Can you keep two African dwarf frogs together?
Keeping two African dwarf frogs together is an awesome idea. These communal aquatic frogs have social behavior tagged in their DNA coding. So, a pair of these lovely frogs is a win-win for both the owner & the pets.
You can keep a male-female pair or the same gender pair. If you don’t want them to breed & lay eggs, then keeping the same gender pair would be ideal.
The moment you add a new partner to your frog’s tank, you will immediately notice the happiness through their movement. And this playfulness of the frog is crucial for a long lifespan along with proper care.
For petting two African dwarf frogs you will require at least a 20-gallon tank.
Will multiple African dwarf frogs live peacefully?
Thanks to their community culture, which helps the African dwarf frog to live with other dwarf frogs without any hassle.
Let’s have a look at some attributes that make it easy to keep multiple African dwarf frogs in one tank in the following:
Calm nature
These docile creatures rarely fight over their food, area, or mate. Their extremely friendly nature and absence of aggression make them excellent pets that you can keep in a group.
Though you get the African dwarf frog from a private seller or any pet farm, you will find the same socialistic behavior in them as their wild counterpart. If you have a large tank that’s close to 70–80 gallons, you can easily keep 6-7 African dwarf frogs.
Read More: African Dwarf Frog Tank Setup
Having the same size frog brings more fun
In the animal kingdom, it’s a common rule that the bigger one will hunt down the smaller one. When it comes to African dwarf frogs, things do not seem to differ much. Anything smaller than their size that fits their mouth would have a high chance of becoming their food.
When you have all the same size African dwarf frogs inside the aquarium, this problem won’t be there. So, pet same-size frogs and enjoy watching them play with each other.
Can African frogs live with betta fish?
African frogs can live with betta fish, but you have to keep your eyes on them. Sometimes both of these creatures can show aggression toward each other over food. Which can be a bit stressful for your African dwarf frog.
Make sure both of them get at least 10-gallon space for them. Having a lot of aquatic plants might be extremely helpful in this case.
If you are lucky and observe no aggression from both the frog or betta fish, you can chill. However, if you see any of them show aggression, simply remove the fish from the tank.
Read More: Can African Dwarf Frogs Live with Turtles?
Can African frogs live with goldfish?
You can only keep goldfish up to a certain time with the African dwarf frog. As soon as the goldfish grows to the same size as this frog, it would bite the frog and injure it badly.
Keep goldfish away from African dwarf frogs to be on the safe side.
What are some suitable tank mates for African dwarf frogs?
African dwarf frogs are calm in nature. Giving them tank mates that are non-aggressive or less aggressive is the right match.
Platy fish
These peaceful fish are super active when it comes to roaming around inside the tank. With a maximum growth of 2 inches, they don’t become a threat to your African dwarf frog. Moreover, they are social too. The only drawback is they are fast swimmers.
So you have to carefully feed your frog or the fish will eat the food.
Neon tetra
Another beautiful fish that’s known for its calm temperament. They literally do very well with many types of frogs and fishes. You can keep this fish with your African dwarf frog. As they don’t grow more than 1.5 inches, it’s not a threat in terms of size.
Plus, they won’t give you a hard time feeding the African dwarf frog-like other fishes.
Celestial pearl danio
With a maximum size of 1 inch and a comparatively shy nature, they make a great tank mate for African dwarf frogs. Keeping aquatic plants will help them to stay without stress in the same tank as the African dwarf frog.
Conclusion
While African Dwarf Frogs are small and relatively low-maintenance pets, they should not be kept alone. These frogs are social creatures that enjoy the company of their own kind. Without another frog to interact with, your African Dwarf Frog may become depressed or anxious, leading to a decline in health. If you’re considering getting an African Dwarf Frog as a pet, make sure you’re prepared to care for two frogs instead of just one.
