African Dwarf Frogs

This all started when I was given two African dwarf frogs as a present. (Around Feb 2010) Originally I had them in a tiny glass container but soon found that it was really annoying to keep clean.
My friend had an extra 5 gallon tank sitting around so I set that up, threw a filter on it, added a heater, bubbler and some live plants. This was a much better habitat for the frogs and way easier to maintain.

So, since I had a bit of space to work with, I figured I’d add some fish.
My dad always had fish tanks when I was little, so I knew a bit about them but I hadn't set up my own tank before.
I had the tank running for a while with the frogs so it was cycled. I ended up adding some Neon tetras and a couple Sterbai cory cats and a snail.

May 2010

Over the next year, I switched up the tank a bit. I swapped the 5 gallon for an 8.
I also added some Oto cats and Nerite snails to the tank for algae control and a Crowntail betta.
I always feel sorry for bettas, they never look very good in the stores or in tiny tanks. But if you give them a bit bigger aquarium with a heater and filter, they are so active. Mine is just like a dog, he always comes up when I come over to the tank. He also likes to pig out. Even though I have betta food specifically for him, he eats everything else as well; flakes, algae wafers...

Initially I hadn't known much about aquatic plants. I figured they just needed light and got their nutrients out of the water and that was it. So, after killing two or three different types including the ones above, I read up on them and found out that different varieties have very different needs. (High lighting, CO2 injection, ferts)

I wanted to keep this a low tech tank, so I looked for some easy to grow plants. I ended up with Anubias, which does well in low lighting. I also added some Pondweed/Egeria densa which is a bit finicky; it grows like mad sometimes, doesn't like to stay planted, easily gets taken out by algae. I won't be getting more once my last bit dies off.

April 2011

Plants: Java moss, 2x Anubias barteri - angustifolia, Pondweed/Egeria densa
Fish: 7x Neon Tetras, 2x Corydoras Sterbai, 3x Oto cats, 2x African Dwarf Frog, 1x Crowntail Betta, 3x Nerite Snails


In just over a year I have learned a ton with this tank. Mainly, I learned to do research first. You can find everything you need on the internet.