Freshwater Frogs :
How to Care for African Dwarf Frogs:
1-Set up a tank for your African Dwarf Frogs. They can live peacefully with some types of fish and snails that live in water.
2- If you intend to have an unfiltered tank like a goldfish bowl, 1–2 gallons (3.8–7.6 L) per frog is ideal so you will not need to change the tanks water every couple of days. Otherwise, you need to have some method of filtering to avoid toxic ammonia from the frogs waste to build up. African Dwarf frogs do not need a lot of space. In nature, these frogs evolved in very shallow small pools of rainforest swamp-water. They do not school like fish, preferring instead a safe, quiet, predator-free world with plenty of places along the bottom to hide. As long as there is an effective filtering system, any size shallow tank will do. Also, make sure the tank has no gaps in the top as many frogs have escaped and sadly died.
3- A filter is a must. In nature, African Dwarf Frogs live in water depths shallower than 7-8" deep. Deeper water depths can add stress to African Dwarf Frogs who live on the bottom, yet must swim to the surface to breathe. While African Dwarf Frogs can co-exist with tropical fish in an aquarium, in doing so, always set up your tank for the needs of fish, not frogs in mind. African Dwarf Frogs can tolerate water conditions that can be toxic to fish.
4- Use gravel or sand as a substrate, 1 inch thick (2 cm), or enough so when you push down with your finger you cannot feel the bottom.
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If you use rocks or pebbles, be absolutely sure that the rocks aren't too big. African Dwarfs can easily get trapped under a rock and suffocate. However, do include some structure along the bottom of the tank, some nook or cranny, where the frog can hide. African Dwarf Frogs are sensitive to vibrations & movement, and will often seek the security of a confined space in an instinctive quest to avoid predators. Simply be sure the frogs cannot get trapped. On the other hand , make sure the gravel is not too small because African dwarf frogs may accidentally swallow some gravel and could potentially die.
5-Use live or frozen food, such as bloodworms, and brine shrimp. You can also feed them commercial frog pellets. Variety is healthy. Do not feed freeze dried food, it may cause bloat. Be sure to remove any uneaten food after ten minutes. You may also feed them sinking pellets if its a must, but be sure to put them on a plate first so they are easily found
6- Cleaning the frog's tank once a week will ensure health. Do partial water changes weekly to stabilize the ph and remove any nitrites/ nitrates. Remove about twenty percent of the water and replace with de chlorinated tap water .
7- Provide hiding places such as small terracotta pots and other commercial products.
8- Use real or fake plants. Make sure that the fake plants are silk, not plastic. Hard plastic plants will scratch and cut their bodies.if you would like real plants make sure you meet the needs of those as well.
9- Water should be around 70-75 F. Use mini water heaters if necessary with caution. Monitor water temperatures closely if you use any heater.
10- Young African Dwarf Frogs prefer to be housed in groups. Older mature frogs prefer a solitary existence except during breeding season. Males housed together won't fight; however, males and females may breed. Female Frogs are the more dominant of the species, more aggressive & hungrier during breeding time.
11- African dwarf frogs (ADFs) are often mistaken for African clawed frogs (ACFs), but the two are very different from each other. ACFs grow to be much, much bigger than ADFs, possibly reaching the size of a softball in adulthood. ACFs will eat almost any fish (or frog) that they can fit in their mouths, so they should not be kept with ADFs. ACFs can carry diseases that are fatal to ADFs. ACFs have no webbing on their front feet, so they have long claws (if you see small black claws on an ADFs back feet, don't be worried; they are supposed to have these). ACFs can also be good pets, but be sure to research them and accommodate their needs in a separate place from fish and ADFs.
Tips :
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African dwarf frogs love blood worms.
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Also, be sure that the aquarium you are using isn't too deep, or else the frogs won't be able to swim to the top to get air, and they may drown.
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Have two African dwarf frogs to keep each other company(optional but recommended).
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If they are in a bowl (which is not recommended) add a plate to act as the lid.
Warnings :
-The African Dwarf Frog has a large array of animals that it can live with safely, but there are a few it cannot live with, such as crayfish, cichlids - fish like damselfish or surfperch, turtles, and in rare cases, goldfish. Most animals are fine, but the select few can be extremely violent or simply bigger and may attempt to eat the frog. Remember, in nature, African Dwarf frogs are food for fish, birds, snakes, and mostly any animal larger than them. Instinctively, African Dwarf Frogs will consider anything larger than them as a threat, and anything smaller than them as potentially frog food.
-Remember that African Dwarf Frogs has Salmonella so never handle the frog outside of the tank.
1- African dwarf frog :
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
African dwarf frogs, genus Hymenochirus, are small aquatic frogs native to parts of Africa, spreading from tropical to subtropical areas primarily in the Congo region.
Description :
frican dwarf frogs live their entire lives underwater but need to rise to the surface to breathe air because they have lungs and not gills. These frogs are small in size and do not weigh more than a few grams. They vary in color, for the most part ranging from olive green to brown with black spots. The average life expectancy of these frogs is five years, but they can live as long as 20 years; they can grow to 6.35 cm (2.5 in) long. When young, African dwarf frogs can be mistaken and sold as African clawed frogs, of the genus Xenopus, which are larger and more aggressive than the dwarf.
All species of Pipidae are tongueless, toothless, and completely aquatic. They use their webbed feet to shove food in their mouths and down their throats, and a hyobranchial pump to draw or suck food into their mouths. Pipidae have powerful legs for swimming and lunging after food. They also use the claws on their feet to tear pieces of large food. They lack true ears, but have lateral lines running down the length of their bodies and undersides; this is how they can sense movements and vibration in the water. They use their sensitive fingers, sense of smell, and lateral line system to find food. They are scavengers and will eat anything living, dying, or dead and any type of organic detritus.
These frogs have tiny black claws on their hind legs, which caused one of their discoverers, Oskar Boettger, to originally call them African dwarf clawed frogs,[1] but they quickly lose these black tips in the sharp pebble environments and are more commonly called African dwarf frogs today.
Species:
Hymenochirus boettgeri
Hymenochirus boulengeri
Hymenochirus curtipes
Hymenochirus feae
Hymenochirus boettgeri :
Hymenochirus boulengeri:
Hymenochirus curtipes:
Hymenochirus feae:
In the wild :
This African frog habitat in the wild consists of shallow rivers, creeks, and ponds during the dry season and in the flooded areas of the forests during the wet season. These creatures prefer eating near the bottom where their coloration blends with the mud and leaf litter and they can be safe from predators.
Males are slim and develop a small gland behind each of their front legs; this gland is not very well understood, but is believed to play some part in mating. The gland is a small white spot on both sides, a minor outward bulge on both sides of the frog. Males are known to “sing” or “hum” during mating or when excited, although they sometimes “hum” even if they have no intention of mating. The females of this species are 40% larger than males when fully mature. They have pear-shaped bodies, as theirabdomens fill with eggs as they reach a mating stage. Another distinction is the females have a more pronounced genital region, called an ovipositor.
African dwarf frogs mating is called amplexus, during which the male grabs the female around the abdomen just in front of her back legs. The female becomes motionless and her fore limbs may twitch sporadically. Amplexus usually happens at night after one or more nights of “humming” by the male. During amplexus, the female does all the swimming. The female lays her eggs on the surface of the water, one at a time while towing the male. She swims to the bottom between layings. The male fertilizes the eggs during this time by releasing sperm 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 releases the female and she returns to her normal behavior.
As pets :
African dwarf frogs are commonly found as pets. They first became popular in the 1960s and have spread to the pet trade all over the world.[citation needed] They are desirable pets because of their low maintenance requirements compared to other amphibians. African clawed frogs are often sold erroneously as African dwarf frogs. The astute pet owner can recognize the difference, however, because:
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Dwarf frogs have four webbed feet. African clawed frogs have webbed hind feet while their front feet have autonomous digits.
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African dwarf frogs have eyes positioned on the sides of their heads, while African clawed frogs have eyes on the tops of their heads.
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African clawed frogs have curved, flat snouts. The snout of an African dwarf frog is pointed.
African dwarf frogs are very active and rarely sit still for any period of time. When stationary, the African dwarf frog has been known to float in one spot, with its limbs completely outstretched, on the surface of the water. This is normal behavior, called "burbling". Sometimes they just float with limbs spread out, drifting on the surface. African dwarf frogs are generally peaceful with animals of their own size, but their diet sometimes include smaller animals. Other fish are known to eat the eggs of these frogs. African dwarf frogs spend most of their time near the bottom of the water, where they feel safe from predators. Most frogs sleep up to 12 hours a day, provided no threat of predators is present.
These frogs are suggested to be kept in a group of two or more due to their social nature. Despite being fully aquatic, the African dwarf frog still needs to be able to reach the surface to breathe. These amphibians are not great swimmers, so water currents should be kept low and deep tanks may pose a challenge to their ability to breathe. In the wild, the Congo forest floods yearly to a depth of 24 inches or more, so any depth less than that will be suitable. They also should be kept in an enclosure with a secure cover to prevent escape and plenty of hiding spaces as in the wild they tend to be prey to a variety of animals and open spaces cause skittish behavior. The frogs eat any smaller fish. The optimum water temperature is 75–82 °F. The pH of the water should be maintained between 6.5 and 7.5. These frogs cannot survive out of water for longer than 20 minutes in low humidity, as they dry out
Care should be taken when handling African dwarf frogs, especially when considering them as a pet for young children. These frogs should never be held outside the tank, both for the safety of the frog and the child, as they may be carriers of Salmonella.
2- African clawed frog :
Xenopus laevis
Daudin, 1802
The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis, also known as the xenopus, African clawed toad, African claw-toed frog or the platanna) is a species of African aquatic frog of the Pipidae family. Its name is derived from the three short claws on each hind foot, which it uses to tear apart its food. The wordXenopus means "strange foot" and laevis means "smooth".
African clawed frogs can grow up to a length of 5 in (13 cm). They have a flattened head and body, but no tongue or external ears.
The species is found throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa),[2] and in isolated, introduced populations in North America, South America, and Europe.[1] All species of the Pipidae family are tongueless, toothless and completely aquatic. They use their hands to shove food in their mouths and down their throats and a hyobranchial pump to draw or suck things in their mouth. Pipidae have powerful legs for swimming and lunging after food. They also use the claws on their feet to tear pieces of large food. They lack true ears but have lateral lines running down the length of the body and underside, which is how they can sense movements and vibrations in the water. They use their sensitive fingers, sense of smell, and lateral line system to find food. Pipidae are scavengers and will eat almost anything living, dying, or dead and any type of organic waste.
Description:
These frogs are plentiful in ponds and rivers within the south-eastern portion of Sub-Saharan Africa. They are aquatic and are often greenish-grey in color. Albino varieties are commonly sold as pets. “Wild type" African Clawed Frogs are also frequently sold as pets, and often incorrectly labeled as a Congo Frog or African Dwarf Frog because of similar colorings. They are easily distinguished from African Dwarf Frogs because African Clawed Frogs have webbing only on their hind feet while African Dwarf Frogs have webbing on all four feet. They reproduce by laying eggs (see frog reproduction). Also, the clawed frogs are the only amphibians to have actual claws used to climb and shred foods like fish or tadpoles. They lay their eggs from winter till spring. During wet rainy seasons they will travel to other ponds or puddles of water to search for food.
The average life-span of these frogs ranges from 5–15 years with some individuals recorded to have lived for 20–25 years.[4] They shed their skin every season, and eat their own shed skin.
Although lacking a vocal sac, the males make a mating call of alternating long and short trills, by contracting the intrinsic laryngeal muscles. Females also answer vocally, signaling either acceptance (a rapping sound) or rejection (slow ticking) of the male.[5][6] This frog has smooth slippery skin which is multicolored on its back with blotches of olive gray or brown. The underside is creamy white with a yellow tinge.
Male and female frogs can be easily distinguished through the following differences. Male frogs are usually about 20% smaller than females, with slim bodies and legs. Males make mating calls to attract females, sounding very much like a cricket calling underwater. Females are larger than the males, appearing far more plump with hip-like bulges above their rear legs (where their eggs are internally located). While they do not sing or call out like males do, they do answer back (an extremely rare phenomenon in the animal world).
Both males and females have a cloaca, which is a chamber through which digestive and urinary wastes pass and through which thereproductive systems also empty. The cloaca empties by way of the vent which in reptiles and amphibians is a single opening for all three systems.
In the wild:
In the wild, Xenopus laevis are native to wetlands, ponds, and lakes across arid/semiarid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Xenopus laevis and Xenopus muelleri occur along the western boundary of theGreat African Rift. The people of the sub-Saharan are generally very familiar with this frog, and some cultures use it as a source of protein, an aphrodisiac, or as fertility medicine. Two historic outbreaks of priapism have been linked to consumption of frog legs from frogs that ate insects containingcantharidin. Wild Xenopus are much larger than their captive bred counterparts.
Xenopus laevis in the wild are commonly infected by various parasites, including monogeneans in theurinary bladder.
Use in research:
Xenopus embryos and eggs are a popular model system for a wide variety of biological studies. , This animal is widely used because of its powerful combination of experimental tractability and close evolutionary relationship with humans, at least compared to many model organisms. For a more comprehensive discussion of the use of these frogs in biomedical research, see the Wikipedia entry forXenopus.
Xenopus has long been an important tool for in vivo studies in molecular, cell, and developmental biology of vertebrate animals. However, the wide breadth of Xenopus research stems from the additional fact that cell-free extracts made from Xenopus are a premier in vitro system for studies of fundamental aspects of cell and molecular biology. Thus, Xenopus is the only vertebrate model system that allows for high-throughput in vivo analyses of gene function and high-throughput biochemistry. Finally, Xenopus oocytes are a leading system for studies of ion transport and channel physiology.
Although X. laevis does not have the short generation time and genetic simplicity generally desired in genetic model organisms, it is an important model organism in developmental biology, cell biology, toxicology and neurobiology. X. laevis takes 1 to 2 years to reach sexual maturity and, like most of its genus, it is tetraploid. It does have a large and easily manipulated embryo, however. The ease of manipulation inamphibian embryos has given them an important place in historical and modern developmental biology. A related species, Xenopus tropicalis, is now being promoted as a more viable model for genetics.
Roger Wolcott Sperry used X. laevis for his famous experiments describing the development of the visual system. These experiments led to the formulation of the Chemoaffinity hypothesis.
Xenopus oocytes provide an important expression system for molecular biology. By injecting DNA or mRNA into the oocyte or developing embryo, scientists can study the protein products in a controlled system. This allows rapid functional expression of manipulated DNAs (ormRNA). This is particularly useful in electrophysiology, where the ease of recording from the oocyte makes expression of membrane channels attractive. One challenge of oocyte work is eliminating native proteins that might confound results, such as membrane channels native to theoocyte. Translation of proteins can be blocked or splicing of pre-mRNA can be modified by injection of Morpholino antisense oligos into the oocyte (for distribution throughout the embryo) or early embryo (for distribution only into daughter cells of the injected cell).
Extracts from the eggs of X. laevis frogs are also commonly used for biochemical studies of DNA replication and repair, as these extracts fully support DNA replication and other related processes in a cell-free environment which allows easier manipulation.
The first vertebrate ever to be cloned was an African clawed frog, an experiment for which Sir John Gurdon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2012 "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent".
Additionally, several African clawed frogs were present on the space shuttle Endeavour (which was launched into space on September 12, 1992) so that scientists could test whether reproduction and development could occur normally in zero gravity.
X. laevis is also notable for its use in the first well-documented method of pregnancy testing when it was discovered that the urine from pregnant women induced X. laevis oocyte production. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a hormone found in substantial quantities in the urine of pregnant women. Today, commercially available HCG is injected into Xenopus males and females to induce mating behavior and to breed these frogs in captivity at any time of the year.
Model Organism Database for Xenopus :
Xenbase is the Model Organism Database (MOD) for both Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis.
The monogenean Protopolystoma xenopodis, a parasite of the urinary bladder of Xenopus laevis
As pets :
Xenopus laevis have been kept as pets and research subjects since as early as the 1950s. They are extremely hardy and long lived, having been known to live up to 20 or even 30 years in captivity.
African Clawed Frogs are frequently mislabeled as African Dwarf Frogs in pet stores. The astute pet owner will recognize the difference, however, because of the following characteristics:
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Dwarf frogs have four webbed feet. African Clawed Frogs have webbed hind feet while their front feet have autonomous digits.
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African Dwarf Frogs have eyes positioned on the side of their head, while African Clawed Frogs have eyes on the top of their heads.
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African Clawed Frogs have curved, flat snouts. The snout of an African Dwarf Frog is pointed.
As a pest :
African Clawed Frogs are voracious predators and easily adapt to many habitats.[21] For this reason, they can easily become a harmful invasive species. They can travel short distances to other bodies of water, and some have even been documented to survive mild freezes. They have been shown to devastate native populations of frogs and other creatures by eating their young.
In 2003, Xenopus laevis frogs were discovered in a pond at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Much debate now exists in the area on how to exterminate these creatures and keep them from spreading. It is unknown if these frogs entered the San Francisco ecosystem through intentional release or escape into the wild. San Francisco officials recently drained Lily Pond and fenced off the area to prevent the frogs from escaping to other ponds in the hopes they starve to death.
Due to incidents in which these frogs were released and allowed to escape into the wild, African Clawed Frogs are illegal to own, transport or sell without a permit in the following US states: Arizona, California, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Hawaii,[24] Nevada, and Washington state. However, it is legal to own Xenopus laevis in New Brunswick and Ohio.
Feral colonies of Xenopus laevis exist in South Wales, United Kingdom.
The African clawed frog may be an important vector and the initial source of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a chytrid fungus that has been implicated in the drastic decline in amphibian populations in many parts of the world.[2] Unlike in many other amphibian species (including the closely related western clawed frog) where this chytrid fungus causes the disease Chytridiomycosis, it does not appear to affect the African clawed frog, making it an effective carrier.
Caring for Your New Clawed Frog :
Courtesy to : www. Aqua land pets plus .com
The inside scoop on Xenopus laevis
Clawed Frog Factoids
Origin : Eastern and Southern Africa
Size : Females 5 inches, males smaller
Temperature : Very flexible
Water : No special water. Breathes air.
Attitude : Comical eager eaters
Threat : Adult Clawed Frogs eat fish.
Swimmers : Forward and backward -- fast
Security : Finds hiding places
Foods : Prospers on “turtle sticks”
Supplements : None needed
Lighting : Immaterial
Breeding Age : 10 months
Spawn Size : Up to 2,000 eggs
Incubation Time : 2 to 4 days based on temp
Fry Food : Infusoria or powdered food
Metamorphosis : Starts at six weeks
Fry Threat : Cannibalism
Inch and a halfers just starting out.
Origins:
Clawed Frogs originally came from Africa. The ones sold today are spawned commercially – none are captured from the wild. The albino version costs about a third more than the greyish/greenish/brownish “normals.”
Clawed frogs come to the top for air. Note the claws on his back feet and the black "hands."
Size:
Baby Clawed Frogs sell in the inch to inch and a half range. At this size they fit well into a community tank of fishes. When they grow to adult size, they will eat any fish they can catch. They can catch themall at night.
Note the claws on the tips of his toes. Romantic males have black "hands."
Illegal in California:
Clawed frogs that escaped into California ponds ate all the native fish, frogs, and crayfish and literally took over because most fish dislike the taste of Clawed Frogs. Since they breathe air, they cannot survive in Iowa ponds that freeze over. They could not handle our cold temperatures either. Still, don’t release unwanted critters into the wild. At one time they used these frogs for pregnancy tests. The urine of pregnant women triggers them to spawn. Guess the testers gave up on them because they couldn't sell them at the local drug store.
Hiding Caves:
Clawed Frogs live on the bottom and dig under your decorations. They want to hide during the day. Give them several places to lurk during the day. They come out in the evenings and patrol for food. Actually, any time you put food in their water, they smell it and start rooting for food on the bottom.
Black-handed male snagging some floating Doromin. He eats goldfish and worms also.
This clawed frog's just finishing off a young clown knife (expensive snack).
Deceased small koi.
Waste not. Want not.
Foods:
Flake foods are accepted by small Clawed Frogs but are not filling. Feed them the reptile “stick foods” that float. Clawed Frogs look like cigar smokers when they chomp on these. HBH makes a pellet that little frogs greedily gobble. Half-grown Clawed Frogs will eat feeder goldfish. Adults will gulp down a nightcrawler (or two). When they get a little size on them, they try to swallow each other. They rarely complete the process. Unlike most frogs, clawed frogs will eat non-living foods.
Sort of eying the Doromin at the surface.
Excellent food to fill her egg factory. This is her second nightcrawler.
Clawed frogs go berzerko for nightcrawlers.
Clawed frogs quickly learn to eat from your fingers. Sometimes they nibble your fingers, too.
Bottom Hunters:
When Clawed Frogs smell food in the water, they instinctively start methodically searching for food on the bottom. Eventually, when they come up for air, they find the food at the top. Once they find the floating sticks, they eat them eagerly. Adults shove them in with both hands. If you gently squoosh the air out of these floating foods, your frogs will find them faster on the bottom. They never learn to start looking at the top first -- always at the bottom.
Even harder under an inch. Top left guy on a diet?
Males left. Females right. Heh, heh. Who knows at the 1.5 inch size?
Two breeder females. Three breeder males. Lotsa color variation.
Female clawed frogs grow a small extension on their butts.
Escapers:
If they can climb over the edge of your tank, they will bail. Keep your tank covered or lower the water level. Once Clawed Frogs get out, they are helpless on land. They dry out rapidly on your carpet.
Adult female clawed frogs can easily eat goldfish and nightcrawlers.
Pregnant females really swell up with eggs.
Mixers:
Mix your clawed frogs only with fish too big for them to swallow. (Remember that they continue growing after you add them to your tank.) Consider adding them to African cichlid tanks. They should mix well with cichlids too small to swallow them and vice versa.
Definitely a female.
We're trying to spawn this young lady before she explodes.
Sexing:
Female clawed frogs grow larger and have an extension on their butts. Males develop black breeding pads on their “fingers” for grasping the females. Their forearms also turn black.
Male clawed frogs grab the female with their sticky black hands -- if she coöperates.
We're trying to fatten her up with nightcrawlers.
She's ready for the male in her tank to assert himself. He's not catching on.
This guy may be too fat to breed?
Spawning:
If you’ve kept your Clawed Frogs for a year, you’re ready to spawn them. Keep them in their own large tank with four to six inches of water. Feed them a variety of foods. Thawed krill make a great conditioning food. Change half their water. Add 12 to 15 degree cooler water to trigger spawning. Keep an eye on them. The breeders will often eat their own eggs.
Female on left. Pair over grid to exclude them from the eggs.
Egg Protection:
The grid above comes from an old fluorescent light fixture. Trim it to size with a pair of side cutter. Then drag the rough edges on a concrete sidewalk to smooth the edges, so they will not cut your frogs. You could use a file or belt sander, but the concrete sidewalk works much faster. Two layers of this grid will give even more egg protection.
One female laid her eggs on these rocks. The eggs are adhesive.
Clawed frog tadpole. He's a "filter feeder."
Tadpoles:
Baby Clawed Frogs look like catfishes because two long tentacles grow out from their top lip. They eat infusoria or powder-fine fish food. (Other tadpoles have rasping lips for eating algae.) These “tads” start turning into frogs in six weeks.
Steve Larson grew these from his "Grow a Frog" kit -- about 80 of them.
They can't eat these one-inch blackworms. They're here for size comparison
Froglets: Even at this half-inch size, these baby clawed frogs love to eat.
At one inch, they eat even more.
Some clawed frogs even learn to come to the top to eat.
Clawed frogs really pig out on turtle stick foods.
Adult clawed frogs love to snack on community fish.
Last Word: Just a warning that these innocent looking 1.5-inch clawed frogs grow into real fish eaters.
One-inch rainbow frog that showed up in 2008.
Already breeder size.
1.5-inch albino African frog trying to swallow a tank mate (which drowned).
The common Suriname toad or star-fingered toad (Pipa pipa) is a species of frog in the Pipidae family found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. In Spanish it is called aparo, rana comun de celdillas, rana tablacha, sapo chinelo, sapo chola, or sapo de celdas. In Portuguese, it is known as sapo pipa due to its shape, as "pipa" means kite. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, swamps, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It is threatened byhabitat loss.
Description :
The common Suriname toad is similar in appearance to a mottled brown leaf, and is almost completely flat. Its feet are broadly webbed with the front toes having small, star-like appendages. Specimens of close to 20 cm (8 in) in length have been recorded, although 10-13 cm (4-5 in) is a typical size. The Suriname toad has minute eyes, no teeth, and no tongue.
Reproduction :
Suriname toads are best known for their remarkable reproductive habits. Unlike the majority of toads, the males of this species do not attract mates with croaks and other sounds often associated with these aquatic animals. Instead, they produce a sharp clicking sound by snapping the hyoid bone in their throats.[2] The partners rise from the floor while in amplexus and flip through the water in arcs. During each arc, the female releases 3 to 10 eggs, which get embedded in the skin on her back by the male's movements. After implantation, the eggs sink into the skin and form pockets over a period of several days, eventually taking on the appearance of an irregular honeycomb. The larvae develop through to thetadpole stage inside these pockets, eventually emerging from the mother's back as fully developed toads, though they are less than an inch long (2 cm). Once they have emerged from their mother's back, the toads begin a largely solitary life.
After giving birth to the new toads, the mother slowly sheds the thin layer of skin that was used to birth them, and can begin the cycle again
3-Pipa pipa frogs :
Common Suriname toad
Pipa pipa
(Linnaeus, 1758)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caring for Your New Suriname Toad :
Courtesy to : www. aqualandpetsplus . com
Surinam Toad Factoids
Origin : Would you believe Suriname?
Maximum Size : 6 to 8 inches plus legs and feet and nose
Housing : Bigger the better
Security : Blends into substrate
Substrate : Non-abrasive
Temperature : Prefers 70 to 80o
Attitude : Eager eater
Foods : Anything swallowable
Water : Needs clean water
Some will let you handle them (briefly).
The smaller Suriname toads we see these days are likely captive bred.
Suriname toads often come in quite large.
Origins:
Suriname toads come from the country of Suriname and its neighbors – the countries at the top of Brasil. These guys used to be common. They disappeared for a while. Now they’re back. They appear to be tank bred.
But if you feed them enough, they can really plump up.
Suriname toads are flat as a pancake with legs.
Name:
Pipa pipas are really frogs that look like stepped on squished toads. They’re totally aquatic but have a rough looking skin like toads.
He's flashing us.
Bellies:
Their bellies look like they’ve had an autopsy by the CSI crew. You didn’t get a repaired one. They all look like that.
Little beady eyes, pointy nose -- but he's still a champion eater.
In the Wild:
Suriname toads come from black water swamps with lots of decaying vegetation. Their appearance lets them blend right into the crud on the bottom. Their sensitive tiny “fingers” help them find food – even in the dark. Their tiny beady eyes look near-sighted but work well enough to enable them to gulp goldfish.
He likes his nightcrawlers -- breakfast of champions.
Look for the tail at the right of his mouth.
Here's another one eating a three-inch goldfish. He is hand fed.
Just a bit clumsy at times.
Foods in Captivity:
Goldfish, crayfish, nightcrawlers, krill, and silversides, all are eagerly accepted by Suriname toads. Start new ones on goldfish and worms, then expand their menus. They can swallow very large chunks. They eat chunks of beef heart also. Avoid most meats. They really mess up your water. Fish good. Mammals not so good.
Water:
Suriname toads come from low pH black water back waters. They adjust to our Des Moines 7.5 pH with 220 PPM hardness just fine. If you never want to see them again, throw in a bunch of dead leaves to make them feel homey. Want to compromise? Add an Indian almond leaf. Provide good filtration and change their water often. They eat mass quantities -- garbage in, garbage out.
Likes to Bail:
Suriname toads stand on their tippy toes and lean up against your aquarium glass – possibly to make air breathing easier, possibly looking for the exit sign. Beware. They will jump out. Standing adults reach the top of a ten-gallon tank. Keep them securely covered. Put a rock on their lid. They have very strong legs and will pop their tops. They scoot across the floor fairly fast.
The most often asked question about Suriname toads: "Is he dead?"
"Is he dead?"
Space Requirements: You’ll need a 20H or 20L for one adult Suriname toad. The smaller sub-adults can live in a 10. The more room you give yours, the better.
Substrates: Avoid scratchy sands or gravels. Crushed granite (chicken grit) is probably the hardest on their tender bellies. Put your Suriname toad over a contrasting color. They’ll do their darndest to blend into natural colors.
Little Suriname toads are cuter than the honkers.
Hiding Places:
Adults take up so much room they need no hiding places. Froglets probably need hiding places. Careful, froglets cannibalize each other.
Male Suriname toad sticks eggs onto her back.
Breeding:
If you really want to breed Suriname toads, you need a three-foot deep garbage can plus a male and a female. Make water changes with cooler water. Rising cooler water apparently reminds them of those romantic evenings in Suriname when the spring rains came. After a few piña coladas and walks in the rain, the male places the eggs on the female’s back where she incubates them exactly 12 to 20 weeks.
Female on left. Pair over grid to exclude them from the eggs.
Tank Mates:
Suriname toads consider all swallowable tank mates edible. And you don’t want to mix large butt-kickers (like cichlids) with them.
Fights:
We’ve never had enough on hand at one time to see fights.
Plants:
Their powerful back legs will uproot most live plants. Use plastic or floating plants.
Weird little nose, Weird beady eyes, weird pointy nose, weird little "ears."
Suriname toads are actually cute at this size.
Little two-inchers are cute in a squished sort of way.
Trying to burrow into the sand.