No photo yet
Sign in to submit the first photo
African Dwarf Frog
Hymenochirus boettgeri
Animalia›Chordata›Amphibia›Anura›Pipidae
📍 Native to slow, shallow forest streams, ponds, and flooded areas of the Congo River basin in equatorial Africa (Cameroon, the DRC, and neighboring countries).
Tiny, fully-aquatic, peaceful frog that surfaces for air. Keep in groups of three or more. Poor eyesight makes it a slow feeder, so avoid fast fish that out-compete it for food.
Care Guide
Diet
African dwarf frogs are carnivores that eat small meaty foods — thawed frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, blackworms, and daphnia, plus sinking pellets made for frogs or carnivores. They're nearly blind and slow to feed, so target-feed each frog (drop food right in front of them or use a feeding dish) and feed at lights-out so faster tankmates don't steal it. Offer food 3–4 times a week and avoid overfeeding.
Behavior
Tiny, fully aquatic frog that lives underwater but must surface to gulp air, so it needs calm, shallow water (under ~16 in / 40 cm) and a tight lid with no escape gaps. Peaceful and social — keep three or more. Nearly blind, it hunts by smell and feel, eats slowly, and is easily outcompeted by fast fish. Most active at dawn and dusk; loves soft sand, gentle flow, and dense plants or caves. Males 'sing' a soft humming buzz to court females.
Breeding
Will breed in a mature tank. Courtship peaks after a cool, slightly lowered water change followed by warm (~80°F / 27°C) water; the male hum-calls and clasps the female (amplexus). The pair swims in arcing loops to the surface, releasing a few eggs at the top of each loop until hundreds of floating eggs are laid. Remove the adults — they eat the eggs. Eggs hatch in 2-3 days into tiny free-swimming tadpoles that need infusoria and then baby brine shrimp; rearing them is delicate.
Tank Mates
Peaceful, similar size, and shares warm water. Feed the frogs at lights-out or target-feed so quick tetras don't steal every meal.
Calm mid-water schooler that leaves bottom-dwelling frogs alone.
Peaceful, but another bottom feeder that competes for sinking food — keep the tank well fed and make sure the frogs get their share.
Harmless algae-eater that ignores and is ignored by the frogs.
Adults usually coexist in planted tanks, but baby shrimp will be eaten — expect the colony to be culled.
Can work in a calm, well-planted tank, but a nippy betta may harass frogs or steal food. Watch closely and have a backup plan.
Too cold, too large, and messy — goldfish outcompete and foul the water for tiny frogs.
Common Diseases
Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium)
Reddened or shedding skin, lethargy, loss of appetite, abnormal sitting posture
Common in imported frogs. Quarantine new arrivals; an exotics vet can treat with itraconazole baths. Keep water clean and stable and never mix with wild-caught amphibians.
Dropsy / bacterial bloat
Swollen, balloon-like body, raised skin, floating, unable to dive
Isolate and improve water quality immediately; an exotics vet may prescribe antibiotics. Often linked to poor water or internal infection.
Fungal infection (Saprolegnia)
White cottony growth on the skin or limbs, usually on injured or stressed frogs
Improve water quality and treat with an aquarium-safe antifungal or salt baths; remove sharp decor that causes scrapes.
Overfeeding bloat / impaction
Distended belly and listlessness after eating gravel or oversized meals
Feed small, sinking meaty foods (thawed bloodworms, brine shrimp) a few times a week, target-feed so they actually get food, and use sand or gravel too large to swallow.
Ammonia / nitrate stress
Red legs, cloudy or shedding skin, hanging at the surface, refusing food
Keep ammonia and nitrite at 0 and nitrate low with regular gentle water changes; their small bodies are sensitive to poor water.
Community Photos
0 photosPhotos are added when members log a tank with this species and upload a photo in their tank journal. Add your own tank to contribute.
No photos yet — add a tank with African Dwarf Frog to be the first!
Sign in to vote.
Tips from the community 💡
0 tipsReal experiences, care advice, and keeper notes. Finn learns from these too.
Sign in to share your experience.
No community tips yet — be the first to share your knowledge!
Quick Facts
- diet
- Carnivore – bloodworms, brine shrimp, blackworms, sinking frog pellets
- lifespan
- 5-7 years
- max size
- 2.5–4 cm (1–1.5 in)
- tank size
- 10 gallons for a small group
- temperament
- peaceful, social
Water it likes
- gh
- 5–20
- ph
- 6.5–7.8
- temperature
- 22–26°C (72–78°F)