Small African frogs (submitted to CDC) not to be confused with albinos who will end up much larger, the mistake is often made, and there surprise, you end up with large frogs!

Origins:
They originally came from the Congo region in Africa, but unfortunately due to land clearing and changes in the ecological system it is believed that they may have disappeared in the wild. Most of the frogs sold in pet stores were originally bred in India where it was a pretty good deal; large quantities have been bred to be sold strictly in the pet trade. This turned out to be a valuable action since it prevented the total extinction of this species. Dwarf species will reach 2.54 - 3.81 cm and have a lifespan of approximately 5 years.

The mutation of the skin takes place every week to fifteen days; it will start with the sagging skin under the frog, then with repeated rashes on the hind legs, the rest of the skin will be removed. The skin of the mutation will be found floating here and there in the aquarium, this whole process is very fast, which is why it is often missed by breeders.

HABITAT
The installation of the aquarium is quite simple, leave 20 liters minimum for each frog. The substrate must be fine in order to avoid an occlusion (and yes like our axolotl friends); do not add any rocks or large pebbles, as sometimes the frogs can get trapped under them. Aquariums should not be too deep, shallower aquariums will allow the frogs to come up for some air from time to time, however with this species it may not do this very often.

You need to provide hiding places for the latter as they can be shy, so this strategy will help them get comfortable. Do not hesitate to add a number of live plants. They will not destroy them, on the other hand if you want to add artificial plants then use a silk variety, plastic plants can damage their sensitive skin. They are escape artists so a cover is mandatory, after saying that leave space at the top of the aquarium for an air pocket. I have heard many breeders recommend the anubias plant because it will develop into a bushy composition, providing lots of hiding places. Personally I provided their aquarium with a 160 liters for five pretty louloutes, with many species, java moss, cabomba carolina, hydrocotyle polysperma, java ferns, baccopa monnieri, sagittarius, vallisnerias, echinodorus, and many more. .. because it is a treat to see them playing in it or hiding there, they also land there or cling to floating plants such as pistias.

A temperature around 25 degrees is ideal, good filtration is mandatory. No matter what filtration you use, a weekly water change should be done as these are big polluters. With a Ph of 7.0 - 7.2, the lights should be turned off at night if you are using it.

Food
Feeding your dwarf frogs is not very complicated; they will take most meat foods. Frozen bloodworm, frozen brine shrimp are good for a main diet, reptomin, gammarus and finely chopped earthworms are good supplements to the diet. The way the frogs are fed is the hard part. A small earthenware dish or the like is ideal for feeding the frogs, a small amount placed on it at a time. Pouring food straight into the aquarium is not ideal; frogs will not make much attempt to search for their meals, if food is left in the substrate it can lead to fouling of the water. Give only small amounts at a time, some breeders will feed their frogs only every two to three days. If food is to be added directly to the aquarium, there are several tips to get frogs to eat immediately. Always drop the food in the same place, they will detect the smell of the food and come back to the same place with each feeding. Frogs can be tame enough to be hand fed, feeding them this way will ensure that all of your frogs get their share of the food. If they don't immediately take it from your hand, persevere, they will take it later. For my part, I give them two cubes of frozen bloodworms every two days and that is more than enough and I can also wait three days. and sometimes gives a background lozenge for calcium and some vitamins.

Reproduction
Males are slightly smaller and leaner than females, but the major difference that can be immediately spotted are the small pinkish glands behind each of the male's armpits. Females will have a prominent hump between their legs; it is for the laying of eggs and feces. Both sexes are expected to reach adulthood at around 9 months.

When the male is ready to find his female to mate he will “sing” to her, it will be in the form of hum. By doing this he will arch his back and kick with his paws as if showing off in front of her. If the female is receptive to the male then he will approach her and grab her body just above her legs. The female will then swim on the surface of the water with the male attached, laying her eggs at the top of the aquarium. While she is doing this the male will fertilize them at the same time. After the laying is finished the couple will drop to the bottom of the aquarium, the female will appear dead, don't make this mistake, she is only resting. After a short time, the male will release his catch and leave the female alone.

Hatch eggs and breed tadpoles
The eggs will be scattered on the surface of the aquarium water, so if you want to hatch them and breed the tadpoles, they will need to be transferred to a separate aquarium. The reason for this is that the pH will need to be increased a little more than in the parent aquarium. Transfer the eggs to a 37.85 liter aquarium, leave the aquarium without substrate, this will ensure that when you clean it the water quality will remain high. The pH should be adjusted to at least 7.5-8.0; this can be achieved by preparing the water with additional sodium bicarbonate. The temperature should also be raised to 26.67 deg C. Unlike the breeding of ordinary frog tadpoles, these are very sensitive; the death rate will be high. As these are dwarf frogs water changes should be done with care, the tadpoles will be very small, change at least 10% twice a day. Feeding newly hatched tadpoles may be difficult at first, Liquid feeds prepared for fry seem to work very well, these are available for purchase at pet stores, they will not be able to digest larger foods until 'so that they are slightly larger.

When they have grown well, freshly hatched brine shrimp should be offered to them. This feed should raise them until they are ready to finish metamorphosis into young frogs.

Although it is quite easy to take care of these frogs, as with any fish they could develop problems, particularly if the water quality is not as high as it should be. to be.

Dropsy can be a problem and unfortunately there is not much that can be done for the frog if it does develop. This can be recognized by the swelling of the abdomen, the only treatment is to remove the infected frog in order to dispose of it in a hospital aquarium, by adding anti-bacterial drugs to the water (metylene blue). . For protection, the main aquarium should also be treated, but it will be necessary to resensemnize in bacteria.

Fungal infections can also occur; maintaining high water quality should prevent this but if fungal spots appear on the frogs then remove the infected ones to a hospital aquarium, adding an anti fungicide for treatment.

Frogs can injure themselves on unsuitable surroundings, if this happens leave the individual (s) in the water they should heal on their own (like us). Do not net frogs if possible; this can cause wounds to open or even break bones. If you must move the frogs, try to do it by hand carefully. If you want to breed them in a community aquarium do not put them with larger aquarium mates, the aggressive fish will hurt the frogs, and especially do not breed them with the African clawed frogs, they might end up eating the dwarf species. (Do not count on reproduction if they are raised in the community). Be careful that they eat their fill because generally the fish are faster than these young ladies to feed and they rot suffer from a nutritional deficiency.

Many breeders worry about their frogs because they don't seem to come up for air very often. This is not a problem, they can survive for hours underwater, this is quite normal. Sometimes they will float to the surface with their arms and legs extended, again this is normal.

In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.

In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.

In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.