The most common frogs for an aquarium are spur. But beginners need to know how to properly care for these animals. Unfortunately, many people buy them impulsively, and this often ends with the death of a frog or aquarium fish.
Description
This species of frogs native to southern Africa can reach a length of up to 12 cm. This amphibian has a small head. The muzzle is rounded, with small eyes in the upper part. The front legs are movable, turned inward. The hind legs are well developed, with membranes between the fingers and strong claws.
This frog owes its name to three pairs of strong claws resembling spurs. They serve to protect and cut food. An animal caught in the legs of a predator pulls powerful hind legs up to the head itself, and sharply unbends them. The blow is strong enough, and sharp claws can seriously injure.
The spur frog has small indentations along the body, in which short hairs grow. Thanks to these hairs, the animal is able to feel even slight fluctuations in water. The purpose of these hairs is that the frog can quickly understand which side the other animal is located - prey or predator.
In nature, the amphibian has a brown color with dark spots on its sides. In artificial breeding, a white albino frog with red eyes and a pink body color is more common.
Content
Why did the Spur frog acquire such popularity? Keeping these animals is not difficult. They are undemanding to the volume of the aquarium. Five-liter is enough to keep one pair, but is it possible to observe the habits of a rather large animal in such a small space? Therefore, it is better to choose a capacity of at least 20 liters. Some species of Spur frogs can be quite large and reach 15 cm in length, which also needs to be taken into account.
Please note that the white frog is exclusively aquatic species. And this means that the animal can not do without water for a long time. You won’t hold such a pet in your arms and will not let it out for a walk, but the Spur frog is great for keeping in an aquarium.
These amphibians are not thermophilic and do not need additional heating. The frog will feel comfortable at room temperature. It tolerates chlorinated water poorly.
You cannot just run an animal into an aquarium, even if it is an undemanding Spur frog. Keeping these animals is fraught with some difficulties. Frogs are very fond of digging in the ground, so it is better to choose a large ground. Plants should be strong, with dense leaves and a strong root system. Many lovers plant plants in small ceramic pots. Which protects them from destruction. Fragile plants with weak roots will be damaged, dug up and quickly die.
The Spur frog strongly pollutes water and releases a lot of organic substances. Therefore, you need to install a filter in the aquarium. In nature, these animals live in stagnant water, so filtering should not create a strong current.
A white frog, like a brown frog, breathes air, so aeration in the aquarium is not necessary. Spur frogs are quite nimble, therefore, to avoid escape, the aquarium should be covered with coverslip. In order for fresh air to be supplied in sufficient quantities, a small gap must be left.
Food
Spur frogs prefer live food. This can be earthworms and flour worms, bloodworms, tadpoles, crickets or small fish. With tweezers, the frog can be fed with small pieces of fish, meat, shrimp, and liver.
Spur frogs are voracious and prone to obesity, so they can not be overfed. Fatty foods should also be avoided - pork, fatty beef, and tubule. A healthy frog should remain thin, flat.
These amphibians have a good sense of smell, they perfectly capture the smells and vibrations of water. Frogs in the aquarium very quickly find food and eagerly eat it, helping themselves with their front legs. Young frogs need to be fed every 2 days, adults - 2 times a week.
Behavior
The Spur frog is characterized by arrogant, active and shameless behavior. These animals devour all living things that can fit in their mouths, constantly dig and tear up aquarium plants, raise turbidity, move stones, driftwood, jewelry, and constantly dig soil.
It is interesting to watch them, they do not hide. Their faces are incredibly expressive, and they like to take original poses, hang picturesquely in the water column. Animals are impressionable, but quickly get used to the owner and recognize him.
Compatibility
So, having learned about the peculiarities of the behavior of this frog, you yourself can conclude that it is extremely undesirable to populate it in a common aquarium. It is not only dangerous for small fish, which it will eat very quickly because of its voracity, but will also constantly mess up the aquarium, destroy plants, move decorations, dig up the ground and stir up the water. In addition, this frog prefers to live in a swamp, in stagnant water, which the fish will not like, and the amphibian will not like fresh water with a strong current.
Some lovers believe that frogs are best kept together with labyrinth fish - laliuses and gouras. These fish also breathe air and do not like a strong current. Frog neighbors should be non-aggressive and quite large so that the amphibian could not swallow them. When buying a two-centimeter baby, consider that the animal will grow.
Gender differences
When buying a small frog, it is impossible to determine the floor. Frog maturation occurs in 10 months. In adults, it is quite simple to distinguish a female from a male. The female is larger than the male and has 3 folds covering the cloaca. They are a bit like a ponytail. The male (even a frog whose color is not found in nature - an albino) has black palms and stripes on its legs. The behavior of heterosexual amphibians also has differences. Adult males sing at night. Think carefully about whether you need such noisy animals like Spur frogs.
Breeding
Frogs under 15 months old are not recommended for mating. In nature, the breeding season falls in the fall, but in captivity, mating can occur at any time of the year after appropriate preparation.
The female and male are separated into different containers and lower the temperature to 18 degrees, after a while they are placed together and the temperature is raised to 20 ° C. During mating, a smaller male creeps onto the female’s back and wraps it tightly around its paws. The female lays several eggs on the plants or glass of the aquarium each time the male presses his head on her back. Mating lasts about 6 hours, all this time the male uses only skin respiration, and the female periodically emerges behind a breath of atmospheric air.
Offspring Care
The optimum temperature for the development of eggs and larvae is 25 ° C. Until the tadpoles begin to breathe air, aeration is required. Feed larvae can begin on the fifth day. Dry nettle can be used as feed. It is insisted in boiling water for 2 hours, then filtered through cheesecloth and the resulting water is poured into an aquarium with tadpoles. The liquid in the container should acquire a greenish tint.