African Dwarf Frog Eggs and Their Care

Last Updated on July 4, 2021 by cmoarz

Things you should know about African dwarf frog eggs

African dwarf frog eggs are very delicate, they need a higher pH than adults and slightly warmer water temperatures. Adults can lay 8000 eggs a year. Abandon their young. Eat their own eggs if you don’t remove them to their own aquarium ASAP. Become mature for mating at 9-12 months. Females will lay several clutches of 500-2000 eggs a year.

Quiet the mouth full but it’s the easiest way to get the small details out of the way. Now let’s begin!

What Happens After Spawning and Hatching African Dwarf Eggs

Only 10% of frog species take care of their young after the eggs are laid and/or hatched.

Unfortunately, your African dwarf frog is not one of those frogs. This means, once the eggs have been spawned around in the tank, it is time to take them out and placed them into their own safe aquarium for hatching or risk them being eaten by their cannibalistic parents.

These little guys need a different pH (7.5-8.0) level than an adult frog so they do not get sick as quickly. They also need warmer water temperatures (80f) in order to start the hatching process.

Do not use a filter in your hatching aquarium until the frogs are hatched and are much larger than the filter intake would be, or they will be sucked up in a flash. That means you have to spend more time cleaning their tank water. 2 10% water changes a day or 1 20% water change every day.

Unfortunately for various reasons, even in a safe aquarium, their mortality rate is quite higher. You can increase their chances of viability after being born by keeping oxygenation levels in the tank high with an airstone, keeping the tank clean and free of fungus and molds.

What do African dwarf tadpoles eat?

Once the tadpoles hatch, they will require a steady diet of liquid tadpole food, powdered foods, etc until they grow their back legs in around 10 days. After that, they can be transitioned into a diet of small flakes, Cyclops, and daphnia.

After the front legs develop it’s once again time to switch up the diet to larger larvae like mosquito and artemia.

Eventually, they will completely develop into a full frog, at that point, it’s time to start switching to an adult frog diet of bloodworms, fish, pellets, brine shrimp, etc.

It will take 10 days for the back legs to start to form into something recognizable, and a further 9 days after that for them to be able to use them. 25-30 days the front leg nubs will also begin to take form until they start to resemble an actual leg. The tail should be completely gone by this point.

Overall, it takes about 2 months for these tadpoles to become little froggies.

How Long it Takes to Have Baby Frogs?

The African frog life cycle takes about 2 months to complete egg to frog. These frogs will sexually mature at around 9-12 months of age, in that time will start producing their own clutches of eggs.

The eggs themselves should hatch in around 2 days, but sometimes it can take up to a week if the water parameters are not perfect.

How Often Do African Dwarf Frogs Lay Eggs?

African dwarf frogs will lay eggs often. Female African dwarves are able to produce as many as five clutches of 500-2000 eggs a year, and male African dwarfs will mate with females every two weeks to help ensure the female’s reproductive success.

The frog lays her egg on everything in the aquarium, and the sticky jelly-like substance that covers them will cause them to stick to just about every surface of the aquarium that you can find.

Removing the eggs can be a labor of love.