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I am restarting my 10 gallon...I would like some african dwarf frogs and maybe a couple of fish, but cannot find what is compatible with them. Help please!

Nothing is perfectly compatible with frogs. Frogs are very slow eaters so any fast fish will make off with the food long before the frogs. They are also extremely peaceful and rather inactive so any fish even slightly agressive may pick on them. Occasionally they are kept with bettas or tetras but both of those can cause the problems I listed. If you put any fish in the tank it's likely you'll have to reach into the tank to get the food right in front of the frogs' faces every meal or they won't find it before the fish do.

When you go to the LFS in search of frogs, ask if you can see them feed. These frogs find food by smeel rather than sight. It is true that many fish like tetras will get to most of the food before the frogs even have a chance, but that is not always the case. If the frogs at the LFS jump right at food or even go to the surface to get it, then you know you have good frogs that will have no problem at all with getting enough to eat.
This is the case with the 2 ADFs I have living with my betta. They are very active and have even gotten a little pudgy. They go right to the surface for flake food or bloodworms, and absolutely love shrimp pellets that I leave for them on the bottom. They don't seem to have a problem crawling along the bottom to find food.

If the frogs you see are lethargic or have hollow bellies, then I'd think twice about buying any.

ADFs can be very shy, however. Even though mine are active at feeding time, they spend most of their day hiding behind decorations or they somehow squeeze themselves between the filter and the wall of the tank. Aggressive tankmates will increase this shyness. Bettas work well if they are not too aggressive. I imagine the same would go for a group of female bettas--if they are social enough to tolerate each other, they shouldn't bother the frogs.

I would be hesitant to put the frogs with a group of tetras or rasboras, and definitely not barbs. These fish are simply too ravenous to leave much food for the frogs. However, the frogs may well learn to fend for themselves

If you do get frogs, let them be the first inhabitants of the tank (after cycling). Give them a week or so to get use to their surroundings and learn when feeding times are, and watch them eat. If all goes well, add a few more fish, wait a week, then a few more.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

ADFs are compatible with any fish that
will not eat them.
I have never ever had a problem with mine
finding food, or reaching the surface in a tall
tank, 2 of the biggest myths about these frogs.

I keep mine in a 75g tank with many many bottom feeders,
loaches of several kinds, cory cats, plecos, catfishes,
and many others. They have never had any trouble getting food. When I feed I see them out there with all the other fish, scrambling around for food.

The problem is not that they cant find food, but instead is that most people dont feed their fish enough, and so there is nothing left for the frogs.
You must add more food than the fish can eat in 3 minutes in order for the frogs to get food.

Also, my frogs have no trouble darting the 20 inches up
to the surface of the tank for air. They, like any other animal, or people, become stronger with exercise.

In a 10g tank, you could have a pair or trio of
ADFs, with a betta, or a small group of small schooling fish, like white clouds or neons, ember tetras, small rasbora, etc.

I kept a trio of adf in my 10g for some time, in addition to the 5 I have in my 75g.
I kept them in the 10 with 6 cory. hasbrosus, 4 beckfords pencils, and a paradise fish, for 2 years, until I decided to the make the tank into a shrimp habitat, and the frogs joined the 5 others in my big tank.

Theyve been doing well for about 5 years in total, the ones in the 75, and the 3 newer ones for 3 years now.
I lost one frog to red leg after a power outage about
6 months ago, but the remaining 7 are doing very well.
They are all plump and healthy and have no issues getting food.
Just make sure you put enough food in for them.


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Even with bloodworms, squid, various other frozen foods, or shrimp pellets laying around the bottom it took all my frogs a good 10minutes to find any food. I had to reach into the tank with an eye dropper and squirt the food right in front of their mouths. Sometimes I even had to wiggle it around in front of them to get them to feed. At least 1 starved to death many months after I got them. They just snapped around randomly when they could smell food until they managed to get some.

I do think they can survive in deep tanks just fine if allowed to work up to. I wouldn't take some frogs used to being in a very shallow tank and toss them into a really deep tank but the last frog we had lived for about a year in the 90g until I took down the tank.

Asperenids, smaller doradids, microrasbooras, lampeyes, small loricariids, especially loricariines (whiptails), upper level characins andsmaller corydora would be fine if you're truly worried about having your frogs obtain enough food, whic has not been the case in my experience with these animals,albiet short and limited to a commercial setting. I figure, though, if they'll feed in a bustling fish store,then surely they'll feed for you at home. I dunno.

Thank you all very much for all the information! Sorry I was delayed in seeing it all...thought I was suppose to get emails when I got replies...oh well. I am re-reading everything you have said and will keep you posted...hoping we get good frogs that like to eat!

I read they need a well covered tank or they will get out. Is this true?

I think they're cute, but don't think they would get along well in my tank with angelfish & tiger barbs.

Yep, they need a well covered tank.
I keep mine with Angels but not with T-Barbs.
They would be fine I think.


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Well, that rules me out.......... not a well covered tank. The back part is pretty well exposed & I don't want the frogs bad enough to take care of it. I have tinfoil over it to discourage any fish from jumping, but wouldn't stop a frog.

I read somewhere not to keep them with tiger barbs cause they would kill them. But maybe that depends on the particular group of barbs.

Oh yes, make sure your tank is covered! I lost two of four frogs from jumping out of the tank. I found their dried up little bodies on the floor weeks later.
I'm actually surprised the cats didn't find them.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...