Editing Hymenochirus boettgeri

:{{cn|African Dwarf Frog}} ({{cn|ADF}}), {{cn|Dwarf African Frog}} ({{cn|DAF}}), {{cn|Dwarf Clawed Frog}}, {{cn|Zaire Dwarf Clawed Frog}}, {{cn|Eastern Dwarf Clawed Frog}}, {{cn|Gaboon Dwarf Clawed Frog}}, {{cn|Western Dwarf Clawed Frog}}, {{cn|Marble Frog}}, or Dwarf Clawed Frog.

:Male DAFs tend to be smaller, and develop a small red or white spot behind their armpits when sexually mature. When viewed from above, they have a V shape ridge across the back from the anus across the rear legs (see picture below). The males also have a tiny, hardly visible 'tail' bud.

:The females are far rounder in appearance, and have a small tail bud.

:The males also sing, while the females only sing rarely and usually only as a response to the male.

:The DAF will not bother any fish bigger than itself. It will, however, eat fish [[fry]]. It has been reported that DAF are compatible with larger shrimp such as [[Amano Shrimp]]. Along with this, some owners keep them with snails such as the [[Golden Apple Snail]]. They may, however, occasionally try to eat the eyestocks of snails thinking they are food. Two animals not compatible with DAFs are [[:Category:Crayfish|crayfish]], and crabs.

:Some people keep DAFs with [[Betta splendens]]. This is difficult, as Bettas are also [[carnivore]]s, so they compete for the same types of food. Often the Betta gets fat whilst the frog starves. Along with this, Bettas and DAFs have been reported to nip at, attack, and ultimately injure each other.

 

:Other than this, DAFs are generally pretty docile creatures, and any accidental nips tend to be caused by their clumsy eating habits rather than agression.

:A [[carnivore]] with an affinity for scavenging, these frogs will normally eat insects, worms, and small fish [[fry]] in the wild. In captivity, the DAF can be fed on pieces of raw fish and meat, such as [[Foods::tuna steak]], beef heart (though only feed this once a week), and [[Foods::tilapia fillets|tilapia]] or salmon. It is also common to feed the DAF prepared foods such as thawed blocks of frozen [[Foods::Bloodworm]] (though only once or twice a week as its low in nutrients), [[Foods::Brine Shrimp]], small [[Earthworms]] or [[Foods::Whiteworm]], [[Foods::TetraPrima]], [[Foods::ReptoMin]], and small cooked pieces of mussels or prawns and [[catfish pellets]]. Some pellet food may appear unappetizing to the frog due to its lack of movement, and many frogs have different preferences. Some frogs will happily consume pelleted food, while others tend to ignore it, instead preferring frozen or live.

:Most pet stores don't seem to be aware of the correct food to provide for these animals. The DAF often has little to no interest in flake or pelleted food, instead preferring thawed frozen food or live food.

 

:It is said the DAF's favorite food is beef heart. Only feed this as a treat.

:Feed once a day when young, feed once every two or three days when over one year old. A DAF can go four days without food in case of emergency. Whilst adult DAFs should not be thin, don't let your frog get too fat! Bloating and obesity can easily occur in generously fed DAFs.

:DAFs have no teeth (and no tongue), so they need food that is either small enough to eat whole, or can be broken up by violent sideways jerking motions. Freezing meaty food before hand is an excellent method of breaking down the tough fibres so it easily breaks up.

:[[Bloodworm]]s are often suggested to owners as a DAFs main food source. This is a very bad idea for a DAF, as this food source is low in protein, and lacks many essential amino acids the frog requires to live. Feed bloodworm sparingly. Variety is the key.

:DAFs are peaceful animals known for their 'comical' behaviour.

:Young and juvenile DAFs tend to be more active near the water line, and prefer floating plants to lie upon. This allows them easier access to oxygen from the water's surface.  

:The DAF is very long sighted, as adults have eyes on opposing far sides of the skull. This means it has great difficulty in seeing anything close to it or directly in front of it, so it relies on its sense of smell and vibration to find its food. It can often be seen lunging at food on the bottom, missing quite a few times! DAFs can be very clumsy eaters, often nipping everything that moves around them until one of those things is food.

:It can take a DAF around ten minutes to discover that there is food in the tank. Because of this, if a DAF is kept with bottom feeding fish, you have to allow for this by feeding the fish first in one place, and then feeding the frog in another place. It can be all too easy for a inexperienced owner to starve their frogs if kept with bottom feeding fish.  

:The male frog makes a low long repeating chirping sound to attract a mate (The female makes a similar if shorter reply). This can be heard if you have the tank in a quiet room and you listen at night at least 1 to 2 feet away. It's said this is a good sign your frog is healthy, and content.

*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7756598675410719406&pl=true Two young DAFs on Google Video]

*[http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=661 PFK Article - Dwarf & Clawed Frogs]