10 Causes and Prevention – Aquarium Pets (2023)

No one wants to face the tragic moment of discovering the sudden death of their pet frog. If you have an African dwarf frog, you may want to improve its lifespan. Therefore, you must know in advance the causes and prevention of the death of the African dwarf toad. This can help your African dwarf frog live a few more years with you.

To save my pet African dwarf frogs from an unexpected death, I did some research to discover 10 possible causes of death and their solutions.

In this article, I have shared all the essential information to enlighten you on how to keep your dwarf toad healthy. Therefore, I recommend that you read this article if you want to avoid the unexpected death of your pet.

Are African dwarf frogs difficult to keep alive?

The level of care for African dwarf frogs is moderate.

Since African dwarf frogs are completely aquatic, these frogs are quite sensitive to water quality. Therefore, you must take great care in maintaining the quality of the water in the tank. Therefore, if you maintain good water filtration, it will not be difficult to keep African dwarf frogs alive.

Also, the African dwarf frog diet and feeding guide is simple. Also, like other frogs, there is no such thing as the hassle of changing the substrate, misting, or providing heating light for African dwarf frogs.

Why did my African dwarf frog die?

Owners are sometimes surprised when they find their dead African dwarf toads. As the owner of a dwarf frog, a common question must be on your mind: why did my dwarf dwarf frog die?

I discovered 10 potential reasons that could cost your dwarf toad its life. Let's go through the list.

1. Sick before buying

There are several cases of sudden death of African dwarf frogs within a few days of their arrival at your home. In such cases, the probability may be the disease in advance.

Your newly arrived African dwarf frog may get sick before you buy it. So there is nothing you can do to save your dwarf toad from such an early death in these cases.

2. Poor acclimatization

Poor acclimatization is another potential reason behind the death of your African dwarf frog. Since African dwarf frogs can only thrive in water, they need to get acclimated to the water in their tank.

If you suddenly remove your dwarf frog from the boarding water, your frog may not adjust to the new water. As a result, your African dwarf frog dies early.

3. High levels of ammonia or nitrite

The first condition for keeping an African dwarf frog as a pet is to maintain the quality of the water. The ammonia and nitrite level should be 0 ppm in the tank water.

The presence of ammonia and nitrite in the water can kill your African dwarf frog. This is because African dwarf frogs cannot withstand the presence of ammonia and nitrite.

Therefore, the high ammonia and nitrite content in the water could be the cause of death for your African dwarf frogs.

4. Trying to escape from the tank

Another tragic reason behind the death of your dwarf toad could be its attempt to escape from the tank. Usually African dwarf frogs tend to escape when these frogs try to avoid toxins in the water. The toxin or poor water quality stresses your frog.

However, African dwarf frogs are naturally good jumpers. When these frogs jump out of the water and are not returned to the water immediately, they will die.

After all, these dwarf frogs cannot survive without water. In addition, its delicate body can be injured after falling to the ground.

5. Incompatible fences

Mismatched tank mates could be the answer to your African dwarf frog's demise. Being extremely peaceful animals, African dwarf frogs cannot share a tank with aggressive tank mates. Also, African dwarf frogs are too small to compete with other tank mates for food.

Also, African dwarf frogs do not have teeth or claws to defend themselves. So if you have larger or more aggressive tank mates, these animals can harm your African dwarf frogs. Larger fish or frogs can sometimes eat African dwarf frogs.

6. Wrong diet

The wrong diet, the wrong size of the insects, and the wrong feeding schedule can harm the health of the African dwarf frog. If you don't follow the correct diet chart, your African dwarf toad will also suffer from malnutrition. As a result, your immune system will be weakened.

Also, some African dwarf toad owners tend to overfeed their toads. But, overfeeding causes obesity in your pet frog, which leads to death.

Also, some owners tend to feed African dwarf toads food from other animals. This can be dangerous for your frog. Therefore, your pet frog will die.

7. Incorrect filter selection

An aquarium filter is essential equipment for raising your African dwarf frog. When selecting filters, you should consider filter capacity, flow rate, media type, etc. When you choose a strong current filter, your African dwarf frog cannot adapt to it.

Also, getting stuck in the filter can lead to the accidental death of your dwarf toad. On the other hand, if the filter does not remove toxins and other harmful chemicals, your pet African dwarf frog will die due to poor water parameters.

8. Mishandling

You must nothold your african dwarf frogswithout any emergency or valid reason. These dwarf frogs have very delicate and sensitive skin. Harmful oils and chemicals from your hands can penetrate porous skin.

Also, rough handling can cause injuries and rib fractures. On the other hand, these water frogs cannot survive without water for more than 10 minutes. Therefore, your African dwarf frogs may die from careless handling.

9. Diseases

Like other animals, your African dwarf frog can die from a disease. These frogs can get sick with various diseases. For example, fungal infection, bacterial infection, dropsy, impaction, etc.

Sometimes these toads become infected through the wounds of their wounds. Therefore, these diseases can lead to the death of your African dwarf toad.

Fungal Infection: Why Is My African Dwarf Toad Turning White?

You may have noticed white, cottony patches on your African dwarf toad's skin. Sometimes a small white spot can expand. Along with this sign, you should try to notice if your toad shows a lack of appetite or not. If these signs coincide, your African dwarf toad may be suffering from a fungal infection.

Red Leg Syndrome: Why Is My African Dwarf Toad Turning Red?

African dwarf frogs can turn red due to various fungi, viruses, or Aeromonas hydrophila. Experts also call it red leg syndrome. This usually happens when the African Dwarf Frogs tank doesn't cycle properly.

Chytrid fungus in African dwarf frogs

Chytrid fungus attack can be another deadly cause of death for African dwarf frogs. If your frog is affected by this deadly chytrid fungus, it will show several signs. These are loose skin, loss of appetite, lethargy, sudden weight loss, attempts to escape from tank water, etc.

Dropsy in African dwarf frogs

If you notice severe swelling on your African dwarf toad, it could be dropsy or edema. Your affected frog will show movement difficulties. This happens due to the ingestion of gravel, sand, hard substances, etc.

When the digestive system is blocked, the abdomen of the African dwarf frog floats. If not treated properly, your pet frog could die.

10. Old age

African dwarf frogs can accompany you for up to five years under your watchful eye with proper care. But, every living creature has to face death. So reaching old age could be the main reason your dwarf toad dies.

How do I know if my African dwarf frog is dying?

There are certain signs by which you can tell that your African dwarf toad is dying. As-

• pale skin coloration
• Lethargy
• loss of appetite
• Bruises, cuts and bleeding
• excessive shedding
• dark eyes
• have trouble swimming
• Stick to the top of the tank

These are somecommon signsthat define that something is wrong with your African dwarf frog. Finally, when you find your frog lying on its back and floating motionless, your African dwarf frog is probably dead.

Do African dwarf frogs play dead?

You may have noticed at times that your African dwarf frog floats above the tank without any movement. Or sometimes he may see his African dwarf frog stuck on the side of the filter when it seems to have no trouble getting out.

Several experienced owners have confirmed that African dwarf frogs play dead. Whenever you notice such strange incidents, these could be one of your inactive behaviors. When your African dwarf frog is in a bad mood, it will stop moving or swimming.

It's no wonder that your pet frog's behavior worries you. But, when you find your frog jumping around playing dead or suddenly starting swimming, it must be fun.

African dwarf frog died suddenly

Sometimes African dwarf frog owners express their admiration when their African dwarf frog dies out of the blue. While breeding may seem perfect to you, there may be some drawbacks to killing your dwarf toads.

At most, poor water quality can cause African dwarf frogs to die suddenly. If you keep your African dwarf frog tank stocked for too long, your African dwarf frog will eventually die. Also, the wrong diet, aggressive tank mates, and other stressors can be responsible for the sudden death of your African dwarf toads.

Chytrid fungus can be another reason that can take the life out of your African dwarf frogs. While there should be a few prominent symptoms of each drawback, they may be overlooked by African dwarf toad owners. As a result, the death of these completely aquatic frogs seems sudden to them.

Why do my African dwarf frogs keep dying?

An African dwarf frog owner shared his comment about these frogs: African dwarf frogs die like flies. Do your African dwarf frogs keep dying? So there must be something wrong with all his breeding of African dwarf toads.

If such a tragic incident continues in the cases of your newly brought frogs, you may not properly acclimate your African dwarf frogs. The next reason could be the wrong configuration of the habitat.

Sometimes the owners tend to overcrowd the enclosure. Your African dwarf frogs can die jumping out of the tank if you keep those chances for these frogs. Also, the powerful inlet of the filtering system can suck in your young African dwarf frogs.

Also, stress is a major underlying factor in the death of African dwarf frogs. If you do not recognize compatible tank mates for your frogs, your African dwarf frogs may continue to die. Not only aggressive tank mates, but also inappropriate water parameters can stress your dwarf frog.

If you don't mind maintaining optimal water parameters, high levels of ammonia and nitrite can kill African dwarf frogs. When you repeat these mistakes, your African dwarf frogs keep dying.

dead african dwarf frog on bottom of tank

You may find everyone saying that dead African dwarf frogs will float to the top of the tank. But you may find your African dwarf toads dead at the bottom of the tank.

Initially, the dead African dwarf frogs will lie at the bottom of the tank, unmoving. When the dead frogs start to decompose, gas will form inside the digestive system of the dead frogs. This will cause the body of the dead African dwarf frogs to float, which will cause your dead frog to float.

How do you prevent the premature death of your African dwarf frog?

While you can't expect immortality for your African dwarf frog, you can certainly increase your pet's lifespan with proper maintenance.

To avoid the premature death of your ADF pet, you must adhere to the care guidelines. Let's review the following points to make it more clear.

1. Choose a healthy African dwarf frog

The initial step in preventing the premature death of your pet is to choose a healthy African dwarf frog. A healthy frog should have a better chance of survival than a sick one.

Also, you should check for any signs of skin discoloration, bruises, sores, etc. Also, you should keep your newly arrived frog in quarantine from your other tank mates.

2. Set up the tank correctly

After you bring your pet home, you must first set up the tank properly. Be sure to fit the proper tank cap. Also, you need to inspect the tank for sharp decor items. Don't forget to keep the water temperature within the ideal range.

How do you keep African dwarf frogs from escaping?

Since African dwarf frogs are naturally high jumpers, these frogs tend to escape from the tank. Therefore, you must keep a tank cover over the tank. But you need to make sure that the lid is tight.

Also, these dwarf frogs try to escape from the tank water when the level of toxins increases. Therefore, if you want to prevent your pet toad from escaping, you should also control the water parameter.

3. Acclimate your frog immediately

To avoid an early death, you need to acclimatize your African dwarf frog as soon as possible. For this, you must slowly replace the shipping water in small amounts with conditioned water. This acclimation will help your African dwarf frog get along with his new surroundings.

4. Ensure good filtration

Research shows that most African dwarf frogs die due to poor water parameters. Being fully aquatic frogs, these frogs are quite sensitive to water quality. See the table below for the necessary water parameters for African dwarf frogs.

The water in the tank is easily contaminated with waste from the automatic document feeder, food scraps, rotting plants, etc. Therefore, the amount of deadly ammonia and other compounds increases in the water, becoming a threat to the life of your dwarf frog.

For this reason, you need to make sure you have a good filtration system in place to save your frog from an early death. you can take a lookThis articleto find out if African dwarf frogs need a filter or not.

How often should I change my African dwarf frog's water?

If you do not keep any aquarium filter in the tank, you should change the tank water periodically. In such cases, you should change at least 10% to 20% of the water once a week.

5. Keep Tankmates Compatible

You should know that Africansdwarf frogs are peacefuland friendly pets.

Also, these frogs are verysmall in size. So when you keep tankmates larger than African dwarf frogs, those tankmates will hurt or pinch your frog.

Additionally, there are records of African dwarf toads being swallowed by their aggressive tank mates. For this reason, you should keep compatible tank mates with your African Dwarf Toads.

If you are confused about your ADF tankmate selection, you can go throughThis articleFor more information.

6. Supply of nutritious food

Providing a nutritious diet often enough is essential to keeping your pet healthy. You should feed your adult dwarf frogs at least 3 times per week. But, you must feed baby African dwarf frogs every day.

Since these frogs tend to get fat quickly, you need to worry about how often. You must remove the remains of food after 30 minutes.

However, you can take a lookThis articlefor details on the African dwarf toad's diet and feeding guide.

How can African dwarf frogs do without food?

If your African dwarf toad isn't starving yet, it can go a few days without food.

African dwarf frogs can generally go 3-5 days without any problem without food. But, if you feed them ahead of time, these frogs can survive for up to three weeks.

The length of survival without food depends on the fats stored in the bodies of African dwarf frogs. However, you should not leave your dwarf toads without food for too long without an emergency. Otherwise, you will find your pet dwarf frog dead.

7. Periodic maintenance

If you don't clean the tank regularly, your African dwarf toads can become infected with various diseases. To avoid deadly fungal or bacterial infections, grooming is a must practice to keep your pet frog healthy. But you should avoid using any detergents or soaps while cleaning the decorative items and the tank.

However, if you want a detailed guide on how to improve your life expectancy, you shouldClick here.

Last words

With proper care and love, you can keep your African dwarf toads for more than five years. I hope this article has enlightened you about the possible causes of the death of your dwarf toad and how to prevent it. Don't forget to take the proper measures to prevent the untimely death of your adorable pet frog.