How to Keep Golden Frogs? Breeding Methods and Key Technical Points
The golden frog is the albino African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), with a flat, streamlined body, small upward-facing eyes, a red iris, no eyelids or tongue, an indistinct tympanum, small front legs with thin and very long digits, and thick, strong hind legs. So how do you keep a golden frog?
1. Rearing Methods
After clawed frogs reach sexual maturity, amplexus occurs, lasting about 4-6 hours, after which, under suitable temperature conditions (20-25°C), they can lay eggs multiple times in small clutches. A single female clawed frog generally carries around 1600 eggs, with 100-300 laid at one time. The eggs are milky white, surrounded by a relatively thick gelatinous membrane, and often stick to the tank walls, tank bottom and aquatic plants. At this point all adult clawed frogs should be removed to prevent them from breaking or eating the eggs or embryos and affecting the survival rate. It takes about a week for fertilized eggs to develop into tadpoles; after about 4 days the egg jelly membrane begins to be absorbed, and by 7 days the tadpoles have begun to swim. The tadpoles are completely transparent, with a relatively large head; the brain structure and the pathways of some cranial nerves are visible on the dorsal and lateral sides of the head, the ventral view of the head is close to a pentagon, the mouth has two barbels, and the tail is relatively pointed and long, with a diagonal on each side of the ventral surface. The tadpoles are filter feeders and can be fed fine suspensions such as fry feed, with the turbidity such that the tadpoles can eat it clean within 4-5 hours. Tadpoles sometimes also eat rotifers in the water and graze on green algae. At 20°C, metamorphosis can be completed in 5-6 weeks from the fertilized egg. During metamorphosis, the tadpoles reduce or stop feeding; after metamorphosis, the young clawed frogs can eat Tubifex worms or small pieces of pig liver. Under indoor rearing conditions, sexual maturity can be reached within 1-2 years.
2. Feeding
Adult clawed frogs are fed Tubifex worms or pig liver slices 2-3 times a week, and generally do not need vitamin supplements. Clawed frogs can actively seek food and use their front limbs to push food into their mouths. Clawed frogs are easily startled and generally feed at night. They are very greedy eaters, and the amount eaten is proportional to the monthly weight gain; the daily weight gain curve changes with the amount of food given. The water in the tank should be changed regularly, generally after each feeding, to ensure the health of the clawed frogs and prevent disease. Under artificial conditions, with proper management, the mortality rate is relatively low, only about 2% per year, while the survival rate of juveniles is about 75%.
After artificial breeding, golden frogs can be sold as pet frogs. When feeding them, you can use small fish, pig liver, etc., and rearing is relatively simple.