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Do African Dwarf Frogs Eat Ghost Shrimp? Vet-Approved Compatibility Guide

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By Lindsey Stanton

african dwarf frog swimming

Are you interested in having either an African dwarf frog or some ghost shrimp, or maybe both? For people who want both, a big concern could be whether or not the African dwarf frog will eat the ghost shrimp.

The short answer to this question is yes, African dwarf frogs will eat ghost shrimp, but let’s look at this in some more detail and find out exactly what is going on here.

frog divider hepper

Quick Summary Of African Dwarf Frogs

Important

The African Dwarf Frog is a natural carrier of several species of Salmonella spp. For this reason, it is not advisable to keep them as pets when there are children or immunocompromised individuals in your house. Personal hygiene precautions should be taken when cleaning their aquarium. It is best not to touch these frogs unless absolutely necessary. To minimize the risk of contamination, their aquarium should not be placed near your kitchen or bathroom. Outbreaks have been reported by the CDC.

The African dwarf frog can be found readily in the streams and rivers of central Africa. These are fully aquatic amphibians and they never leave the water. Yes, they do have lungs and breathe oxygen at the surface of the water, as they do not have gills like fish do, but they don’t leave the water.

They are usually brownish-green or olive in color, they grow to around 1.25 inches in length, and usually live for around 5 years. Many people choose to have them as pets because they are actually quite easy to care for, but with that said, what will they eat or what do they like to eat?

african dwarf frog swimming
Image Credit: Charlie Tyack, Shutterstock

Quick Summary Of Ghost Shrimp

The ghost shrimp is a fairly small crustacean, a freshwater shrimp in fact, which is quite common in the wild and popular to keep in home aquariums. These shrimp are also known as glass shrimp due to their transparent build.

That’s right, if you don’t look closely, you might actually look straight through the ghost shrimp without ever knowing that it is there. They can grow to around 1.5 inches in length and they are compatible with small and peaceful fish. They are not big fighters and do make for easy prey for many animals.

Ghost Shrimp in a tank
Image Credit: Nicholas Toh, Shutterstock

Do African Dwarf Frogs Eat Ghost Shrimp?

The short answer to this question is yes, African dwarf frogs will eat ghost shrimp if given the chance. Now, just keep in mind that in the wild, these two animals rarely come into contact with each other, if ever at all.

So, in the wild, African dwarf frogs usually won’t eat ghost shrimp simply due to the fact that they usually almost never get the opportunity to do so.

However, these frogs are voracious eaters and will happily munch down on some ghost shrimp if given the chance. The African dwarf frog might have a hard time getting a hold of a ghost shrimp, but if it can catch the shrimp, it will eat it. Therefore, you shouldn’t house them together.

Some ghost shrimp might be a bit too big for an African dwarf frog to eat, but then again, a larger specimen of frog could easily eat a smaller or medium-sized ghost shrimp. The constant stressor of a predator near them will stress out your shrimp, and therefore, you shouldn’t risk housing these two species together.

African dwarf frog hopping
Image By: Charlie Tyack, Shutterstock

Other African Dwarf Frog Feeding Tips

Let’s just go over a couple of other African dwarf frog feeding and care tips that you should be familiar with.

  • Do not house African dwarf frogs in the same tank with smaller fish or shrimp. As you might have gathered by now, these frogs will eat more or less anything that they can catch and fit in their mouths, and this includes a variety of small shrimp and fish.
  • Do not feed freeze-dried or dry pellet foods to your frogs, as these can cause intestinal blockage and eventually can result in death.
  • African dwarf frogs are meat eaters and they won’t eat flakes. They will eat any fish that will fit in their mouths.
  • Hand-feeding your frogs is recommended if kept in community tanks.

frog divider hepper

Final Thoughts

So, the bottom line here is that yes, African dwarf frogs will eat ghost shrimp if given the chance. So, it is probably best not to keep them together.

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Featured Image Credit: Dan Olsen, Shutterstock

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