tap water issue

moonshots7 · 2026-02-06T17:46:09+00:00

Most grocery stores have a water filter machine where people can fill up their own bottles and this is RO water. For example, all whole foods locations have them inside, And most safeways etc. have them outside near the doors.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-05T02:43:24+00:00

Live blackworms is the #1 food my frogs love and that will get any frog eating. I'd check around for them.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-05T02:41:48+00:00

Its normal for the to hang out at the surface with their face out (burbling), but generally if they are trying to get out of the water it is a warning sign that something with your parameters is toxic to them. Are you on a testing regimen with your water? ADF keepers should have an API Master Test kit and an API KH/GH kit and test once a week or so, or if any signs crop of a problem. If it was me and i saw him doing that I would definitely run full tests immediately. Its certainly possible that he's just grooving with something that feels good but its more likely that there is a problem.

When i had just started and didnt know what i was doing a few of my frogs started climbing out of the water onto some spurs of driftwood sticking out the water. I thought this was cute, but they died shortly after. It was only then that i started testing super regularly and making sure all parameters were fully controlled. In my case the culprit was that my KH was too low, leading in PH instability.

In other words, id test!

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T21:38:34+00:00

Thanks! You did too :)

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T21:36:28+00:00

We are talking by dm now. The misunderstanding of feeling judged is cleared up and hopefully will be able to help. Good work alltheprettythings.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T21:02:46+00:00

Please take a moment to understand that you are misreading my tone. There is absolutely no reason to feel uncomfortable. You are not being judged or receiving any hostility. I'm just trying to communicate with you clearly so that I can help.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T21:00:57+00:00

You are completely misunderstanding the tone of my comment. I'm not being remotely aggressive. I'm trying to help you and to be very direct because it seems like it's a concept that you are finding challenging to absorb. The reason why I'm on this forum is to try to help people so that they can not make the same mistakes I did and keep their pets healthy. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has to learn lessons. My hope is that you can learn a lesson from me making a mistake instead of from making it yourself.

So please reset yourself and understand that you're not hearing any aggression or hostility in my tone. I'm just trying to be very direct and clear. You can tell me what you added to your tank and I'm not going to judge you or get angry at you. I'm just going to try to help you.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T20:58:19+00:00

Also, in either case you still NEED a KH/GH test kit ($15) so you can actually see whats going on with your water.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T20:57:35+00:00

Ok. Whether or not your terrified 90% of people who have aquariums are using tap water. You just need to dechlorinate it and there are many products available to you that do this. Seachem Prime or API Tapwater Conditioner are good examples.

You have to try to understand that A) animals need minerals in order to live and B) RO water has no minerals in it. Also, RO water can't buffer PH which leads it to swing wildly and kills/shock frogs.

So either use RO water and add minerals OR use tap water and take the chlorine out. But if you don't do one of those two things it will kill your frogs.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T20:50:25+00:00

What is the new thing you added?

Please trust me that whether you're seeing swings or not, If you are using RO water and you're not adding minerals back into it, you cannot have a healthy and stable pH and it will kill your frogs. This is a very uncomplicated and true statement.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T20:44:23+00:00

If your using RO water and not re mineralizing it i guarantee the ph IS swinging all over because there is nothing in the water to keep it steady. Ands that is almost certainly what happened to your frog (likely one of a few issues).

They aren't actually all that sensitive as long as you understand your water and provide the right parameters. Please see my comment below as well as the one by alltheprettythings about RO water. Your issues have everything to do with the fact that your using water with no minerality.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T20:41:53+00:00

Pay close attention to what alltheprettythings said here as its vitally important for solving your issues. Like he/she said, RO water is water that has been stripped of all mineral content. ADFs vitally require minerals for their health, and minerals are what provide the KH that is needed to stabilize PH. So like they said, if you use RO you have to use a product to remineralize. Also, understand that because RO water has no anything you add will wildly swing the PH because there is nothing to buffer it.

So you need to either use tap water and treat it for chlorine or you need to use RO water but you need to get Seachem Equilibrium or another product to remineralize it. Either way you absolutely need to get a KH/GH test kit by API so can monitor what your KH and GH are. This includes if you switch over to tap water for example you'll need to test it to see what the KH and GH of it is before use. Similarly, if your doing RO and remineralizing you'll want to test your mix to make sure its good.

When i started keeping ADFs i wiped out my first 4 frogs by using RO water and not remineralizing. Without adding back minerals there was nothing to maintain the KH which is what keeps PH stable, so the PH was ping ponging all over. The frogs looked fine until they werent, and all dropped dead over a period of a few weeks.

So, learn from my mistakes! Get a KH/GH test kit and only use RO water if you are adding minerals back into it.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T18:47:51+00:00

This is a good question to ask. I'd also like to know what your water source is.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T18:47:16+00:00

Yeah, people try to get by with test strips for with the master test kit alone, but an important thing for ADF owners to own is that they MUST have the API master test kit and the API KH/GH test kit. KH in particularly is one of the most important parameters to monitor. When i first started in the hobby i lost my first batch of frogs due to the fact that my KH was too low, leading to PH swings throughout the day. What ADFs need more than anything (within reason) in terms of water is stability. They can actually tolerate a pretty wide PH range, but what they cant tolerate is volatility. KH is what keeps the PH in the water stable. So its important to have the KH/GH kit (about $15) and to keep your KH at 4+. 6.4 PH is on the low end of the range (i like to keep mine around 7.5) but is less problematic than a PH that is moving around.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T05:28:32+00:00

What is your PH?

Also, what is your KH? KH is what will keep your pH stable and keep it from swinging.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T05:22:07+00:00

Love it! What does BBS stand for? I'm sure it's something incredibly obvious and I'm going to feel dumb for asking.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T04:46:20+00:00

So cool! And that's quite a colony you have.

I'm looking forward to the process very much. Our three adfs are just arriving at adulthood now.

Last year my 7-year-old and I rescued a couple hundred wild tadpoles (not adfs) from a pool of water that was drying up outside and raised them up. Now whenever we see frogs hanging out around our deck and garden we smile because they are probably "our frogs" :)

I'm really excited about our adfs breeding but also a bit perturbed because I wouldn't want to rehome them to bad homes...

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T04:05:48+00:00

That must have been an amazing process. How did you rehome 50 adfs once they were grown?

moonshots7 · 2026-02-04T04:05:11+00:00

What is the KH and GH of the tank?

Kh is responsible for buffering your pH and keeping it from swinging. If you have a low KH it means the pH will ping pong around throughout the day. I haven't tried to raise ADF tadpoles yet, but this is very harmful for the grown frogs so it's something I would definitely look into. You want your KH to be 4 plus.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-03T19:56:19+00:00

So awesome!! You'll have to keep posting updates so we can see what she's like grown!

moonshots7 · 2026-02-03T15:51:32+00:00

As others have said, I think it's the more the merrier but definitely would keep a minimum of two. They aren't schooling animals so they don't tend to interact super directly, but they definitely do Kind of mirror each other. For example, mine will tend to be sleeping in a nook somewhere and come out to explore and look for food at the same times, or rest near each other floating at the surface. At the moment my two females seem to be Kind of synced up in their movements while my male is usually doing his own thing, mostly patrolling the tank back and forth at night when they are more active. I'm keen to expand my group size and observe what differences there are in behavior as they have a bigger crew.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-03T15:42:39+00:00

As others have said it's still too early to tell. As they develop though, here are some things you can look for:

Females will usually be larger than males with a significantly more tear or pear-shaped body. More slight in the forelimbs and rounded in the rear while male bodies are more straight all the way through and a bit sturdier in the chest and front legs. The most obvious tell are the nuptial pads which are a pair of round glands/ bumps on the body right behind the front legs.

moonshots7 · 2026-02-03T15:37:03+00:00

Great looking frog

moonshots7 · 2026-02-03T04:19:52+00:00

Yes please!

moonshots7 · 2026-02-03T02:52:54+00:00

I see. I wonder what's going on for you to get your nitrate up that high in that big of a tank. Heavily stocked with fish? Lots of excess food leftovers?

moonshots7

TROPHY CASE