African Dwarf Frog Growth Rate: How Fast Do They Grow?

African Dwarf Frogs are– as you can tell by their name, mostly known for their tiny size. If you recently bought these amphibians, then you must also be wondering when they’ll grow up, what their growth rate is etc. I am about to share some helpful information about the growth of African Dwarf Frogs.

On average, an African Dwarf Frog can grow up to 1.5 inches when they are young and a maximum of 2-2.5 inches when they are adults. Their growth rate is slower than that of some other animals. The growth can continue for a year or more.

Growth Cycle of African Dwarf Frogs

African Dwarf Frogs go though some stages in their lifespan. I will try to the show it with a table below so that you can understand their lifecycle easily.

Stages	Growth Timeframe
Eggs	In a single spawning, a female ADF can lay almost 1000 eggs. Which means 1000 tadpoles will be on the water’s surface. The eggs can take 48 hours to 1 week for hatch after they are laid.
Tadpole	Tadpoles stay on the water surface for 5 days until the yolk sac is gone. You may start feeding your tadpoles nutritious food like brine shrimp.
Froglet	They hit the froglet stage when they grow legs. It takes about a month for a froglet to develop into an adult.
Matured ADF	After hatching, it takes nearly 2 months for them get fully matured. The matured frog become ready for reproduction after 1 year.

Average Size of African Dwarf Frogs

African Dwarf frogs are one of the smallest frogs in the planet, as you can tell by their name. They weigh only a few grams, so you may feel weightless if you carry one.

 As we mentioned previously that they can grow up to 2-2.5 inches when they’re mature enough. But certainly, some of them can even grow up to 3 inches as well.

How Fast Do African Dwarf Frogs Grow?

Compared to others, the growth rate of African Dwarf Frog is slower. Research says that these frogs grow at a rate of about 0.2 inches/0.5 centimeter per month. This rate is applicable for the early years of their life.

 The growth rate of African Dwarf Frog depends on many factors like a healthy diet, care, proper habitat etc.

2 Major ways to Ensure Fast Growth of African Dwarf Frog

Now that you know your African Dwarf Frog’s growth rate and approximate size, you may as well want to know how to maintain this growth rate. There are some things that you can do to keep your ADF in a good shape. These are:

Feeding:

This is one of the first and foremost demands of the African Dwarf Frogs for their fast growth. You have to ensure that your pet ADF is getting a diet full of various nutrients. You can feed them treats like: brine shrimp, frozen daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex worms etc.

Do you know African Dwarf Frogs love eating insects and insect larvae? These can boost their growth as well.

Environment:

Always make sure that your pet frogs are getting 10 hours of light per day. Good lighting creates a suitable environment for them. We know that habitat and environment plays a key role in an animal’s growth.

Also, ensure that the water temperature remains around 23 degrees Celsius. Proper water temperature and overall tank condition help to improve the frog’s metabolism and organic function. Use a good filter to maintain high water quality.

How Long Do African Dwarf Frogs Live?

You may wonder how long these creatures live, as we talked about growth so far. An African Dwarf Frog usually lives for 5 years in wild, but they can live up to 15 years in captivity. They are entirely aquatic, unlike some other frogs, means, they can only live underwater. Their habitat has to be an aquarium/fish tank etc.

 If you take care of them properly, they can live more. Usually, a 5 gallon tank can easily become 1 or 2 African Dwarf frog’s habitat. But if you are planning to pet them alongside other fishes, you may need at least a 20 gallon tank.

Final Words

A balanced diet and proper care can ensure the healthy growth of African Dwarf Frogs. Diet, water quality, tank conditions etc. should be maintained from the very start if you want the stable growth of your pet ADF. Not to mention, their lifespan increases significantly if they are well taken care of.

Although various diseases may abruptly hinder their growth and decrease health condition. If you want to learn more on their health problems, you can have a look at this article!