African Dwarf Frog and Goldfish: Can You Put Them Together?

Both African Dwarf frogs and goldfish make great pets. Thinking of keeping them together might be tempting to pet owners. 

But African Dwarf Frog and Goldfish: Can you put them together? It actually depends, and this is not a one-word answer. You can put smaller-sized goldfish with your African Dwarf frogs in the same tank. But with bigger fish, a big no. 

You may get one-word “yes” and “no” answers on this topic online. But in this guide, I will explain both sides of keeping these two pesky little fish and amphibians together. Excited? So, let’s dig deeper into this topic. 

African Dwarf Frog and Goldfish: Can You Put Them Together?

As I mentioned earlier, making the decision to keep goldfish and African Dwarf frogs is not that easy. You can keep them together, but there are some initial risks. 

The risks are discussed below in detail. 

African Dwarf Frogs Are Nearly Blind

Yes, you read the heading right. ADFs are nearly blind, which means they have very poor eyesight. Their range of sight is around 7 cm. As a result, when you give the fish and frog food, it is certain that frogs can’t compete for the food. 

If the fish are hungry, you can be sure they will consume all the food before the frogs get them. So, in practice, the frogs will not get time to compete actually. 

Goldfish Can Eat Smaller-Sized African Dwarf Frogs

Though this is not a regular incident, goldfish can even consume the frogs if they are smaller. Specifically, goldfish love to eat tadpoles, and if you think about keeping them with goldfish, it’s a big no. 

Likewise, in some cases, goldfish eat smaller-sized frogs. 

An average-sized adult goldfish generally can be 3 inches to 8.7 inches. On the other hand, adult ADF can be at most 2.5 inches. So you see, there is a chance even goldfish can consume adult frogs if they think they are ideal prey. 

Now, considering the risk factors, I would not recommend keeping African Dwarf frogs and goldfish together. 

Still, you are determined to keep them together? Then let’s find out if there is anyway. 

How Can I Keep African Dwarf Frogs and Goldfish Together?

There are some primary mutual factors that aren’t that different for both species. So, if you can make a balance for the factors, I think you can keep them together and make a friendly environment for both of them. 

Goldfish Size Consideration

There are at least 17 species of goldfish that are found. The average size of goldfish ranges from 3 inches to 8 inches, and some can reach up to 10 inches.  

I suggest you keep the smallest species with your ADF. This is because, as I said earlier, bigger species may try to hunt the frogs if they get the chance. 

For example, you can keep Carassius praecipuus, the smallest species of goldfish found in 2017. The maximum length of this goldfish is 6.2 cm or 2.44 inches. 

Aside from this, some of the small-sized goldfish species are as follows. 

Species	Size
Bubble Eye Goldfish	3 to 4 inches
Veiltail Goldfish	4 inches to 14 inches. But most are 4 inches
Celestial Goldfish	Around 5 inches
Telescope goldfish	Around 6 inches

Tank Size 

Basically, ADFs need a minimum of 5 gallons of water-sized tank for each; 10 gallons is preferred. At the same time, you must provide the tank size with a minimum of 15 to 20 gallons for each goldfish. 

So, what you have to do there is balance the size of the tank. On average, keep 20 to 25 gallons of water for each pair of goldfish and ADF. 

Now, consider this size for each pair, and increase the size for additional mates regarding this size consideration. 

Temperature Consideration

One of the similarities that both ADFs and goldfish have is the temperature range. The required temperature for goldfish is around 75° to 88°F or 24° to 31°C. The pH level of water for goldfish should be between 7.0 and 8.4. 

At the same time, the required temperature of African Dwarf frogs ranges from 68° to 78°F or 20° to 25.5°C. Additionally, the required pH level of water for ADFs ranges between 6.5 and 7.8.

So you see, you don’t have to do much for the temperature separately for both species. 

Keeping the temperature between 68° to 78°F would be perfect. 

Food

Goldfish are primarily omnivores, which means they can feed on both plant and animal matter. At the same time, African Dwarf frogs are also omnivores. 

So, you can balance their diet by providing almost the same food. Primarily, you can give fish pellets, a mixture of goldfish flakes, granules, and other meaty foods. 

But remember the amount of food for each species. For example, goldfish need an amount of food equal to their eye size and 2 to 3 times daily.

On the other hand, ADFs need meals 3 times a week. In terms of amount, provide such an amount which they can consume in a few minutes. 

Some other food for both species you can provide are as follows.

• Bloodworms
• Brine shrimp
• Daphnia
• Mosquito larvae, etc. 

You will find pet shops near you. 

Here’s a video showing ADF and goldfish together in a tank. 

FAQs

Here are some additional questions regarding whether African Dwarf Frogs and goldfish can live together. 

Final Thought

African Dwarf Frog and Goldfish: Can You Put Them Together? In summation, you can put smaller-sized goldfish with African Dwarf frogs. But you are requested to put only the right sized ones. 

However, you must balance their tank size, temperature, and food. Thus, choose the tank mates wisely, and make sure they don’t pose any risks to your frogs.