Your African dwarf frogs are mating. That “hugging” behavior is called amplexus, where the male climbs onto the female’s back and clasps tightly around her abdomen. It can look alarming if you’re not expecting it, but it’s completely normal reproductive behavior.
What Amplexus Looks Like
During amplexus, the male grips the female from behind in a tight embrace that can last several hours. He holds on while the pair swim together in looping patterns, rising to the water’s surface and then diving back down. At the surface, the female releases a small batch of eggs (usually 3 to 6 at a time), and the male fertilizes them externally. They repeat this loop over and over, eventually producing hundreds of eggs in a single session.
The grip looks intense, and the female may seem like she’s being dragged around the tank. This is normal. The male needs to hold on tightly so he’s in position to fertilize the eggs the moment they’re released. He’ll eventually let go on his own once spawning is finished.
How to Tell Males From Females
If you weren’t sure whether you had a male and female, amplexus is a pretty definitive answer. But there’s also a reliable physical marker: mature males develop a small pinkish or whitish bump directly behind each front leg, right in the “armpit” area. These glands can take up to six months to appear, so younger frogs are harder to sex. Females lack these bumps entirely and tend to be slightly rounder in the body, especially when carrying eggs.
What Triggers Mating
African dwarf frogs often begin mating behavior after a water change, particularly one that slightly lowers the water temperature. In the wild, cooler rain flooding into their habitat signals the start of breeding season. A partial water change in your aquarium can mimic that trigger. Barometric pressure shifts and changes in water depth can also play a role. If you recently did a water change and noticed the hugging shortly after, that’s likely what set things off.
Could It Be Something Else?
Occasionally, a male will attempt amplexus with another male, with a tank decoration, or even with a fish. Males aren’t always accurate about finding a receptive female, especially in a tank with limited options. If you see two frogs of the same sex locked together, the one being grabbed will usually struggle and vocalize (a quiet buzzing sound) to signal that it’s not a female. The grabbing frog will typically let go after a while.
True fighting looks very different from amplexus. Aggressive frogs snap at each other, lunge face-to-face, and may try to grab food from one another’s mouths. Amplexus is always a back-to-belly grip with the male on top, and the pair will swim in coordinated loops rather than thrashing chaotically.
What Happens to the Eggs
If the mating is successful, you’ll find tiny eggs scattered around the tank within hours. They’re small, round, and often stick to plant leaves or float near the surface. A single spawning session typically produces hundreds of eggs. At around 78°F, those eggs hatch in roughly 48 to 72 hours into tiny tadpoles.
If you don’t want baby frogs, you don’t need to do anything special. The adults, along with any fish in the tank, will eat most of the eggs before they have a chance to develop. If you do want to raise the tadpoles, you’ll need to move the eggs to a separate container quickly, since the parents won’t hesitate to snack on them.
If You Don’t Want Breeding
There’s no reliable way to prevent amplexus entirely short of separating males and females into different tanks. The behavior is instinctive and will recur periodically as long as you have both sexes together. Keeping the water temperature steady and avoiding large water changes can reduce the frequency, but determined frogs will mate regardless. If surprise tadpoles aren’t something you want to deal with, simply leave the eggs in the main tank and let nature take its course.