Frogs!! Dr. Craig Kasper HCC Aquaculture FAS 1012C

Introduction Culture of frogs is a limited global industry. Countries culturing frogs include Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, and Taiwan. U.S. frog culture may never be viable due to high labor costs, disease issues and volatile market.

Market: Legs Market-size frog = 185 grams. 500 g food needed to get there!! Big problem!! Frogs normally don’t accept prepared feeds. Must constantly be supplied live animals.

Other issues… Disease outbreaks common. Disinfect culture facility daily!! Cannibalism likely among adults. Need constant temperature to grow rapidly. Up to 21ft of shoreline needed for breeding males (territory).

If you take the plunge… Build a large enclosure (20’ x 20’) Fence it in. Stock 1 male:5 female frogs. Let ‘em go!! Be ready for 3,000-5,000 eggs.

Fry care Eggs hatch in ºC. Fry are stocked at 4,000-5,000 per meter square in shallow tanks. Fry are fed plankton (algae) and crushed feed. As fry grow they can be restocked at a density of 200 per cubic meter.

Market Over 2 million kg of frogs were imported annually in the ’80s (500,000 now). Average market price then $ /lb. Now it’s more like $7.00/lb.