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Thread: ADF unable to stay underwater

  1. #1
    Christiane
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    Default ADF unable to stay underwater

    I am new to this forum but am asking for help with my 2 ADF.
    About 2 weeks ago, one of them was unable to stay submerged and kept rising to the top of the tank. He could only stay submerged if he wedged himself under something. His appetite was also very poor, even turning down thawed bloodworms. The other frog was fine. I searched online and found out that he most likely had a bacterial infection so I treated it with tetracycline for the required 4 days and it cleared up. The tetracycline colored my water a dark red and the water still isn't clear or colorless today.
    Yesterday, both of my frogs have the same symptoms again. They are floating up seemingly against their will. As soon as they stop trying to swim to the bottom, they float up to the surface. I decided to treat with Maracyn 2 this time, hoping that it will clear up the infection for good.
    They do not appear to have discolored skin, their skin looks fine, nor are they bloated.
    They live alone in a 5 gallon tank. The tank is heated to a constant 77*, is equipped with a small air bubbler and has a Slim S10 power filter. The pH is about 7.5 and I admit to having had cycling problems that I needed to control using AmmoLock. However, now the ammonia is at 0, the nitrates are close to 0 and the nitrates are about 10. I'm still using AmmoLock every other day since the ammonia level has only been at 0 for a couple of days. I'm also adding Cycle on the days that I am not adding AmmoLock. I treat my water before adding it to the tank.
    Has anyone experienced this floating problem before?
    Do you know what it is and what causes it?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Hello and welcome to FF Christiane! Adding a medication to an aquarium while another medication is still on water might cause problems due to interaction. You should always do a large water change and run well rinsed carbon in filter for 24 hours; then after removing carbon add new medicine. The floating problem could be due to a bacteria or something else. What made you think it was bacteria and treat for it? Also, be aware that some medications will affect your bio-filter and could cause nitrites to rise.

    Read you are using Amquel with Cycle. That can cause problems too. The problem with Amquel and other similar products is that they are too aggressive removing ammonia and nitrites. With none of these compounds to feed the bacteria in tank (existing there or added by Cycle) they will die and cause the bio-filter to crash.

    My recommendation is to do a at least a 50% water change with dechlorinated tap and then add Cycle per label instructions for a new tank. It will take a couple weeks for your bio-filter to recover if you do not add more Amquel. BTW, while using Amquel, some test kits will show incorrect levels of Ammonia and Nitrites. Good luck !
    Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog !​

  4. #3
    Christiane
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Hi Carlos,
    Thanks for responding. I did at least 2 water changes after the tetracycline treatment. One of about 50% and the other of about 20%.
    I thought it was a bacterial infection from reading various online forums that talked about ADF having the same symptoms and the people were told it was most likely a bacterial infection.
    I didn't want to wait too long to treat the tank because the info on the forums stated that the frogs with these symptoms, when left untreated, died within days of the symptoms appearing.
    Based on the tetracycline and maracyn 2 labels, neither is supposed to affect the biological filter.
    The AmmoLock label claims that the ammonia is simply converted to a non toxic form. Online articles have stated that the bacteria will feed on this form and convert it to nitrites the way they would with the toxic form of ammonia.
    I will continue with the maracyn 2 treatment, which is 5 days, and pray that all goes well.
    I am attempting to cycle water in separate empty tanks using ammonia AND Cycle bacteria but the process is taking much longer than I thought. I assumed that adding Cycle to the water containing ammonia would spped things up but that does't appear to be the case. I am waiting for this water to be ready so I can do a large water change using cycled water instead of using conditioned tap water after treatment.

  5. #4
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Quote Originally Posted by Christiane View Post
    ..The AmmoLock label claims that the ammonia is simply converted to a non toxic form. Online articles have stated that the bacteria will feed on this form and convert it to nitrites the way they would with the toxic form of ammonia....I am attempting to cycle water in separate empty tanks using ammonia AND Cycle bacteria but the process is taking much longer than I thought. I assumed that adding Cycle to the water containing ammonia would spped things up but that does't appear to be the case. I am waiting for this water to be ready so I can do a large water change using cycled water instead of using conditioned tap water after treatment.
    I know AmmoLock, Amquel, and similar product state some things in their labels; but my experience with them turned out different. My tank would not cycle and went into a series of mini cycles and crashes like a yo-yo effect.

    Water can't be cycled since the bacteria need a surface to grow on. You could remove water from a clean tank with zero ammonia and nitrites, and add to tank with frogs and unless that tank has an established filter; the ammonia levels will spike as soon as frog urine hits the water .
    Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog !​

  6. #5
    Christiane
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Thanks for the info.
    I placed large amounts of BioMax chips in the empty tanks that I am attempting to cycle. I intend on transferring these to my occupied tanks along with the water.
    FYI, I added a second small filter to my frog tank this afternoon in an attempt to clear the cloudiness. It seems to help. The frogs also seem to be responding to the Maracyn 2. One of them is able to stay on the bottom of the tank on his own. The other one is also on the bottom of the tank but it's hard to see if he's holding on to something or not. I'll still treat for the recommded 5 days though.
    I'll keep you posted.

  7. #6
    Christiane
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Both frogs have healthy appetites tonight. They gobbled up the thawed tubifex worms like they hadn't seen food in ages. So far, so good. Gave them their second dose of Maracyn 2 and added Cycle.

  8. #7
    MitraC
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Tetracycline is a strong antibiotic and adding it to the tank with your filter media almost definitely killed your beneficial bacteria. For the future either transfer your frogs to a hospital tank, or transfer the filter to a different tank.

  9. #8

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    I had this issue some time ago and googled it as well. It seems like the floatation is merely a symptom of a varied spectrum of diseases ranging in severity. In my case; daily water changes appeared to have helped; taking care to ensure temperature and the like.

  10. #9
    Christiane
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Hi,
    Whatever it was has cleared up and both frogs are healthy, eating well and back to their adorable selves. I don't know if the Maracyn 2 had anything to do with it or not but I'm just glad that they are OK now.
    Thank you for your info.

  11. #10
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    Default Re: ADF unable to stay underwater

    Glad frogs are OK now Christiane !
    Remember to take care of the enclosure and it will take care of your frog !​

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