Clawed Frog Bloated

[SwimminSteve]

Hi Rob,

I'm glad to see that you are taking steps in the right direction for your frog. I would really advise buying the 10gal tank. I remember buying one for around $15 at walmart and I've seen them on craigslist for less than that even. The reason that we are pushing for a 10gal is that you will have a hard time keeping adequate water conditions in a smaller tank. The cycling process and maintenance will be easier in a 10gal than a 5.5gal. Do you have a lid on your tank? That is a must, because these frogs are surprisingly good at escaping.

As for a filter: Since you are still considering upgrading to a 10gal, I would advise that you get a filter large enough for a 10, but small enough for a 5.5. My personal favorite filter for a small tank is the Whisper i series by Tetra. Even a whisper 10i (about $10 on amazon) would be hugely beneficial to your frog's health. Once your filter is up and running you would only need to do 25% water changes each week (it's so easy).

I prefer bare-bottom tanks, because the upkeep is much simpler. I may have missed it if you mentioned what kind of frog pellets you were feeding, but I prefer HBH frog and tadpole bites and Reptomin turtle sticks. These are a healthy staple diet for your frog. Frozen/thawed brine shrimp and earthworms would be great occasional treats. I would definitely stay away from anything with bloodworms, since these are a potential contributor to bloat.

Once your frog's environment has improved, we would be happy to address treating the bloat. I'm optimistic that some of it will subside when his water conditions improve, but you shouldn't expect to see a 100% recovery. He will probably always have some subcutaneous fluid trapped from this, but I'm hoping that it will decrease to the point where it causes him no discomfort.

Rob, I hope you can understand the reactions of the folks on the forum. You came here, a place where self-admitted frog nerds come together, for help. Of course everyone is quite passionate about frog care and wants to see the best possible treatment of them. As an animal-lover, I'm sure you can see why people put the animal's needs before the feelings of its owner. I can promise you that no one intended to insult you or question your dedication to your pet, they just hoped that strong words would jolt you into action .

[rob2000]

HI Swimmin Steve,
Thanks for your advice. I think I have a whisper filter but I had it on the tank with the sick fish. Would I use bleach on this component too without the media and just get new media? Just want to make sure I dont add more bad bacteria etc to the tank by accident.

I am feeding Zoo Med Aquatic Frog and Tadpole Food (micro pellets). I am just concerned that Frogee can't find it as easily since the tank is bigger and he has to go further to the top. There is a filter hole which I covered (until I get the filter straightened out tomorrow) with paper and tape so I think it will be ok.

I can say that so far so good... Frogee doesnt seem to mind the new tank and once I get him some more plants or little enclosures etc I think he will be even happier. I can always move that stuff to the 10gal. I will continue to monitor the water with the testers until then to make sure it isnt an issue in the meantime.
I put a towel over the tank for now so that he has some shade instead of light and he can hide a bit more since there isnt too much in the tank right now. I did take the advise of others in the forum and I got white sand for the bottom. Will definitely leave the bloodworms out of the diet.
Hopefully he will feel a little better soon. I definitely understand the concern of others. To be honest I think the 3rd response or so upset me the most and I felt attacked and belittled. I am over it now and am glad that I am taking steps now to make Frogee feel better. Hopefully my efforts work. I will keep you posted.

[mpmistr]

HI Swimmin Steve,
Thanks for your advice. I think I have a whisper filter but I had it on the tank with the sick fish. Would I use bleach on this component too without the media and just get new media? Just want to make sure I dont add more bad bacteria etc to the tank by accident.

How did the fish die? New media would start your aquariums cycling process over again. Did the fish die from some kind of bacterial issue? Filters contain beneficial bacteria that breaks down ammonia into nitrite then nitrate which is beneficial to your aquarium (cycling is basically the nitrogen cycle of NH3 > NO2 > NO3).

I am feeding Zoo Med Aquatic Frog and Tadpole Food (micro pellets). I am just concerned that Frogee can't find it as easily since the tank is bigger and he has to go further to the top. There is a filter hole which I covered (until I get the filter straightened out tomorrow) with paper and tape so I think it will be ok.

The Zoo Med food is perfectly fine. Whatever food is not found can be removed with a turkey baster (one never washed with soap!) or a gravel vac. I would remove food daily if any is left over. Have you considered live food such as nightcrawlers? I feed these often to my frogs, probably more so than pellets and they really enjoy it. You can buy them at a bait store or walmart so long as they are not dyed or scented or have any weird 'enhancements' to attract fish.

I have used tape to cover gaps on my tanks before and it is necessary as these guys can and will leave the tank given half a chance. Do not worry about their ability to swim/surface for air. I kept small froglets (tiny!) in a 20G high tank and they were able to dart upward for air in half a second. They are very capable swimmers don't underestimate them, lol.

I can say that so far so good... Frogee doesnt seem to mind the new tank and once I get him some more plants or little enclosures etc I think he will be even happier. I can always move that stuff to the 10gal. I will continue to monitor the water with the testers until then to make sure it isnt an issue in the meantime.

10 gallon would be ideal.

I put a towel over the tank for now so that he has some shade instead of light and he can hide a bit more since there isnt too much in the tank right now. I did take the advise of others in the forum and I got white sand for the bottom. Will definitely leave the bloodworms out of the diet.
Hopefully he will feel a little better soon. I definitely understand the concern of others. To be honest I think the 3rd response or so upset me the most and I felt attacked and belittled. I am over it now and am glad that I am taking steps now to make Frogee feel better. Hopefully my efforts work. I will keep you posted.

White sand is good, I like the CaribSea Moonlight sand personally it's very fine sand and if they digest any of it, it goes right through them. I did not mean to belittle you but the frog sounded in trouble and I was trying to put some urgency in my tone.

I think you can get this frog on the road to recovery and I hope he gets better soon!

[rob2000]

HI Michael,
Thanks for your response.
The fish was taken out of the primary tank and put into a secondary tank (this 5gal) to rest and sit by himself. To be honest, I am not sure what killed him. I think it was a type of fungus though based on the white tufty material he ended up getting on him. Two fish in that tank were picking on eachother and although I tried to seperate them in the tank, they both ended up dying. The fish was only in that tank for a few days. I think I would have to get at least new filter media but I am not sure how to clean the rest of the filter. I will take a look online. Have you ever had luck with that bacteria set up that they sell to add beneficial bacteria to water?
He still seems to be doing well and doesnt mind the tank. I just have to get a filter up and running and get that tank in good shape.

Its ok, I am very passionate about animals myself which is why I was very upset. I have actually stopped eating beef and pork and hope to cut out some others as well because I care about animals so much. My Aunt was an animal rights person and almost got arrested several times for standing up for dogs in cages at pet stores.
I really do try to keep all animals (water or land) healthy and happy but apparently I am a little better at land animals and need some more guidance on water creatures.. lol.

We will see how I do. Hopefully he will feel better soon.

[Necromencer]

HI Michael,
Thanks for your response.
The fish was taken out of the primary tank and put into a secondary tank (this 5gal) to rest and sit by himself. To be honest, I am not sure what killed him. I think it was a type of fungus though based on the white tufty material he ended up getting on him. Two fish in that tank were picking on eachother and although I tried to seperate them in the tank, they both ended up dying. The fish was only in that tank for a few days. I think I would have to get at least new filter media but I am not sure how to clean the rest of the filter. I will take a look online. Have you ever had luck with that bacteria set up that they sell to add beneficial bacteria to water?
He still seems to be doing well and doesnt mind the tank. I just have to get a filter up and running and get that tank in good shape.

Its ok, I am very passionate about animals myself which is why I was very upset. I have actually stopped eating beef and pork and hope to cut out some others as well because I care about animals so much. My Aunt was an animal rights person and almost got arrested several times for standing up for dogs in cages at pet stores.
I really do try to keep all animals (water or land) healthy and happy but apparently I am a little better at land animals and need some more guidance on water creatures.. lol.

We will see how I do. Hopefully he will feel better soon.

Are you turning into a vegetarian purely out of principle or because you think that somehow you will stop people eating meat?

[rob2000]

I don't want to be the reason that a pig or cow is killed. I actually have a potbelly pig too so it really doesnt make sense. Ultimately I am going to try to cut out Chickens and Turkeys as well but I have to take baby steps. I will not recommend that others follow me but they can if they would like. I also watched a movie called "forks over knives". If you haven't seen it I would recommend it. It was very interesting and was one of the reasons I am trying to cut animals out of my diet.
Needless to say I wont be eating frogs legs.. lol