Lost one of my Albino Claw Frogs

[mpmistr]

That's a bummer, sorry man.

Newly acquired frogs are a bit stressed so having a fully cycled tank (zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and ~.25ppm nitrate) is very important as they acclimate to their new environment. They could also be sick when you buy them as Carlos mentioned. You don't know what conditions the frog was put through before you purchased it, being shipped in a container somewhere and kept in a pet shop puts a lot of strain on an animal. You also have to keep in mind that even slight amounts of ammonia is very toxic to these little guys and that may have been enough to push an already stressed frog over the edge.

This is just a guess but I think these two factors may have caused this to happen.

[maxQ]

I lost my other Albino Claw Frog last night, I am bummed, I love all of my Frogs and Toads like family but I was really attached to these guys. I double checked my water chemistry every week and all the numbers were always near perfect so I'm not sure what the cause is. I am taking a water sample to my friend at my local Rep Store and see what he can find, Id just like to at least know what the cause was or If it was negligence on my part. I may never find the cause unfortunately. EDIT: I checked the water after I removed my guy from his enclosure and my water sample only showed that ammonia levels were slightly elevated.

[mpmistr]

Damn that stinks. Ammonia can be a killer. Were you doing partial water changes and what were you using for water conditioner?

What decor did you have in the tank? Anything in there that may have been toxic? What was the size of the tank and filtration?

[maxQ]

Michael, "Creepy" and "Ugly" named by my girlfriend lived a 20 Gallon Long Tank, I used a Aqueon Quit Flow 20 as a filter along with a small air pump with a air stone. I only had aquarium slate in the tank for décor and to give them hiding spots which were bought from a aquarium store and cleaned. I used "Prime" Water Conditioner to remove Ammonia, and to detox Nitrites and Nitrates, I also used "API" Tap Water Conditioner to Dechlorinate. I was doing 25% water changes about every 10 days.

[mpmistr]

Yeah I use Prime as well and I haven't had any issues. Man I just don't know, besides the fact the ammonia in the tank is toxic and could cause harm (clawed frogs are tough though and can usually survive a cycling).

[rodsboys]

What temperature were you keeping the tank at? What were you feeding? Hold old was the setup? Sounds like the tank was in the beginning of its cycle still.

[maxQ]

Yeah I use Prime as well and I haven't had any issues. Man I just don't know, besides the fact the ammonia in the tank is toxic and could cause harm (clawed frogs are tough though and can usually survive a cycling).

But my Ammonia level was not high at all, it showed it to be barely .025 ppm, is that enough to hurt them?

What temperature were you keeping the tank at? What were you feeding? Hold old was the setup? Sounds like the tank was in the beginning of its cycle still.

Temp held at 73.5 to 75.0. I fed them Red Wigglers and Tubifex worms, I couldn't get them to eat anything else.

[Mentat]

Sorry you lost the other one Gary ! Has that tank been in use previously for fish, etc. and any strong medicines where applied on it. Same question for all decor.

If not then other possibility is an un-cycled tank due to overuse of Prime or mixing Prime with API dechlorinator. Let me explain the "Nitro Yo-Yo Effect."

When you cycle a tank/filter, you have to let the bacterial colonies grow. In order to do that they need to feed and multiply. Prime and other ammonia reducers are very aggressive so to use them as a de-chlorinator before adding tap water to tank is fine; but to add them to tank to reduce ammonia/nitrites (as the manufacturers recommend) removes the bacteria food, so they starve off and die. Then the urea from frogs adds more ammonia but now the bacteria have to repopulate again, so in the meantime, ammonia levels rise. Then the aquarist (or frog keeper) test kit shows ammonia... OMG ! So we add more neutralizing chemicals (Prime, Amquel, etc.) and so begins a series of mini crashes and your ammonia levels go up and down like a yo-yo. Also, your tank will never cycle correctly or take forever to do so.

My recommendation is to use Prime or whatever only once on tap water before adding to tank, and then let the biological cycle establish itself without chemical interference for a month (2 weeks if add Seachem Stability or similar). Good luck !

[mpmistr]

Were they live tubifex? I know red wrigglers are considered safe but are known to be toxic to garter snakes. I personally use nightcrawlers because peoples opinions on red wrigglers seem to vary a lot.

I ask if the tubifex were live or not, they are known to be vectors for disease (they are raised in filthy water). It's actually quite difficult to purchase them live I am assuming they were freeze dried, which is also not a great food type as these can cause intestinal issues.

Ammonia, even .25ppm is toxic, at best would make the frogs life very uncomfortable. ACF are hardy frogs, the ammonia in itself wouldn't kill them but it would stress them and allow secondary infection to set in and become fatal.

Going forward I would follow Carlos' advice, I would cycle this tank to where you have zero ammonia, zero nitrite, and traces of nitrates before adding more frogs. This may be cruel but you could get some cheap fish or if you are the humane type, do a fishless cycle.