sick Simon

[rodsboys]

Earth worms or night crawlers always seem to be irritable and really help with the whole pooing thing.

[Jenste]

Poor thing does seem to be suffering from bloat.

While reading your summary in your first post - you stated you had no Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite. A cycled tank will always have *some* nitrate - it is the end result of the cycling process. Combined that with a 10 year old frog passing away - they can live well past 20....I am suspecting something relating to the system might be a culprit. Are there any tank/system changes with in the past 6 months? I was first a fish keeper then a frog keeper so I always look first to analyze the "aquarium" part of the setting.

I would do daily Salt baths, if anything they will at least relieve a bit of the pressure that is going to be building up with in her.

Would you say Simon's bloat appeared gradually...say over the course of a few weeks? Or suddenly...over the course of a few days? Sudden bloats, where the frog has a sudden swelling of the body and often spends most of it's time floating is often an internal bacteria infection and sadly usually fatal. Attempt treatment with daily salt baths and Maracyn II/Maracyn Plus. This bloat looks like air is building up under the skin like a balloon - skin is taught, very little wiggle to it.

The gradual bloat is a slow "puffing up" - think of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man. This frog looks like a water bed and jiggles and wiggles all over the place. It is sometimes thought to be linked to kidney disease or genetic abnormality where the body starts being unable to process the exchange of fluids between the skin barrier and water is retained under the skin. A few salt baths a week can help this frog live on for quite a long time after being diagnosed.

[gab]

Nitrate reading between 0 and lowest value using API drops. I did have a goldfish that lived with them who died in January-she had a tumor on one gill and was 9 years old. I did replace a UV filter in April or May, I think. I hope that's not the problem. I could disconnect it if I need to.
Her bloat appeared gradually, but her skin is taught, not wiggly. Her first symptom was the loss of appetite. After barely eating for a few weeks, I started looking at her more closely and noticed she seemed a little larger than normal. So her bloat is somewhere in between the two types. When you say salt baths, do you mean Epsom or aquarium? I assume you mean Epsom for the swelling.
What should I do? salt baths and an antibiotic, or just salt baths? Should I try to force feed her and, if so, how?
Thanks.