Ho do I help Hathor?

[Hathor]

Hi,

I am so glad I finally found an active forum! I'm hoping you can help me. Hathor our female ACF has been not feeling good for about 5 days now. She is swimming in circles and lethargic. She's also extremely skittish which is unusual for her.

We rescued her about 4 months ago or so off of kijiji. They said she was 3 yrs old. She was quite small and has grown a lot since we got her. So I'm thinking they must have had her in a small tank.

She lives in a 35 gal with large stones on the bottom. So no way of an impactions. I do weekly water changes every thursday. Her tank is cycled and in perfect condition. There is a heater that keeps the temp at 75 and it is filtered with a HOB.

There are a few feeder guppies in the tank. She used to eat a few of them but hasn't touched them in a while.

Where she wasn't eating them I thought we might be ok with putting our Danios in there. We put in 4. She ate them all in one day.

She started showing her symptoms after 4 days I think. So I'm guessing it is my fault she's sick

What can I do for her?

[mpmistr]

Hey there,

When you say the frog swims in circles does she have the ability to move both her hind legs? I mean, she is not swimming in circles because she can only move using her right-sided legs, right? Is your frog able to surface for air properly? It not she should be moved to a large tupperware container or a small tank with shallow water with daily water changes so she does not drown.

I'm not entirely sure what would cause swimming in circles besides a stroke, though I suppose a bacterial or fungal infection could cause this too. A stroke can happen if a frog is kept at high temperatures for a prolonged period of time, though 75F would be considered an 'upper' safe temperature (68F to 72F is ideal). Another cause for stroke would be being fed fatty foods like beefheart, besides gobbling down some guppies, what was your frogs main diet?

Last and obviously biggest concern, the fish. Fish carry all kinds of diseases and parasites that could afford your frog. It's highly recommended that african clawed frogs be kept in a species only tank.

Were these danios newly purchased from a pet store? A lot of stores (especially PetSmart and PetCo) use shared filtration between all their tanks, so if one fish is sick, chances are good it can affect another tank.

If the new fish were purchased recently were they quarantined at all? If the fish had some kind of disease or parasite it could have affected your frog when he ate it.

Assuming not a stroke, if it were a bacterial infection it could be treated with Maracyn 2. At this point though I am not entirely sure.

[Hathor]

She`s able to use both of her legs. When she`s swimming in circles it`s like she`s barrel rolling. She is able to go up for air.

The Danios were QT`d before going in that tank and we got them free off of kijiji. They had shown no sign of illness while in QT.

We feed her a variety of frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, white mosquito larve, freezdried tubifex worms and freez dried krill.

Where can I find Maracyn 2?

[mpmistr]

Alright, let's rule out the fish for now, though I would still keep this guy in a species only tank just to play it safe.

Maracyn2 can be purchased off Amazon or Petsmart/PetCo.. but from the information about the diet, I think that's where our problem is.

Freeze dried foods, are just bad news. They can actually cause intestinal blockages, over time, if fed excessively —it's also completely devoid of nutrition. The frozen bloodworms, brine, and mosquito larvae are all fine as treats but your frog would benefit more from a more balanced diet of bait shop nightcrawlers and a high quality pellet (though Reptomin suffice, many keep their frogs on it).

So here's my second theory. It's either an intestinal blockage caused by a diet of freeze dried foods or a vitamin deficiency, possibly both. Is your frog underweight by chance? Females are fairly pear shaped and plump when healthy.

What I would do is change the diet and wait and see if she improves. Canadian Nightcrawlers especially SHOULD really interest these frogs (they go nuts!) and they are very nutritious.

[Mentat]

Sorry your frog is not doing well . Have you checked pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates lately? What numbers you got?

Hard to tell from description what is the issue. Could be bacterial, protozoan parasites, or internal organ issues after 3 years of being kept in subpar conditions. Myself don't like to medicate unless sure of pathogen. If you want to try a natural mild bactericide; recommend get a bottle of Melafix and treat tank according to label for a week and let us know what if any changes after first couple treatments.

Maracyn 2 is a stronger antibiotic but it works only against gram- bacteria. Myself prefer Maracyn Plus because it works against both gram + & - bacteria and a full treatment is lower in cost. Good luck !

[Hathor]

Hathor passed away last night I'm completely heart broken