Originally Posted by
mintyfresh
1. 10 gallon, full (usually 2-3 inches from top of water to screen top) unless I neglected to refill it.
You need to be filling it closer to the top - 10 gallon tanks are about 10" tall. Pretty much figure that every inch of unfilled tank space is 1 gallon less of water. So you are only having 7-8 inches of water before the amount displaced by the rock substrate.
2. 1 ACF, a goldfish, and several rosies (that he did not eat)
10 gallons of water is the minimum for ONE African Clawed Frog. Goldfish - fancies (the ones with the double tails) need a minimum of 20 gallons for the first goldfish. Commons/Comets (the ones with the single tail) need 4 foot minimum tanks for 2-3 goldfish at a minimum but are best suited for ponds. Rosie red minnows need larger tanks and neither the goldfish nor the minnows are appropriate food for the frog.
3. Normally tap water, usually treated with water cleanser--also, ideally, purified water (spring, never distilled)
4. Around 75F, heated by room temperature
5. I don't have any water testing kits, unfortunately, but I will definitely acquire some
Buy the liquid test kit, not the test strips. If you go to the pet store make sure they give you the actual numeric readings, don't just let them tell you "it's fine". Also don't buy any ammonia or pH neutralizers or quick fix solutions they will try and pawn off on you.
6. No filter (stupidly) because I read it is like listening to a jackhammer all day (not really an aquarium expert, I had no idea there were quiet filters until now). I do, however, have an airstone.
Overstocked, probably only 6-7 gallons of water maximum in the tank and unfiltered is a huge problem. You have nothing in the tank to break down the ammonia which is constantly being produced by the frogs and fish poo and pee and any uneaten food (there is always some and it decomposes rather quickly which produces ammonia). All the airstone is doing is keeping the water from stagnating and slightly aerating the water as the bubbles break the surface and cause water movement. The bubbles produced by the aerator do not make any impact while traveling in the water column.
7. Medium-large rocks.
The medium size can be problematic - if it is the size of the frogs head, it can be swallowed. Also the rocks are just trapping the waste and contributing to the poor water quality.
8. Two smooth clay pots on either side (hides), artificial duckweed floating on top, moss ball--I washed them (briefly) before adding them in hot water
9. Rosies, guppies, and sinking pellets--I feed whenever the food source runs out (e.g., rosie)
Unless you are raising your own feeders, you should not be feedling live fish. If you are buying them at the pet store you are probably buying the cheap penny or dime fish which unfortunately are treated little better than dirt because they bring in very little profit. They are expendable - there is no reason for the pet store to invest in their care when there is very little return. Unless the fish are quarantined for a minimum of 30 days and gutloaded, they do more harm than good. Minnows and goldfish also block the frog's ability to absorb the B-enzyme so they are actually doing harm rather than good as there is very little nutritional gain. You need to feed a quality pelleted food specifically for amphibians, not fish, and supplement with live earth worms.
10. No vitamins, etc. (honestly never thought about vitamins with ACFs, even though I add them for my other land-dwelling amphibians)
Doesn't really apply to ACF, this is a form used all over the forum and isn't generally applicable to every species of amphibian.
11. Natural light, though never direct (normally rather shadowy in there), or incandescent whenever my room light is on. Natural light follows seasonal patterns.
12. No idea. I noticed he hadn't been eating lately, but I have no idea how long it has been--usually when I add water, as he is freaking out, he grabs a couple of fish (which is what he did last time I added water, about 2 days ago)
13. Nope. To be completely honest, I have no idea what ACF poop looks like.
14. I don't have any at the moment, but I will try to add some.
15. About 1 1/2 years.
16. Since he was about the size of a Dwarf frog.
17. Captive bred, I believe (bought him at a pet store)
18. I put a bit of Epsom salt in his water when I believed he had a bacterial infection, but as I'm not sure, I'm not going to continue at the moment.
Don't add anything to his water unless you know what you are treating and how to treat it. Don't salt their water. Only use for baths and those are done for short periods of time and in a separate container.
19. None
20. Low traffic (my room; usually the only traffic is me)
21. This is where it gets sad. I can't remember when the last time I changed the water in his new tank was--or maybe the only time. I could make excuses, but really it comes down to me being negligent, and I feel terrible. It will never happen again if I can help it.
With no filter and the overstocked tank, you should be doing daily 100% water changes with conditioned water to battle the ammonia.
Anyway...that should give you an idea. It's either my fault (due to water quality), or a spinal cord injury, unless there are other possibilities. Can anyone offer any help? I feel terrible. I can't stand when anything suffers (I can hardly kill insects), and to know I caused it is hell.
He looks better now, but he is still scrunching up when I get near him. He also did not eat any of the pellets I put in. I removed them--I will not go through the dirty water issue again.
ACF can't use back legs?
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