New owner of African Dwarf Frogs - need help!

[TinyTreasures]

Hello! My son received 2 African Dwarf Frogs for his birthday - love these little guys! My SIL has had 2 ADF from wildcreations.com and she has kept them in a tiny 1/2 gallon tank for 3 years and they have done okay - no sickness or anything despite only feeding them 2x a week and changing their water every 6 months. I would never want my frogs in such a tiny space so we set up a 2.5 gallon aquarium, 5 lbs of "Living Gravel" and 2 "lucky bamboo stalks" (both from wildcreations.com), 3 silk plants, and two decorations - a crocodile skull and barrels. We used bottled Spring water and a Whisper filter. (Including a photo from before we installed the filter and filled the water to the top.)

They were happy and swimming all around the first day, then the 2nd day we put a Tubiflex worm cube in the tank like the lady at the petstore said to do. It broke apart and worms were everywhere. By that night, the frogs looked frantic like they were trying to escape their tank. I didn't have any test strips, so I just removed about 1/3 of their water and put in new spring water and they calmed right down. It has been about 2 weeks now though and this has happened several times - the frogs looking frantic and trying to escape. I remove water, replace it with new water, and they calm down.

Now we only feed them a little Tubiflex worms 2x a day (they eat most of it right away from tweezers) and I've also ordered the API Nitrates Ammonia and PH test kit. Everything in the tank tested perfect except the Ammonia was very high - I would say maybe 4-6 range? This time instead of using spring water I added some Seachem Prime to tap water - it tested perfect on all levels including ammonia. I did a 1/3 water change yesterday morning, and once again by nighttime frogs were frantic. Their ammonia in the tank tested high again. What am I doing wrong?

I replaced 1/3 of the water but the frogs were still frantic this morning, so I removed the 2 decorations, stopped the filter, and put 1/3 new water in again. I tested the water and it is still about 3 for ammonia...I know it should be 0. I am ordering a gravel vacuum, but what else should I get to help remove the ammonia for their tank? Also should I be feeding them something besides the tubiflex worms...could that be causing the ammonia? Thank you!

[TinyTreasures]

ps - also, when adding Prime to my water, do I add enough for the whole tank, or only for the extra water I am putting in? My tank is 2.5 gallons but the pitcher of water is only .5 gallons.

[tgampper]

The establishment of a biological filter is your first step in reducing the ammonia levels. It will reduce ammonia levels through good, enzymes and nitrifying bacterial cultures. AquaBella Bio-Enzyme Fresh Water Treatment System may work for you, see http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23658.

Since ADFs are aquatic, water chemistry is very important. Also, a change in diet is necessary. Tubifex worm cubes are freeze-dried. Two problems with this - 1) freeze-dried foods of any kind is harmful to their digestive system and cause bloating, and 2) any uneaten food breaks down quickly and ammonia levels increase. Live or thawed foods of appropriate size is much better. Bloodworms and Tubifex worms should be fed sparingly.

[TinyTreasures]

Thank you! So my little guys were absolutely frantic last night and I figured maybe it was the switch to tap water, even though I added Prime and did it slowly. I replaced 1/3 of the water with spring water last night. All day today they were lethargic and barely moved from the bottom of the tank. I was sure they weren't going to make it. I gave them a little food through a dropper and they perked right up and are back to themselves! Also replaced 1/4 the water this morning and 1/4 tonight and their ammonia level is down to about .50 to 1. I ordered a vacuum and Sechem Stability which will arrive tomorrow but if that doesn't work to establish a biological filter I will order what you suggested, thank you! If all else fails I may have to buy a bigger tank and cycle it without the frogs until it is established, and just keep changing the water constantly in this 2.5 gallon tank till it is ready. I am also going to PetsMart tomorrow to buy frozen food.

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! As Terry mentioned; overfeeding is not good for an aquarium. Even if cycled it will still cause problems. Not sure which Whisper filter you have since Tetra has several different models. Can you post model or photo of your Whisper? Wonder if filter flow is bothering frogs? Stopping filter is bad for cycle because it will starve bacteria due to lack of food (Ammonia and Nitrites) and Oxygen.

Your tank looks pretty, let's' see if we can get it balanced too. Good bacteria needs a surface to grow. They do that in gravel and filter media. Because of water flow, the latter is more efficient in converting bad Ammonia into still bad Nitrites and then into less dangerous Nitrates. Those are removed by water changes. A normal cycle in an aquarium will take 4 weeks. Use of a product like Seachem Stability will reduce that in half. On the other hand, use of Ammonia neutralizers will extend it, because removing Ammonia will starve the filter colonies and then you are back into stage one of process or go into a Yo-Yo effect of Ammonia spikes.

If don't have one, get a small gravity gravel cleaner and use it during water changes to clean gravel. By placing a thumb in output to pail you can control it and even rinse the filter pad in aquarium water flow. Never wash any filter media in anything other than tank water. Tap will kill the bacteria in filter and then you are back on stage one. Never wash your gravel in tap either.

Removed water should be replaced with same temperature dechlorinated tap. Seachem Prime is a fine product and only need to treat actual volume of water being changed. When dealing with a water change on a little tank the dosage might be measured in drops or you can use and empty gallon jug and dechlorinate a gallon at a time. For example if changing 1/2 gallon I use two drops of a similar product that treats 15 gallons with 1 ml. Hope this helps and good luck !

[TinyTreasures]

Thank you! I thought it was a Whisper filter but I checked and it is an Aqueon Mini Bow filter that came with the Aqueon Mini Bow 2.5 gallon Tank. The filter is only a couple weeks old - it is too early to replace it even though it is quite brown right? I have cleaned it with tank water a couple times. I have a gravel cleaner and the Stability coming in the mail today and am going to Petsmart today to buy better food.

Can anyone answer this - would it be a good idea to buy a gallon fishtank and keep the frogs in there and do frequent water changes with spring water and use ammonia neutralizers to keep that at 0 for about 2 weeks until their tank is cycling on its own? If I keep them in this tank will it every start a biological cycle if I keep replacing 1/3 of the water every day?

Thank you!

[Mentat]

Thank you! I thought it was a Whisper filter but I checked and it is an Aqueon Mini Bow filter that came with the Aqueon Mini Bow 2.5 gallon Tank. The filter is only a couple weeks old - it is too early to replace it even though it is quite brown right? I have cleaned it with tank water a couple times. I have a gravel cleaner and the Stability coming in the mail today and am going to Petsmart today to buy better food.

Can anyone answer this - would it be a good idea to buy a gallon fishtank and keep the frogs in there and do frequent water changes with spring water and use ammonia neutralizers to keep that at 0 for about 2 weeks until their tank is cycling on its own? If I keep them in this tank will it every start a biological cycle if I keep replacing 1/3 of the water every day? Thank you!

A well cycled filter pad can be black in color due to large bacteria colony and would work fine as long as water flows through it. Just "spray" into it with water outflow during water change to remove any muck and it will work fine. When replacing cartridge monthly (required if carbon is in it) you will get a mini cycle and recommend you add a dose of Stability.

In the past I've used filters with cartridges and first thing I did was cut a slit in the pad to remove all or at least most carbon from it. Then I stored carbon in a sandwich bag and used the pad with Seachem's Matrix sintered glass media. Those do not need to be replaced; just rinsed with pad. Then when pad finally starts falling apart or clogs; you can get a new cartridge, replace carbon with media from old pad, and start using it with no new cycle because of matrix from old pad. Would not remove frogs to another tank because that will stop the cycling process due to lack of a food source for bacteria.

[tgampper]

I don't think there is a need to get a new tank. I recommend doing a complete cleaning of the tank. Remove everything and scrub it down. I like to use a distilled, white vinegar mixed with water. Wipe everything down with a new sponge scrubber. Rinse thoroughly. This process will remove any undesirable residue and give the frogs a fresh start. Make sure the water is properly conditioned (I personally use Stress Coat, but any of the good quality water conditioners will work too) and at the proper temperature. I really believe that your ammonia problems was caused by the freeze-dried tubifex worms. Once you change their diet and watch the over feeding, I don't think you will have any more problems. You may want to test your tap water to see if that could be the problem. If your tap water has a too high mineral content, try using bottled spring water. Stay away from distilled water because it doesn't have the necessary "salts and minerals" needed.