Red, raw genatilia - I'm incredibly worried! HELP!

[CaitlinAnn]

Hi guys. I usually come here to lurk but have finally been brought to join after noticing my frog has a red, raw anus and it really worries me. He's an ACF kept in a 20 gallon (high) tank with snails and feeder guppies and nearing two years old. I do water changes at least bi-weekly and just did a big one about a week ago. Chems earlier were fine though I still need to check ammonia. I'm using a tetra whisper filter specifically for up to 20 gallons. Water temperature is 78F. I haven't noticed any other trauma. He's muscular and generally healthy looking and is swimming fine with no problems reaching the surface.




I'm not sure if its the beginning of red leg or a fecal impaction/anal prolapse. He's fed repto min frog sticks and he eats guppies. I'm also wondering if the filter sand could be a problem.

I won't be able to rest well until I know he's ok so any help you could provide would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[mpmistr]

Hi guys. I usually come here to lurk but have finally been brought to join after noticing my frog has a red, raw anus and it really worries me. He's an ACF kept in a 20 gallon (high) tank with snails and feeder guppies and nearing two years old. I do water changes at least bi-weekly and just did a big one about a week ago. Chems earlier were fine though I still need to check ammonia. I'm using a tetra whisper filter specifically for up to 20 gallons. Water temperature is 78F. I haven't noticed any other trauma. He's muscular and generally healthy looking and is swimming fine with no problems reaching the surface.




I'm not sure if its the beginning of red leg or a fecal impaction/anal prolapse. He's fed repto min frog sticks and he eats guppies. I'm also wondering if the filter sand could be a problem.

I won't be able to rest well until I know he's ok so any help you could provide would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Welcome to the FrogForum. Sorry your little guy is going through a situation here.

Typically these types of infections are due to improper environment and since ACF are tough little guys, he will recover once the environment comes back into balance.

Top priority, I would remove snails and guppies from his tank and get that water temperature to where ACF are comfortable which is 68F-72F.

A single ACF is already a heavy bioload, (ramshorn/pond)snails tend to multiply and die rapidly which can spike ammonia. Larger (apple/mystery) snails actually carry a high bioload. The guppies also add to bioload and provide I would imagine a pretty inadequate yet steady food supply. The reasons being feeder fish are just bad news due to the risk of disease and parasites. So right there we have perhaps a bioload too high for a 20G with a ACF, quite simply the tank is too small and the filter is too weak to 'keep up' with all the critters you have in there.

78F is too high for ACF. The guppies like water this warm but this is going to be stressing your ACF which needs temperate water to thrive. You need lower your heater to the lowest setting or remove it, ACF do great in room temperature, personally I do NOT keep a heater in my ACF tank, keep the water around 70F. The problem here of course is once you do that your guppies will begin to suffer because they are a tropical species (so they will begin to become ill), so right these these two do not belong together due to vastly different environmental needs.

What are you using to treat your tap water?

Hope this helps,

Mike

[CaitlinAnn]

That helps immensely, thank you! I'm going to unplug the heater right now. I just did an ammonia check and its at 0.25.

I'm using API Tap water conditioner and Tetra Easy Balance to help maintain chems. I'm also going to remove some snails and change the filter cartridge right now..hopefully that will help.

[mpmistr]

That helps immensely, thank you! I'm going to unplug the heater right now. I just did an ammonia check and its at 0.25.

I'm using API Tap water conditioner and Tetra Easy Balance to help maintain chems. I'm also going to remove some snails and change the filter cartridge right now..hopefully that will help.

Hey before you do any of that read this post. That ammonia is pretty high, that can definitely be part of the problem, along with the too high temps for ACF.

Don't change the media out of your filter, your beneficial bacteria grows on that cartridge actually. What you want to do is periodically rinse it in the water you use during your water changes to clean some of the build up and gunk off of it. My filters all have their original media, NEVER replace just rinse it out in old tank water and put it back in there. Basically when you switch the cartridge you ruin your aquariums nitrogen cycle and ammonia begins to build up again and your tank has no way to break this ammonia down into nitrite (also toxic) and then into the mostly non-toxic nitrate (which is lowered and kept from build too high via partial water changes). To learn about aquarium cycle read this.

I'm not familiar with Tetra Easy Balance but if you want to save yourself some money just pick up SeaChem Prime, it's a little more expensive but it's very concentrated so it will save you money in the long run. I use one cap full per week for my 40B, 20G, and 10G.

It's a best of class product and I swear by it.

[CaitlinAnn]

Thanks I'll have to look into it. I was looking at him again and I just noticed one of his eyes are really red. And one of my snails did die, so I'm sure that added to it. Now I'm getting really really worried.

[CaitlinAnn]

[mpmistr]

Thanks I'll have to look into it. I was looking at him again and I just noticed one of his eyes are really red. And one of my snails did die, so I'm sure that added to it. Now I'm getting really really worried.

Sounds like you've got an ammonia spike. I would replace 50% of the water immediately, remove the dead snail immediately. One of the worst ammonia spike producers are dead apple snails, they decay rapidly, foul the water and overload your bio-filtration. I would do 50% daily water changes and get everything but your frog out of that tank in conjunction with lower water temperatures.

Don't bother messing with the filter cartridge, I don't know if the filter is established but if you are changing the media out frequently it could not be, either way it's better to just let the filter do its work (which is to build a colony of bacteria inside of it that breaks down ammonia and nitrite).

Do daily 50% water changes and see if he gets better, ACF are really good at bouncing back. If stabilizing the environment does not solve the problem you can look into medications but I would hold off on medicating the frog, it's more important to get his water chemistry under control first.

[mpmistr]

Yeah that looks like a bacterial infection but take that diagnosis with a grain of salt since I am not a vet. You may want to pick up Maracyn which can treat bacterial infections, just in case. I would not assume red leg (which is usually fatal, yes) yet because he appears to have an infected eye and cloaca.

Right now top priority is to stabilize the tank and stop it from getting worse. ACF truly do recover from most ailments by just having a proper environment. They are amazingly resilient animals.

[CaitlinAnn]

Thank you! With your help I really am beginning to feel better. I found where the pond snail died and it was gross. Brown sludge and the hard plate (I have no idea what the technical term for that is) are both gone now. So are the mystery snails. I picked up all the plants and decor and mixed up the sand a bit to dislodge any more debris and did about a sixty percent water change. I will definitely pick up some maracyn tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get him better soon.

[mpmistr]

Thank you! With your help I really am beginning to feel better. I found where the pond snail died and it was gross. Brown sludge and the hard plate (I have no idea what the technical term for that is) are both gone now. So are the mystery snails. I picked up all the plants and decor and mixed up the sand a bit to dislodge any more debris and did about a sixty percent water change. I will definitely pick up some maracyn tomorrow. I'm hoping I can get him better soon.

The plate is usually referred to as it's "trap door" since it uses it to enclose itself inside it's shell to avoid predators.

Yup removing the snail and any dead plant matter will help. I saw in your other pictures you had some duckweed in your tank, that is good since those floaters are pretty great at soaking up ammonia. I use duckweed in all my tanks, it's messy but it's a great at keeping stable water chemistry.

I hope your frog recovers fully, let us know how this situation progresses.

[CaitlinAnn]

Thanks I definitely will do. I'm a nurse and my brain is so jumbled with worry right now that I can't even think straight..of course a nurse isn't an exotic pets vet either. I'm just overall freaking out. I just did an chem strip and so far everything looks good except chlorine is a little high which I added more Easy Balance to help fix that. Filter is going at a good clip and so far (I still have 3 minutes) ammonia is reading at zero. I'm wondering if I should get a stress coat as well as maracyn tomorrow when I'm out.

[mpmistr]

Thanks I definitely will do. I'm a nurse and my brain is so jumbled with worry right now that I can't even think straight..of course a nurse isn't an exotic pets vet either. I'm just overall freaking out. I just did an chem strip and so far everything looks good except chlorine is a little high which I added more Easy Balance to help fix that. Filter is going at a good clip and so far (I still have 3 minutes) ammonia is reading at zero. I'm wondering if I should get a stress coat as well as maracyn tomorrow when I'm out.

SeaChem Prime is the only tap water treatment you need. I would pick up a bottle of Prime and Maracyn to keep on standby.

[CaitlinAnn]

Update: Its my third day doing 50% water changes. So far today, he seems far more lively. He won't let me "handle" him, that is he won't rest on my hand under the water's surface where I can get a good look at him, whereas when I first asked for help he had no issues being handled. This to me is a good sign. He's swimming well and fairly active and has no problems floating or hanging out on the bottom. His eye even looks slightly better, though I haven't had a good chance to check out his cloaca today.

I'm hopeful and appreciative of all your help. I'll update again in a few days.

Also I'm using the Seachem Prime. Its a great product.

[mpmistr]

Skittish frogs are healthy frogs. Sounds like you're making good progress if the redness is going down. Sadly I am without internet for at least a week because my new house needs line ran for the installation. Ugh.

[CaitlinAnn]

Update:

I'm beginning to feel more confident that Ghost is going to get better and is beating this. I've been closely monitoring his eye and it looks to be healing and his cloaca looks to be healing as well, and is less raw looking. It appears he's shedding a lot, but I wonder if that is part of him trying to kick whatever it is that happened to him.


One thing that confuses me, is his "dirty hands" (nuptial pads) seem to have disappeared. I know Ghost is a he, he sings and he had nuptial pads, but now they're gone. A side effect of the illness and shedding?

Ghost during healthier times with nuptial pads.

[mpmistr]

There's no real pattern to when they have nuptial pads and when they subside. He may just not be 'in the mood' because of the recent issues. Even my females some times have 'dirty hands' from time to time but not to the degree my male does.

So long as the swelling and redness is going away I would not worry.

[Mentat]

Hi Caitlin! Your frog is suffering an infection and needs some help getting over it. Get a bottle of Melafix (natural mild antibiotic) at your pet shop fish area and use it daily following label instructions for a week. Let us know how it goes with it. Do not use any products that provide a "slime coat" since the binders can harm aquatic organisms in the long run. And yes, glad you got rid of the fish and snails; both are a source of pathogens. Good luck !

[CaitlinAnn]

Thank you. I found it very difficult to refrain from treating him, so I'm on my fifth day of treating with maracyn two.

[CaitlinAnn]

Hello..I thought I'd update!

The antibiotics I was giving Ghost were complete a few days ago and I'm back to weekly water changes (vs. daily). Actually last night I did a 50% water change and cleaned the filter a bit. So here's what I've done.

Cleaned out the intake filter and impeller.
Replaced the carbon biobag cartridge and rinsed the black sponge that came with the filter.
Removed a plant that was beginning to rot
Vacuumed up the algae in the gravel and scrubbed the sides of the aquarium

Either this weekend or next week I'm going to grab some more anubias, as they seem to be the best plants for Ghost and this aquarium. Hopefully it will make up for the few I had to throw away and the small ones that are coming a part.

He still does not have his "dirty hands" back and he's not singing yet, but I'm finally positive that he's going to mostly recover if not fully.
His eye is still not healed fully. It looks like his lens is missing and I'm watching to see if he's going to be blind in that eye, but its no longer red and shows signs of healing, as does his cloaca. He's also feistier. Instead of just floating on top, if he hears me walking around he'll torpedo down to the bottom like he used to (something he didn't really do while he was sick).

What I'm worried about is he seems a little lumpy when before he was smoothe and I'm wondering if its not some form of soft bloating. He's actually smaller than he was before this illness began, but his skin is not as smooth as it was and its also more yellow in appearance.

Anyways, here are my update photos.

The tank as it appears now.


Ghost resting on my hand last night. He'll still give "cuddles" like this, but he's no where near as docile as he was. I was also over feeding before he was sick so maybe its just normal weightloss from eating less.

Anyways thanks again you guys!

[Mentat]

Maracyn Two is a good anti-biotic if the bacteria you are dealing with is Gram Negative. If not; it's ineffective. Recommend do a week of daily Melafix treatments to try and get rid of bacteria fully. Yep, that eye appears to have physical damage to it's insides and is probably gone .