Help PLZ Sick African Clawed Frog

[aquariumlover2014]

Hello. I have had african clawed frogs for about a yr now and Dolly my oldest albino froggy has become very ill all of a sudden. I keep all 3 females in a 20 gallon long tank with sand and a big log for them to hide in. Screen cover to keep it from over heating. No light. Filtered. Kept between 70 and 73F .I do a 50% water change a week using amquel for water conditioner and ammonia remover and all numbers are in the normal range.
3 days ago she started by not eating and was very sluggish that evening.(always eats, shes a pig) Usually she kicks off my hand when I touch her feet but I got no response and I noticed she was paler than usual. I decided to do a quick water change thinking might be something in the water. The next day when I woke I found her front arms, legs, butt and back covered in what looks to be like human chicken pox. I know its not but its the best way to describe it. I have seperated her from the others. She still wont eat, is sluggish, very pale and now has some patches by her eye and also has dark circles round her eyes. At first I thought it was red leg so I decided to do some tetracycline and aquarium salt. Also the others look fine. I did treat big tank too for just one night to kill off anything if it was in there and did water change. I do not believe it to be red leg though but its all google tells me when I ask about a rash. PLZ if you know what this is and how to help my baby then I would appreciate it much. I dont wanna lose her. Below is some pictures. Its the best I can do. I didnt wanna stress her out anymore.

[LilyPad]

I'm sorry that your baby is sick I have no experience with african clawed frogs but I did find a site listing common ailments in this species - Disease & Illness - Hopefully either that helps or someone with experience pops in and can give you an idea of what is going on.

I would recommend moving her to a hospital tank away from the other frogs asap though.

[aquariumlover2014]

I'm sorry that your baby is sick I have no experience with african clawed frogs but I did find a site listing common ailments in this species - Disease & Illness - Hopefully either that helps or someone with experience pops in and can give you an idea of what is going on.

I would recommend moving her to a hospital tank away from the other frogs asap though.

Thanks lilypad I have already moved her to a hospital tank well more like a plastic tote. I have also read all there is on diseases and stuff but nothing resembles what I am dealing with here. Thanks a bunch though.

[mpmistr]

Hello. I have had african clawed frogs for about a yr now and Dolly my oldest albino froggy has become very ill all of a sudden. I keep all 3 females in a 20 gallon long tank with sand and a big log for them to hide in. Screen cover to keep it from over heating. No light. Filtered. Kept between 70 and 73F .I do a 50% water change a week using amquel for water conditioner and ammonia remover and all numbers are in the normal range.
3 days ago she started by not eating and was very sluggish that evening.(always eats, shes a pig) Usually she kicks off my hand when I touch her feet but I got no response and I noticed she was paler than usual. I decided to do a quick water change thinking might be something in the water. The next day when I woke I found her front arms, legs, butt and back covered in what looks to be like human chicken pox. I know its not but its the best way to describe it. I have seperated her from the others. She still wont eat, is sluggish, very pale and now has some patches by her eye and also has dark circles round her eyes. At first I thought it was red leg so I decided to do some tetracycline and aquarium salt. Also the others look fine. I did treat big tank too for just one night to kill off anything if it was in there and did water change. I do not believe it to be red leg though but its all google tells me when I ask about a rash. PLZ if you know what this is and how to help my baby then I would appreciate it much. I dont wanna lose her. Below is some pictures. Its the best I can do. I didnt wanna stress her out anymore.

Not sure exactly what is going on here with this frog. I would set up a hospital tank, as you have done and treat this as a bacterial infection. This frogs slime coat has been compromised, far as I can tell. You can use aquarium salt and an anti-bacterial fish medicine to treat this. 20G may be pushing it for 3 large females, they're messy and females are huge.

Can I get the exact numbers on your water chemistry? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH?

[aquariumlover2014]

Not sure exactly what is going on here with this frog. I would set up a hospital tank, as you have done and treat this as a bacterial infection. This frogs slime coat has been compromised, far as I can tell. You can use aquarium salt and an anti-bacterial fish medicine to treat this. 20G may be pushing it for 3 large females, they're messy and females are huge.

Can I get the exact numbers on your water chemistry? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH?

All are 0 and I have been told as long as it is a 20 g long 3 is a safe number

[mpmistr]

Nitrate and pH would not be zero.

[brian c]

well i think i may know whats going on she has what i like to call it....albinos disease its because she has no pigmentation in her skin which makes her very epistle or however you spell that to a sun burn and the owner can for for a week im guessing with out seeing it and there the frog lays getting sicker and sicker if i was you shut off the light and find a new one no matter what do as i say

[mpmistr]

well i think i may know whats going on she has what i like to call it....albinos disease its because she has no pigmentation in her skin which makes her very epistle or however you spell that to a sun burn and the owner can for for a week im guessing with out seeing it and there the frog lays getting sicker and sicker if i was you shut off the light and find a new one no matter what do as i say

I would eat my left shoe if this is not an issue with water quality. Albinos may be sensitive to UVB but clawed frogs should not be given UVB light. Albino ACF might be sensitive to bright light in regards to their vision but clawed frogs have terrible vision.

I have albino ACF and my frog has never gotten lesions or "sun burn", LED/T5/T8 lights cannot do this to frogs.

[brian c]

oh..well this is embarrassing normally im always right when it comes to frogs man im gonna do more research on this

[DigitalPunk]

Brian, again you have been all over the forum asking endless question about frogs claiming to know nothing and then here you are giving someone advice like you know for certain what to do. Please feel free to give advice, but please be sure you know what you are talking about. These frogs are peoples pets, friends, and family. It is not OK to go around tossing out advise and claiming it is 100% accurate unless you actually know what you are talking about. My guess is you googled the symptoms and then posted the treatment for the top result you found.

Please please please just stop. I want you to get frogs and love them and learn about them, but don't try to lie about what you know. You already admitted to lying on this forum once already.



Aquariumlover - I am so sorry that your frog is sick. I really think Michael can help you. Please let us know the water chem numbers when you get a chance. I would be interested to see Michael eat his left shoe if it did come down to that

[aquariumlover2014]

Nitrate and pH would not be zero.

My apologies. I did say above all my numbers are in normal range so ppl wouldnt ask about them but I guess it didnt work. Ammonia 0, nitrates 10ppm, phosphate 0, ph 7.2. She is looking better today. Spots got more red but there is not as much. I have been stressed with her cause I am scared therefore I tend to get a bit grumpy. If I am missing any numbers you need just ask. These are the only ones I test for. However if something was wrong with the water wouldnt my other 2 be doing it too?

[aquariumlover2014]

This has NOTHING to do with light. I have 2 others that are just fine and I dont use light.. EVER!!! I wish ppl would read above cause I answer that too along with anything else ppl need to know

[LilyPad]

My apologies. I did say above all my numbers are in normal range so ppl wouldnt ask about them but I guess it didnt work. Ammonia 0, nitrates 10ppm, phosphate 0, ph 7.2

They asked because exact numbers are much more helpful in figuring out the issue than "in normal range." Normal and optimal are not always the same thing.

[mpmistr]

My apologies. I did say above all my numbers are in normal range so ppl wouldnt ask about them but I guess it didnt work. Ammonia 0, nitrates 10ppm, phosphate 0, ph 7.2. She is looking better today. Spots got more red but there is not as much. I have been stressed with her cause I am scared therefore I tend to get a bit grumpy. If I am missing any numbers you need just ask. These are the only ones I test for. However if something was wrong with the water wouldnt my other 2 be doing it too?

I only ask exact numbers because it will help me determine what may have caused this to happen.

Ammonia at 0 is good, Nitrate at 10ppm is good, you are missing Nitrite though. Keep in mind Nitrite is actually more toxic than Ammonia, so it's a good thing to check for. Now if you have Nitrates present you probably do not have any Nitrites, but since we have a sick frog here, I would test it. Your pH is fairly neutral, I suppose a pH swing could cause issues, is your pH usually around 7?

If you have one frog that is stressed and has a bacterial infection, the others don't necessarily have to have the same infliction. Let's say you took 10 goldfish home and threw them in to a 10 gallon tank, which of course is completely unacceptable, well 8 out of the 10 goldfish die, but two are strong enough to survive. Does it mean nothing was wrong? This frog simply is succumbing to an environmental issue and the other two are strong enough to ward it off. Could it spread? Yes, so I would quarantine this frog and allow him to heal. I would then work on finding out what in his environment caused this to happen. Typically with ACF, it's water conditions.

The good news is ACF are extremely tough, they typically do heal up if their conditions are good. I am still unsure what has gone wrong in your ACF tank though, did you replace your filter media? It could have been a mini-cycle and an ammonia spike. Could have any weird chemicals gotten in to the tank? Basically if these frogs lose their slime coat they are open to any number of infections, it's their armor against that sort of stuff and the reason they are so hardy.

[aquariumlover2014]

They asked because exact numbers are much more helpful in figuring out the issue than "in normal range." Normal and optimal are not always the same thing.

Oh i understand completely.. just get irritated when something is wrong and it could be all these things... I am beginning to believe something is off with my numbers.. cause just realized there is a white foam at the top of the tank.. That usually means numbers are off correct? But why wouldthe test kit give me normal range numbers.. im so confused.

[aquariumlover2014]

I only ask exact numbers because it will help me determine what may have caused this to happen.

Ammonia at 0 is good, Nitrate at 10ppm is good, you are missing Nitrite though. Keep in mind Nitrite is actually more toxic than Ammonia, so it's a good thing to check for. Now if you have Nitrates present you probably do not have any Nitrites, but since we have a sick frog here, I would test it. Your pH is fairly neutral, I suppose a pH swing could cause issues, is your pH usually around 7?

If you have one frog that is stressed and has a bacterial infection, the others don't necessarily have to have the same infliction. Let's say you took 10 goldfish home and threw them in to a 10 gallon tank, which of course is completely unacceptable, well 8 out of the 10 goldfish die, but two are strong enough to survive. Does it mean nothing was wrong? This frog simply is succumbing to an environmental issue and the other two are strong enough to ward it off. Could it spread? Yes, so I would quarantine this frog and allow him to heal. I would then work on finding out what in his environment caused this to happen. Typically with ACF, it's water conditions.

The good news is ACF are extremely tough, they typically do heal up if their conditions are good. I am still unsure what has gone wrong in your ACF tank though, did you replace your filter media? It could have been a mini-cycle and an ammonia spike. Could have any weird chemicals gotten in to the tank? Basically if these frogs lose their slime coat they are open to any number of infections, it's their armor against that sort of stuff and the reason they are so hardy.

Nitrites are 0 as well.. But I have a foam at the top of my tank now wich makes me think something is horribly wrong.. Maybe I am reading wrong with the kit.. I have had these tanks established for a yr now and shouldnt be having any issues all of a sudden. The kit I use is the tube kit by API. Never had problems before. No weird chemicals that i know of. I dont use pesticides or anything accept air fresheners in bathroom and kitchen. But i dont believe it would affect them since they are in the living room. Is there a way to help replace her slime coat. She is shedding finally now. I know thats a good thing.

[spotfin]

Are there any children in your home that may have dumped something in the tank? The foam sounds suspect.

[aquariumlover2014]

Are there any children in your home that may have dumped something in the tank? The foam sounds suspect.

I do have children but they are old enough to know better and are very upset shes in this condition. I do know hwo the little ones can be sometimes but mine are too old for that. Good suggestion though

[brian c]

hey yo digital punk yeah i should stick to my specialty all the frogs i have were given to me to look after for summer break im gonna stick to what i know best fish but hopefully when im ready to get my first real frog thats my own a pacman im gonna be back and i am still gonna read up on them but until i get him bye bye i will miss yall cuz this was a nice site but i will be back just remember that

[Lija]

Brian, i'm with Paul on that, advising on something you have limited knowledge about may be very dangerous, some things require years of experience and still every single day you are finding something new. In exotic veterinary medicine even slightly wrong dosage or treatment protocol might end up very badly and it is very important to collect all history and to get as close as possible to correct diagnosis and therefore treatment. Talking of which, i just realized, i have never treated an aquatic frog hm... Lots to learn! But from fish tanks experience and my gut feeling - would it be wise to change water completely and to place each frog separately in quarantine with melafix and see how it will go instead of trying to figure out what is wrong with water? Just a though.