# Need help diagnosing African Dwarf Frog!



## kimbooffmarz (Oct 30, 2012)

Hey after endless searching online with no luck I was just wondering if there is anyone on here who can help with a frog problem. I have 2 ADFs in a 1.5 gallon tank (not big enough i know but am upgrading soon!) with a heater that stays around 80 and an aerator just because i had it. I feed them wither frozen bloodworms or pellets on mondays and thursdays and change the water 100% at least every 2 weeks, sometimes with small water changed in between. I saved these little guys from my roommate who had neglected to take care of them and 'got bored'. They have been doing really well but last night one of them was climbing up the side of the tank and hanging half out of the water. Today, she (i think) wouldnt eat a thing and I just noticed a large red growth.. worm kind of thing.. coming out of her back end. Not sure if it's inflammed genitals or something but was hoping someone could help me out and let me know if there is a treatment? Also, wondering if my feeding/water change routine is a good one?

Thanks for the help!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

You need more water changes.


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## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

your bowl is too small

your not changing water often enough

your not feeding them often enough

also not sure if u have any plants or decor in your bowl so they can hide from each other if they are being stressed out at times..


a tank that size with 2 frogs is gonna build up with ammonia fast,you should be doin one 100 percent water change a week and 1 50 percent water change a week. also you probly should feed them 5 nights a week maybe even 6..

you should have them in at least a 5 gallon tank, the rule i have read is 2.5 gallon per frog,they also like lots of places to wedge their bodies under and hide

finally are u using water conditioner to make the tap water safe


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## kimbooffmarz (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know I need a bigger tank I was just given these frogs on the spot and this was all I had. Lookin into a bigger tank very soon! And I will definitely up the feeding and water changes. The people who sold my roommate the frogs told her to feed twice a week and change the water like once a month or something which I knew was way wrong but had trouble finding much info on it and haven't had frogs before. 
I have lots of hiding places for them and they have seemed generally content until this one has become sick. With such frequent feedings do you have a recommendation on the amount to feed them? 
Any idea what the illness may be? The symptoms point to Chytrid fungus but the odd growth has not been named a symptom of that...


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## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

ive no idea what the problems with your frogs are,im only new to keeping the frogs myself,i got 2 of them 2 weeks ago, you should feed them enough so that their bellys have a little buldge in them,if you can place the food in a little dish or cup then that will make it easier for them to get at it,sometimes when i just put bloodworms in loose they end up goin down sinking in between the gravel and the frogs cant get down to it all so it ends up staying down there untill i suck it up with the gravel vaccum during a water change

when you do get your new bowl i will recomend for you to use sand instead of gravel,you can get nice sand from petco or you can use play sand or pool filter sand from home depot,it will be cheaper than petco sand.

you should definately get a 5 gallon minimum or get a 10 gallon if u can afford to and u can put more frogs or fish into it..


im guessing its an ammonia problem with your frog,mayb u should try googling about ammonia affects on the frogs and see if you find much about it


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## kimbooffmarz (Oct 30, 2012)

Yes I'm living in a dorm right now but moving into an apartment in the new year and will be able to get a bigger tank! Will definitely be getting a 10 gallon. 

Sand is a great idea! I feel like feeding would be a billion times easier! When I do purchase some will I need to wash it before using it like with gravel?

Thanks again!


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It could be Chrystid fungus. Yiu should do a 50 percen very other day and 1 100 percent weekly.


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## lakemalawifish (Nov 24, 2012)

Your tank temperature is a bit warm for these guys, I would try in the 75-77 range but drop it gradually over a day or two. The smaller the tank the harder it is to maintain. I am no expert on anything but have learned stuff from other people over the years. I know you plan to get a larger tank and that will help for sure. Try to get at least a 10-20 because you will probably want to add some fish. You will need a HOB filter or in-tank filter. We used in-tank filters with our ADFrogs and it worked well. Since you have a sick frog I would remove the substrate so you can keep the tank cleaner while it heals. Someone mentioned water changes so that 100% of the water is changed in a week's time and that is a good idea. When you get ready to set up the new tank, soft sand is good and our frogs were trained to go to the corner of the tank, where I placed their food on a terracotta flower pot tray (that sits under the pot). Hopefully clean water and careful feeding so there's not any food left sitting in the bottom of the tank, will help your sick one. I never had to medicate our frogs, but I think salt is a no no for them.


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## kimbooffmarz (Oct 30, 2012)

Woke up today and the froggie was dead  all signs point to Chytrid fungus. I have read using a lamisil bath can help, is it likely to help my other frog or is it to late for him?


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## lakemalawifish (Nov 24, 2012)

So sorry to hear, hugs to you. You are doing everything you can and I admire you for taking care of these poor frogs which were not being properly cared for before you got them, and that is probably what caused this illness. I do not know how to answer your question about the Lamisil, never had to medicate our ADFrogs. Is the other frog showing any signs of illness? Is that disease contagious? What causes that disease? Things you need to research so you can decide what to do next. Wish I could be of more help, but first you can look at the other frog for signs of illness like, not eating, hiding all of the time, staying at the top of the tank all of the time (normally they just go up for a quick breath of air), visible signs of sores, etc. If froggie seems ok with all of these things, just having a clean environment may be all it needs, I am scared to use too much medicine unless they really need it, not sure how they will react to it.


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## kimbooffmarz (Oct 30, 2012)

I stumbled upon Chytrid fungus online when my other frog was showing signs if illness just two days ago... It's a disease that can take months to show up and the frog usually has the fungus when you get it from the pet store. Sad and almost always leads to death but there are a few treatments that can reduce the chance of death like the lamisil one. If it is the fungus then my other frog definitely has it and is just a ticking time bomb really...


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## lakemalawifish (Nov 24, 2012)

Good for you to research all of this! Then I would say you do need to medicate the other frog. Thanks for sharing this info with me also, that is how we all learn! Keep an update going, hoping for the best!!


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## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

give your bowl a good clean out,take out the frog leave him in a tub of tank water or some container with the old tank water in it while you scrub the tank out,refill the tank with water add your water conditioner,heat it up to right temperature and then put the frog back in..

id say take out the gravel alltogether like someone else said,in case the old food is rotting under there and causing high amonia.just make sure he has some decoration or fake plant to hide in. for now use a bare bottom tank or try buy a bag of sand,sand is only 3 dollar in home depot for like 20 pounds of play sand. you put enough in a bucket,u swish it around in some water and then drain out the water,repeat this process 3 or 4 times then put the sand into ur empty bowl,then add water slowly and gently..



about your water changes, when you change water are you just pouring cold unconditioned tap water into the tank on top of the frogs?best to fill up a bucket with 2 or 3 gallons of warmish water,try match the temperature as much as u can to 77 degrees,then add your water conditioner,then after a minute or 2 put it into your tank..

id recomend not gettin another frog for this small tank,if your other remaining frog does die too  i would say just go to petco/petsmart and get a betta fish for now,they are hardier than the frogs and when u buy your 10 gallon u can keep the betta in there with 2 or 3 new frogs


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

It also could be ammonia poisoning.


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## lakemalawifish (Nov 24, 2012)

Juicebox said:


> give your bowl a good clean out,take out the frog leave him in a tub of tank water or some container with the old tank water in it while you scrub the tank out,refill the tank with water add your water conditioner,heat it up to right temperature and then put the frog back in..
> 
> id say take out the gravel alltogether like someone else said,in case the old food is rotting under there and causing high amonia.just make sure he has some decoration or fake plant to hide in. for now use a bare bottom tank or try buy a bag of sand,sand is only 3 dollar in home depot for like 20 pounds of play sand. you put enough in a bucket,u swish it around in some water and then drain out the water,repeat this process 3 or 4 times then put the sand into ur empty bowl,then add water slowly and gently..
> 
> ...


Very good advice


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

http://ripariumsupply.com/?wpsc-product=tank-planters-large-planter-2-pack If you want plants in a bare bottom tank this is good.


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## kimbooffmarz (Oct 30, 2012)

When I clean my tank I take everything out and am able to swish the gravel around in hot water so I know it is clean. And I fill the tank with water of the right temperature and use conditioner and if it needs more time to reach normal temperature I leave it for a bit before slowly acclimitizing the frogs to it. I also feed using a baster so i know there is extremely small amounts of food waste if any. And I originally had a betta but he was not in such great health when I got him and died. I am not planning on getting anymore critters until I have a much bigger tank. I think I will try to treat the last frog for Chytrid and see what happens. 
Thank you for the great information. Would you recommend sand for fish as well or is it mostly just used for frogs?


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I use sand in all my tanks. For ADFs I have read they will eat the gravel and die.


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## Juicebox (Oct 24, 2012)

gravel is fine as long as its big enough not to fit into the frogs mouth in case they swallow some, they will die, sand or gravel its up to you,sand is easier to spot clean than gravel i find,it comes down to personal preference. some people hate sand,some love it,i think it looks better than gravel specially if your going to be planting live plants


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

My plants love sand.


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## lakemalawifish (Nov 24, 2012)

With our frogs I used sand because when they go up for air and come back down they hit pretty hard on the bottom and I did not want them to hurt themselves on rocks. Also, when they shed their skin they bounce around a lot and just seems like sand was easier for them. They will eat their skin after it has shed so don't worry. If they don't eat all of it, just net it out. I did not have fish with my frogs so, maybe the fish will eat it, not sure. I think a tank needs to be set up for the best health of what's in it. With frogs they are not great eaters and can find their food easier on sand and will jump and pounce on it. If food particles get stuck in between the rock substrate, they will have a hard time finding and getting to it. Also, you may want to drop the water level in the tank some so they don't have to struggle to get to the top to get air. I had a fake plant near the left corner and the frogs would climb up it, and then take off to the top to get a gulp of air. LOL... we had Scooba Steve and Barnacle Bob, they were so cute to watch. Then we gave both of them to a little girl who we know, she had been wanting frogs for a long time. They are still doing great!


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