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 #2077129


Bookman
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 ADFs keep dying

Over the past 6 months my wife and I have purchased 6 African Dwarf Frogs. All have died! The first 2 lived about 2 months. One of them developed a white fungus on one of its legs. We tried everything to save it but it died. About a week later, the other one stopped eating, began constantly swimming up and down, back and fourth in the tank day and night for 2 or 3 days. Its clear bright eyes became discolored as did its dark body. Then, it would just float and sink, float and sink, then, it too died. The first 6 were in a 46 gallon docile community fish tank. I have had aquariums for 20 years and pretty much know what I’m doing. I always test my water and it always balanced correctly. I even brought in a sample twice to have it tested and they too, found the water quality excellent.
I consulted with a number of knowledgeable people; one is a wildlife biologist who as a child had African Dwarf Frogs. He was stumped also. He thought it might possibly be from the blood worms I was feeding them. He said the blood worms may have air inside and since the frogs cannot pass gas or burp, they might have trapped gas which in turn could cause some type of gastrointestinal problems. So, I quit feeding them blood worms and went to frozen brine shrimp, frozen beef hearts and HBH frog and tadpole bites. The frogs would have voracious appetite for about a week and a half and then the same cycle would start all over again (see paragraph 1 in bold). Totally bewildered and frustrated I spoke with some one else. This person thought that our large Candy Stripe algae eater was coming out at night and sucking the slime right off of the frogs since frogs are the number food for cat fish in the wild.
Of course, I was completely shocked. But it also seemed logical. He also said it was possible that our other catfish (Cory’s) may be accidently sticking them, but that was probably not the case (I too considered that factor but dismissed it). He was almost certain it was the algae eater. So not wanting to get rid our catfish, I bought a smaller tank for frogs only. And guess what? Yup, they still kept on dying in the same manner mentioned above. This just breaks our hearts because we love the little guys so much and it’s very distressing to sit back and watch them die a slow death.
Needless to say, we’re at wits end! When one of the frogs died we would wait a few days and buy another one because we did not want the surviving one to be alone. But as I stated, they just keep on dying. Is it possible that one of the original frogs developed some kind of internal disease and passed it on to the others? Right now our smaller frog tank sits empty. We want to get some more of these little guys but not until I know what in the heck is going on. So , if any one has any idea what the problem might be please help, if not could somebody point me in the right direction? Thanks!

GCW



09/27/09  10:31am

 #2077321


Sh0e
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   Message To: Bookman   In reference to Message Id: 2077129


 ADFs keep dying

Interesting case. I wonder if they could have become infected with chyrid fungus. I haven’t heard of cases involving aquatic frogs, but it is entirely possible. Biggest question I have is, have all the frogs come from the same location? ADF’s are best kept in a species only tank, and while you have set up a seperate tank now, I would probably tear it down, nuke it with bleach and maybe even a lamasil treatment just in the event it is chyrid. Then cycle it again and start over. If you are getting them from the same store I would look for another venue. Our forums are down right now, but there are people with some ADF experience over at talkto.thefrog.org. We’ll be back up on Tuesday. The problem with ADF’s is there’s not a wealth of research or experience done with them, they are typically overlooked. What sort of water parameters were you using? What kind of lid, lighting, and plants?
09/27/09  06:11pm

 #2077673


Bookman
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   Message To: Sh0e   In reference to Message Id: 2077321


 ADFs keep dying

Thanks for the info. We bought the first 7 or 8 frogs from the same place. I thought it may have been a problem with the breeder but not so because the rest we bought from 2 different stores. I’ll check into the advice you gave me. In the meantime, keep me posted if you come across any other info. thanks again.



09/28/09  12:30pm

 #2077910


Sh0e
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   Message To: Bookman   In reference to Message Id: 2077673


 ADFs keep dying

Were all stores in the same area? They could very well be from the same breeder. There could be a common factor that’s undectable to you too, something in your tap water, air freshener or perfume that gets into the tank, the frogs could be old. Most of them are wild caught individuals and arrive sick and weak. Still, that wouldn’t explain for your complete mortality rate, unless you were born under a crappy star or something.



09/28/09  07:45pm

 #2078153


Bookman
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   Message To: Sh0e   In reference to Message Id: 2077910


 ADFs keep dying

All were bought in 3 different cities in the metro aera where I live. Pet Smart, Petco and a privately owned aquatic store that deals strictly in marine life. All frogs came from different breeders. As I said, the water always tested good and contained no contaminations. As far as your last statement, who knows?



09/29/09  09:38am

 #2078447


Sh0e
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   Message To: Bookman   In reference to Message Id: 2078153


 ADFs keep dying

Our site is back up, I’d pop over there and ask there. Discoloration of the eyes still sounds like a bacterial of fungal infection to me. See what others think, there’s not many frog people that frequent this site.

talkto.thefrog.org
09/29/09  09:17pm


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