FAQs About Amphibians in General 1

FAQs About Amphibians in General 1

An Albino Xenopus actually not eating anything!

Frog Problems 8/2/05 Hope You can help us we are trying to start a African dwarf frog tank, with no luck. we have a small 5 gallon acrylic bow front tank with a corner bubbler type canister filter, all the water conditions are fine i.e. ammonia, nitrates, ph.... it is NOT heated , the water stays around 72 degrees, the tank has been running for about a month ,MT, we have tried twice to add frogs (4 young about 1 inch each time) but both times they all died with in a week or two. We are feeding them HBH frog and tadpole bites. We have no problems with our other 3 tanks (thanks to your GREAT help) , 55 Gallon Cichlids tank , 30 gallon GSP tank (soon to upgrade) and a 25 gallon community tank. We have read your forums and seen to have the tank set up right, Caves to hide in, Low water movement, i.e. the canister filter, broad leaf plastic plants (no live plants) HELP why are we always committing Frogicide? Thank You, Mike < Many frogs are held at wholesalers and retail stores and never seem to get enough to eat. If would recommend that you get a few frogs and feed them Calif. black worms. Just throw them in the tank and the frogs will find them and fatten up. Once they are eating then you will be on your way.-Chuck> Frogs hopping mad about ammonia 7/30/05 I currently have a twenty-nine gallon tank with three African clawed frogs. I keep about twenty-five gallons so they don't jump out. <Good idea> My problem is my ammonia is through the roof. <Toxic...> I switched to a canister filter about a month ago. It is keeping the water remarkably clear. I have in the media baskets the foam filters, pre filter (inert ceramic rings,) a carbon bag, an ammonia remover bag, and the media growing rings. I had been doing one third water changes every week, now I am doing two thirds. I am also switching the media every two weeks. <Shouldn't switch...> Two of the four sponges, carbon, and ammonia. I am staggering these out, so I don't disturb the beneficial bacteria. I expected an ammonia spike with the initial set up (the tank is about six weeks old,) but it seems I can't stabilize the tank. When I had a hang on the tank filter, my ammonia was close to nil. <Should have left the hang-on on during this transition to the canister... or used both even better> Granted the water was nasty (ACF's are pretty gross little beasts,) but I didn't have this problem at the time. I have no live plants in the tank and I have about twenty-five pounds of sand. I am currently using ammo-lock to make sure my frogs aren't harmed. I have also monitored their eating habits and they are eating what I feed them. There is very little food left after they eat. The frogs don't seem to be suffering any ill effects at all. The ghost shrimp that I put in (as a snack and to help clean are literality jumping out of the tank when I put them in. Any suggestions for me? <Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwestcycling.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Rubber eel community tank 7/23/05 Hello. I am soon to inherit a 55-gal freshwater live-plant tank that has been *very* well maintained. The owner doesn't have time to maintain it and is giving it to me - replete with all the accoutrements. I plan to keep the tank a live-plant tank, but I also wanted to have fish and form a community tank with the main participant being rubber eels. <Mmm, this amphibian is not that easy to keep...> Because rubber eels are bottom-dwellers, I wanted another semi-active fish for the midsection of the tank, as well as a couple of good algae eaters (Siamese algae eaters?). <Mmm, no... too "mean"... would look elsewhere> Are rubber eels capable of living in a community environment? <Most folks keep them by themselves, but they can be kept with very docile fishes> If so, what sorts of fish would make a complimentary community? <Please read through the freshwater subweb on WWM re> If not, what advice can you provide regarding the support of rubber eels? <Mmm, try putting the terms: The Rubber Eel, Typhlonectes natans in your search tools. Bob Fenner> Any help/input you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Elisa "George" Berg

Frog with cloudy eye 7/7/05 Hello, I have been gone for a couple of weeks and have had a friend caring for my fish and other pets, but today when I returned home I discovered that one of my African dwarf frog's eyes were clouded over, I'm not sure what I should do about this and would greatly appreciate your opinion. Thanks. <Check your water quality, change some water... make sure it is feeding and all should be well in time. Bob Fenner>

Re: frog w/ clouded eyes 7/13/05 Hi Bob, you were the one who responded last time so I'm writing to you by nam , plus it feels better to write to someone in particular. Any way, My African dwarf frog's eyes have not cleared up yet and he is spending all day at the very corner of the tank. His skin is looking very odd as well. I put him in an isolation tank away from all of my other fish. Also I tested the water and it was fine. PH. a little high but that's it. what do you think is wrong? Any suggestions? Angy <Yes... I'd administer 250 mg. per ten gallons of system water with a mix of Sulfa drugs... "Triple Sulfa" if you can find it. Bob Fenner>

Can a tadpole frog live with tropical freshwater fish? 07/02/05 Today, my sons came home with a tadpole frog they found. I agreed they can keep it and watch it grow, but it needs somewhere safe to live where our cats won't bother it. Our choices are: (1) he can join a 10-gal freshwater aquarium with a tiger barb, a Plecostomus, and a couple of plants. Can the tadpole live in the aquarium with the fish? <Mmm, maybe... but I'd just keep this amphibian in a large jar of its own... with a sprig of truly aquatic plant and sponge filter if you can> The temp is around 78 degrees, which I think is OK according to my internet reading. I'm more worried if the barb will bother the tadpole or vice versa. <Me too> The tadpole is much bigger than the barb. (2) he can join a 20 gal aquarium with two red-ear slider turtles, but they are much bigger than the tadpole, and I would be afraid they would eat him. Do either of these situations sound like they might work for the tadpole? <Not really... but if you were really short of space, another possibility is to float a plastic jar with holes in it, or a colander in the turtle tank (if it lacks much in the way of nitrogenous waste like ammonia...)> I don't want my sons' learning experience to be that animals eat each other, and I really don't feel like buying more aquariums. Besides the 2 mentioned, we have another 3 tanks that are full of gerbils. We have a plastic "planet frog" that worked for a tadpole in the past, until the cats found they could push the darn thing around and they broke the plastic lid. Thanks for your help! <I'd go with a one gallon jar... and change the water out from the tropical tank... every day or two... big enough that the cats shouldn't be able to knock it about. Bob Fenner>

Re: can a tadpole frog live with tropical freshwater fish? 7/4/05 Thanks so much for your reply. The tadpole is currently in it's own glass bowl with a lid so the cats can't get him & I think the boys have decided they will return him to the lake. <Ah, good> If we keep him longer, I'm wondering about your suggestion to change the water out from the tropical tank every day or two. Does this mean the tadpole's water should come from the tropical tank? Thanks! <Yes... this water is far more safe for use than treated tapwater. Bob Fenner>

Rana pipiens-Leopard frog We have an aquarium/Planet frog habitat with 2 tadpoles. One is growing normally but the other seems to have stopped and became pale. It also lies on its side. I thought it was dead but it swam a little. Sometimes it chases its tail. I'm not sure what to do if anything. It has been about 2 weeks since it looked healthy. The other continues to grow normally. Lauren banks Lauren >> This is common in many frogs. Tadpoles of some species release growth inhibiting hormones to stop other tadpoles from growing. Try separating the weaker one to see if he will pick up growing again. Good Luck, Oliver

Frozen blood worms for my newt??? hi!!!! ok I have just recently gotten a newt.( I think an Oregon newt) I read that they eat live worms and beta fish. the place I bought my newt however, said that I can feed them frozen blood worms. is that alright? what else do you suggest??? thank you very much? also one more little question... do you know anything about house geckos??? if you do when is it alright for me to start feeding my baby gecko crickets? right now I am feeding it flightless fruit flies... >> Your newt can be fed with frozen blood worm, he may also it other frozen foods such as brine shrimp and Mysis. Your gecko should be ready to start eating small crickets soon. Try it with half sized or quarter sized crickets, the only way to find out is try it! good luck, Oliver Frogs with Salt Hello, you're website has been a great help to me in many regards. I have one question that I haven't found an answer for yet. I have 2 African dwarf frogs in a 29 gallon tank along with some mollies, guppies, platies and some neon tetras. My water levels are all good. I have read that ADF's can handle some aquarium salt in the water but not much, but can't seem to find any specifics on exactly how much salt per gallon they can tolerate. Would you happen to know how much salt per gallon is acceptable for ADF's? Thanks. <Frogs really don't like any salt at all in their water. Frogs breath through their skin. There is a point in which salt will actually outright kill your frog and then there is a little amount that will weaken your frog and he will die from a disease before the salt actually kills him. I would try to limit the salt. I know your livebearers love it but the neons and frog really doesn't. Start at a teaspoon per 10 gallons and what the reaction from your fish and frog. While the livebearers may thrive the others may come down with other problems down the road.-Chuck>

Albino Frog Problem Our frog was eating normally one night and all of a sudden it basically spazzed out. I don't know how to describe it. After that it fell to the bottom where I thought it died. I went to scoop it up and it very slowly crawled so I left it. I thought it was going to die but when I went back to it later it was still alive. It remained this way for about a week. It gradually started to move about but could not swim without spinning around uncontrollable. About a week later it became all bloated and it's eyes were really red and bulging. I thought for sure it had died, but it was still alive. About a week later it was back to normal size and looking for food on the bottom. It can now control itself on the bottom but it cannot swim at all. When it tries to swim it just spins around uncontrollable. It now has a bruise on it's right side and it's veins are protruding also it's sides are starting to sink in. I don't think it is eating because my goldfish eat the food before it gets to the bottom and it does not like shrimp pellets. I put it in a separate bowl to eat but it won't. I also forgot to mention that when this happened it is lopsided to the left it cannot sit or float normally anymore. I took it to my pet store and he said in all his thirty years he has never seen this. I also called Drs.Foster&Smith and they could not help me and sent me on to you. It is almost like it had a seizer or stroke is this possible? I would greatly appreciate your constructive comments. Thanks, Erica < Not much literature is available on frog diseases in captivity. External problems can be somewhat figured out but internal problems are a whole different story. If the frog were mine, I would treat it with Metronidazole. It is effective on internal bacterial infections on fish so it is worth a try. If the frog starts eating again I would give him some black worms or small washed earthworms to build up his strength. Frogs are pretty tough little creatures, Hopefully he didn't eat something like a piece of gravel that may stay lodged in his gut.-Chuck>

Newt Problems One of my newts bit off three legs of a smaller one. Now it looks as if the legs are "shedding" or like they have a fungus. I keep cleaning out the tank to make sure the water is clean but am not sure what to do for the poor thing. It has now been a week since this happened and I am afraid the poor thin will die. I have since removed the other newt. Can someone help me to help this little creature or is he destined to die? Theresa < The legs will grow back if they do not fungus. I would get a Dr. Turtle block by Zoomed and place it in the water. Take a wet cotton ball and wipe down the fungus off the legs.-Chuck> Frog's Not Hopping Hello, I've just been on you're very useful website and I know I'm probably clutching at straws here but I was wondering if you can help... My Whites Tree Frog 'Bud' has been sick for some time now. He is eating willingly, with a little help from me holding his food. He lost a lot of weight, and it was at the point that I feared he would not make it. Hence the first trip to the vets... Yet 6 months later he is still here, has gained a lot of weight, and is now as I would describe of 'average weight'. But it does not end here. He seems to be having difficulty controlling his limbs. He struggles to move around the tank freely, and when picked up he goes into a (excuse the description!) 'Starfish' position, legs splayed and toes curled. (If a photo would help I could forward one) He also seems to dry out a little, even though the humidity is high and I spray the tank thoroughly daily. I have spoken to the vets and they cannot explain it. They assure me that if it was anything contagious/wrong with the habitat/a deficiency, my other frog 'Weiser' would almost definitely have shown symptoms by now. After the first trip to the vets I considered isolating him, but took into account what the vet had said and decided not to. I feel they would both get unduly stressed as they are a breeding pair. They both live in a large 2ft square, 1/4 water, 3/4 land tank. In the water side they have a large waterfall & pump (to aid humidity). All water used in the tank is treated with 'Exo Terra, Aquatize for amphibians'. In the land side the substrate is large orchid bark chippings, covered in live moss. The tank is always kept clean. I also use pebbles, artificial plants, and corkscrew vines for decoration. The lighting is partly natural and partly artificial, I also have a heat mat at the rear of the tank and the temperature is correct. I treat the live food once a week with 'Nutrabol' vitamin supplement, and vary the diet with crickets & mealworms. (any other information needed I am happy to forward). <</DIV> I have searched the net, read books, and asked vets; but cannot find anything sounding like the symptoms he displays. I am not overly worried as he does not appear to be suffering, and is happily eating. I would just like him to get back to being his old lively self! If you cant help then not to worry, I just thought I'd try! Many Thanks < Go to Allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/whites.html. There is lots of good info about frog problems. Especially check out the frog doctor. There are a number of things discussed that could be helpful.-Chuck>

Bloated Newt 3.28.05 Chinese Fire Belly Newt is extremely bloated. Any suggestions or ideas on possible causes? <I'd be willing to bet the bloating is related to the newts diet or something else that it has ingested. I would try varying the diet (I am not sure on what all a fire belly newt will eat) any roughage would be a plus, worms, avoid dry pelleted foods for a while. There is also the possibility that it ingested something foreign like a piece of gravel or other substrate which caused a gut impaction. Gage>

Firebelly Toads 3.28.05 Alright, I'm sorry if my improper punctuation bothers you. <((((Âº> Anyway, my dad thinks I should get a little fish to live in my firebelly toad's pond. But I'm worried that the firebellies might eat the fish or poison it with their skin toxins, and the fish food might poison the toads. Is it okay to get such a fish? And if it is, what species would be most appropriate? <I'd leave the fish out of this setup, in my experience firebellies will try to eat just about anything that wiggles. I doubt eating the fish would harm the toad but it would not be very fun for the fish. The fish and fish food will also foul the toads water faster which means more work for you cleaning the pond. Best Regards, Gage >

Bloated firebelly newt Follow-up Thanks for the information. Any cures for gut impaction other than hoping nature take its course?

FAT TOAD - Time to Start Using Capitalization! Hi. I know I'm concerned with Jeff most of the time, but there are a lot of questions I have. Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Jeff is kind of fat. How do I safely slim him down? < The key is to make him work harder for less food. Just like we are told to eat less and exercise. Feed the tank smaller crickets a few times a day instead of dumping in a whole mess all at once. Toss in a couple small crickets before school and a couple when you get home from school. Any that make it through the day will come out a night when Jeff is out and about.-Chuck> <It is at this point that I will admonish you for continually sending in emails without using any capitalization whatsoever. While we are happy to answer your questions, we are not happy to retype your queries. Marina>

DEAD FROG I recently purchased two of the above and have them in a ten gallon tank with algae eaters, a black molly and they all seemed to be cohabitating well. One of the albino frogs was exhibiting rather odd behavior by spinning around in circles like it was possessed and then would proceed to flop to the bottom of the tank and just lay there. My room-mate and I watched this behavior for a few days thinking it was odd but also thinking maybe it was just having fun. I went out of town for two days and when I came home my roomie told me one of the frogs had died.......can you give me any insight to what may have happened? They get a steady diet of frozen blood worms and like I said, all my habitants of this tank seem to be fine. Perplexed! < I don't think it is anything in particular that caused his death or else both of the frogs would be dead. I will assume that one of the new frogs tried to eat something in the tank that it couldn't digest and eventually died from intestinal blockage. That would explain the weird behavior for the few days before it died.-Chuck>

Frog with cloudy Eye 3/22/05 Hi - <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have an Asian Bull Frog (Chubby Frog) and his right eye has a cloudy discoloration over it. Do you have any idea what might be causing this? He seems totally healthy otherwise but I'm concerned as to what could be wrong. <Generally, this is caused by poor water quality/dirty tank. Make sure to be meticulous with the cleaning of the tank & changing of his water. You can buy a product called Melafix, in the aquarium fish med isle. You can get a dropper & drop 1 drop in each eye/day, until it clears up. ~PP>

African Dwarf Frog, Invert??? I have a flame dwarf Gourami in a 20 gallon tank with an African dwarf frog. My flame dwarf Gourami has come down with some major abdominal bloating and I was told to use the APPLUS anti-bacterial solution to relieve the bloating. However on the bottle of the anti-bacterial solution it says warning, do not use with inverts. I've looked all over the web trying to find out whether my frog is an invert or not, but have received no info. PLEASE can you tell me: is my African dwarf frog an invert??? <Oh... frogs are amphibians... are vertebrates, not invertebrates (along with reptiles, birds, mammals... and fishes!). Bob Fenner>

Black Lighted Frogs Okay thanks. I thought it would be something like that. He does scuba dive near the filter ( it just so happens the filter is near the heater too ). But I have yet another question for you. One night, I turned all the lights out in my room and I put a 15 watt tube black light above the firebelly toad's tank to simulate night. I came back perhaps 1-2 hours later, turned the light back on, and looked in the tank. Jeff was scuba diving, Fred was on the log, and Bob and Joe were some other place. To my surprise, their skins were brownish-black ( even Jeff's, and he was underwater ) instead of green! After a while their skins turned green again. I think it was the ultraviolet light in the black light that did this, but is it safe to do it again ( and will their skin turn green again every time )? < Black lights do some amazing things to some animals. Never heard of any ill affects from black lights. Humans are exposed to them all the time but we are not frogs. Try using a ZooMed nightlight reptile bulb instead just to play it safe.-Chuck>

FAT AND LAZY TOAD Hey it's me again! I'm sure you heard about Jeff, my scuba diving firebelly toad. Well, he hasn't been as active as all my other toads are, and I'm just concerned. I dust the crickets I feed them with Herpcare cricket dust so he is definitely getting the proper amount of energy. He just sits under the log hut I have in my tank most of the day. How do I get him to be more active? < Assuming he is healthy, then I would do a big water change and maybe rearrange the landscaping a little bit. If he is just fat and content from eating, then I would feed smaller crickets so he has to work harder to get the same amount of food. In the wild they probably have to work a lot harder to get the same amount of nutrition.-Chuck>

Scuba Diving Frog Hi its me again and in the reply you sent me you didn't say anything about Jeff , "scuba diving", but that's ok because it would be kinda hard to find stuff about that. Anyway thanks for the advice about the tree frogs I'm not sure I'm gonna get them now because I would have no place to put them. < It is normal for fire belly toads to dive under water for periods of time. The area he hangs out may be near a heater, the outlet of a filter or where some food can be found.-Chuck>

Mixing it UP in My Cauldron - Herp Question Hi there! I was wondering if it was ok to mix Australian white tree frogs with firebelly toads because I might get some once I get the $$. And one more thing: one of my firebelly toads ( Jeff ) seems to like to go scuba diving occasionally. He goes underwater in the deepest, most secluded part of the tank, looking kind of dead ( which he isn't because he swam to the surface after a while). he has done this three times already. Is this normal and why does he do it? < White tree frogs are very arboreal and are usually found at the upper levels of the terrarium. Fire belly toads are very aquatic and usually don't do too much climbing. If the tree frogs try and eat the toads then there could be problems because the toads are somewhat toxic and I am not sure of the effect on the frogs. To be safe it would probably be better to keep them separate. You fire belly toads usually can swim all over an aquarium but they really need a place to get out of the water.-Chuck>

Aquatic Frog compatibility I want a aquatic frog but, will it bother my mollies and algae eater? Love Ellie <Your algae eater might actually bother it. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/amphibfaqs.htm Bob Fenner>

Belly o' Fire, Toe of Newt! Is it ok to keep [a] fire belly newt in my tropical fish tank with my fish and frogs? Thanks. < Fire-belly newts are mostly aquatic but do benefit from an area to get out of water for a short time. It could be some floating plants or a turtle raft. As long as the fish don't physically eat the newt or pick on him he should be fine. The main problem will be getting food down to him where he can eat it. Try earthworms or mealworms. Commercial aquatic turtle food is good too if he will eat it.-Chuck>

SICK FROG I read some other emails about their albino frog shredding its skin and that being normal. However, I had an old catfish recently die and as it was dying, the whiskers (not sure what they are called) began to shred away to almost nothing and it had red sores in its mouth. It was an old fish so I didn't think much of it, I just thought it was from age. After, my albino frog began to shed about 4 layers of skin and now a few of its front legs' claws have deteriorated and some claws are red on the end. I don't think this is normal shredding, but I am not sure because it is my first pet frog. Please help me. < You have a bacterial infection that began with you catfish and is now affecting your frog. Change 30 to 50% of the water and clean the filter. Vacuum the gravel to remove and sediment that has occurred there. The clean water should greatly help. Now if it gets worse then we need to try some antibiotics and I am not real sure which one would be appropriate. Look online at red legged frog diseases and see what others have been using. To be safe you could always ask a vet but many are not to familiar with frog diseases. If you need to try something ASAP to save its life then I would try Nitrofuranace. It works well on fish but frogs breath through their skin. If your frog starts to show any kind of reaction then get him out of the water immediately. Then try another medication like Maracyn but this is only a guess. I know these medications will work on the bacteria, I am just not familiar enough with frogs to know if they will have any adverse reactions to the antibiotics.-Chuck>

Albino African clawed frog I have searched for an answer and have not found one. Can you please help? I recently received an Albino African clawed frog. The owner's were moving and were not taking him. Anyhow, he is in a small 10 gallon tank with a pleco. My question is can I take him out and put him in my 75 gallon cichlid (mostly African) tank? The smallest fish would be my Mbuna. The largest would be my green terror. Thanks for your help. < Your newly acquired African frog would turn into a mobile banquet block for your cichlids. Even though your cichlids may not be able to eat it entirely they would be able to take chunks out of its flesh and eat the limbs that eventually would become infected. Not good for the frog. If the frog died then it would breakdown and pollute the tank which is not good for the fish.-Chuck>

Why is my African frog losing its skin? <Mmm, they do shed their skin quite a bit... if yours is eating, otherwise well, I would not be concerned. Do take care if you intend to add other life with it, and beware of adding chemicals to its water. Bob Fenner>

Dead Frog Scam? - 02/10/2005 Hi I just bought 2 African Dwarf Frogs today. When I bought them, they were floating at the top of the tank and not doing much moving at all (if at all). I asked the worker at the store and he said that that's just what they do. <Though they ARE somewhat sedate animals, I have never seen them too terribly inactive at stores.... Usually they're milling about at least somewhat.> On the ride home, they didn't move in the bag. When I got home, I emptied the bag into the water after letting it sit for a while and they simply floated to the bottom of the tank and didn't move. <Not at all a good sign.> Eventually, one floated (not swam, floated) to the top with his nose near the surface and didn't move at all. The other simply stayed on the bottom on his back. <Yeah, that's not at all normal.> After about an hour of not moving, I took both frogs out of the water (I have other fish and if the frogs are sick I don't want to get the fish sick) <I'm not sure many diseases can transfer from amphibians to fish - but if they were to die in the tank, it could severely foul your water and cause problems for the fish that way.> and put them into other containers. <Any response when they were removed from the water? Also, what were the temperature(s) of all of these tanks/containers? Any idea of water parameters, including at the store?> They both stayed in the exact same position, one with his nose near the top, the other on his back. I gently poked both and they appeared to move slightly (when I first placed them in the tank) but other than this I have seen no movement. Is it likely that I was sold dead frogs? <Well, it certainly doesn't sound too good. I would absolutely consider returning them to the store - if they're not dead, they're almost surely very unhealthy. Also, do keep in mind that cold temperatures can be harmful to the frogs - if the tank water is very cold, it would cause them to be quite inactive.... Definitely try to find a store that has more active froggies for you to look at, and do a bit of research as to their needs before you purchase more; it sounds to me like the store you visited might not know much (if anything) about them. Wishing you well, -Sabrina>

Frogs and Bala sharks I recently began a small semi aggressive community of fish and aquatic frogs (2). After about 2 months, I am experiencing some problems with my tank. The frogs are faring just fine, but I am having problems keeping a Bala shark alive. I have gone through two now. The only other fish in the 2.5gallon tank is a Betta fish and he seemed to get along fine with the balas. I am aware that stress from the 2 albino African clawed frogs could have caused the shark's demise, but I am believe it had something to do with the water quality. It has become cloudy and foamy. I used spring water that I treated before I put the fish in and I clean the tank monthly, using Aquasafe as a water conditioner. Recently, the water took on a pungent, stale odor and became cloudy. I tried cleaning the tank and the cloudiness continued. A few days later, the surface of the water started frothing (or foaming) in front of the filter and circulating around the tank. My first question is: what causes this foaming and what can I do to alleviate it before it kills another of my fish? The 2nd Bala died yesterday 2 days after the foam started and the first one died almost immediately after purchase. The second question is: Is it wrong to keep those three species together? Was the stress level too high for the Bala? My third question is: Even though these are small fish in a small tank with a filter, do I need a larger tank or perhaps an aerator? Thank you for any assistance you can provide. Sincerely, Lauren >>>Hi Lauren, A few things. First it is generally not wise to keep herps and fish in the same system unless it's properly designed to accommodate them. Especially in such a small system. Second, what kind of filter do you have? When you say you clean the tank monthly, what exactly do you mean? Do you empty it an strip it down? Third, Bala sharks get HUGE, and are active and nervous fish. 2.5 gallons is too small *in the extreme* for this species. Long term, 55 gallon minimum. Without any other info, my advice would be to get a larger tank for your fish, and leave the frogs in the 2.5. Get a good hang-on BioWheel filter or a canister filter, and DO NOT break the tank down when you clean it. Any filter pads and such need to rinsed in water from the tank to avoid killing the bacteria in the filter. Jim<<<

Frog with something stuck in its throat? I think my frog has a stick or something stuck in his throat. When he swallows it appears as if he is in pain and he is not eating. How could I open his mouth or what should I do? <Very carefully... hold the frog in a damp towel... and use a blunted thick wooden toothpick (maybe one you've chewed a bit on the end) to open the mouth from the middle... carefully look... a flashlight that you can hold between your teeth... or a friend who can help you with this. Good luck. Bob Fenner>

Confused, poor grammar/spelling, and frogs how do I know the difference between an African clawed frog and dwarf frog? <Size, shape... that your other livestock are missing! Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/amphibfaqs.htm> also when they are small like an inch, do they grow bigger? <What? The Xenopus definitely do> if so how big? I'm looking on info on a dwarf, I had a clawed, I had to get another tank for it. <I'll bet... Learn to capitalize proper nouns, use spaces, write in sentences, please. Bob Fenner> Frog Spawn Hello again, Thank you Don for your help a little while ago, you majorly calmed me down, and everything is AWESOME. I had acquired fish from a friend and a tank on Christmas. refer to "Suddenly Stocked Tank", WWM FAQs.) Well everything is going great, have done 6 water changes since I got the fish. All my levels are looking great (I think those established bio-wheels really helped). I got some ghost shrimp today, just to clean a little. Well my question is, I have noticed clear sacks with yellow dots in them in the bottom of one of my plants, kind of weaved through it. Quite a lot of it probably 50-80 little yellow dots(1mm) all in a single sack. And than there's like yellow brownish flecks and pieces of what look like clear egg sack all over my plant leaves. My plants are fake. Well I don't know who laid them, could it have been my Plecos? My Plecos are almost a year old and 1 is 9" and the other 6", one is obviously smaller, are they male and female? Or one is it that the one is more aggressive and gets all the food (which routinely happens, I put algae wafers in his\her little spot so he\she can eat)? How do you tell the difference? Is that what their egg looks like and where they lay them? I also have a 4" gourami, 1" orange tetra, 1" clown loach, a frog (who seems to be in the eggs a lot), 6" black ghost knife (he's my buddy now, I got him frozen bloodworms and feed them to him on the end of a skewer). I don't think anything else could have laid them. I plan on getting 2 fire green tetras in a week, I finally found a place that will BUY my Plecos. I'm quite happy, after I have been trying to give them away. What should I do with the eggs? I'm not really too concerned about propagating, but something small in my tank might serve as a nice snack for my black ghost knife. Or the frog. Or anything. What do you think? Again thank you for all your help in my beginning worries. And the rest of the WWM staff for the amazing website you guys keep up. James <First thought was snail eggs. Very common. They are laid in a jelly like mass. But on re-reading the part about "weaving though" the plant leaves I now think they may be frog eggs. I never kept frogs, but do recall that some species lay long strings of eggs in a protective jelly. Snail eggs would be in a single round clump. Either way I would remove them. If they're frog eggs they will be infertile without a male and will decay. If they're snail eggs you're looking at a population explosion. Your gourami and tetra would both lay single eggs, not in a mass. I don't think Clown Loaches have ever been breed in captivity and would need to be much larger. (BTW, will grow slow, but can hit 8" to a foot. Be aware) Plecos are cave breeders. They would spawn in a protected area that the male would be defending. So that leaves the frog and snails. To sex your plecs look at the trailing edges of the fins and gill covers. Mature males will have frilly tassels decorating these areas. Also, when viewed from above the male will appear thinner and more tapered than the female. The larger fish may be getting mature enough to sex. At 6" the smaller is still to young. And another BTW, they may eat the ghost shrimp. Don> Frog Eyes My African clawed frogs have grown feathery things from their eyes. <It may be the frog shedding some skin, or it could be a fungus. Fungus usually occur in dirty tanks or to injured body parts. Fungal medications for fish may be worse for the frogs than the fungus. Try treating with aquarium salt at a tablespoon per 3-5 gallons. Frogs do not like a lot of salt. At these levels, the frogs will not be harmed but perhaps the fungus will clear. Make sure his tank is clean and had fresh water. Don> I put 6 feeder fish in with them yesterday and only one has been eaten. Usually 3 are gone the first day. They are hanging out at the top more than usual and not very active.

Knives, Spines, Rope and Fire. OK to add Claws? Hi, thanks for the info that you've given me so far, but I've got another question. I've got my 130 gallon tank set-up with a 10" clown Knifefish, 12" spiny eel, 6" fire eel, and 12" ropefish. <No guppies or swordtails for you, huh?> I also own two African clawed frogs (about 4" long each) that are being kept at my mothers work. I'm wondering if I would be able to put the two frogs in the 130 gallon tank. In your opinion, do you think that the clown might decide to take a bite out of the soft, fleshy frogs, or would he leave them alone? Right now, the clown eats 3" long goldfish, but I'm trying to get him to accept frozen shrimp. <A bit risky, IMO. A Knife will eat anything he can fit in it's mouth. Even if he only tries, he may kill or injure the frog. Not a great mix. Risk would be reduced if the Knife was off live food first and kept well fed. The eels may even cause problems at night, but less likely.> Also, one other question. For my 130 gallon tank, would a Classic Eheim 2215 canister filter and a Fluval 404 canister filter be enough for the tank? I'm going to be adding more fish to the tank than I have now and prefer to have above average filtration. If the filtration isn't enough, what's a good filter that I could add to the other two? <Each are rated for around 100 gallons. You should be fine as is, but those are some pretty large fish in there, and growing. I'm a big fan of Marineland's Emperor 400 for bio filtration. Surely wouldn't hurt to add the bio wheels to help with ammonia processing.> Thanks for all of your help. <One last point, which I'm sure you knew was coming. Try very hard to get the Knife off live fish. Hard to do, I know. But unless you can QT the feeders, sooner or later you WILL (not "may") bring Ick or some other nasty into your system. Treating a 130 with these large fish will be a challenge to say the least. Don>

Injured Dwarf African Frog 10/24/04 Hello, <hi, Pufferpunk here> I have had an African dwarf frog for about four years. Tonight it seemed that he may be stuck under a rock so I tried to lift it slightly (which I shouldn't have done) and then it fell on one arm. The arm is now curled up, especially the digits. He swims with some trouble now. I read that frogs repair themselves very quickly. What is your opinion on this situation? <I'm sorry your froggy is hurt. You're not the 1st one to injure your own frog though. I once closed the lid on one of my tree frogs legs & cut it off it's arm. Not only did his arm grow back, but every one of his suction cupped fingers too! I think your frog will be fine, but I suggest adding Melafix for bacterial infection preventative & fast healing.> Thank you, Christie Bredenbeck

A question about a newt Hello, I am worried about a white spots and white areas spreading among the Chinese newt's neck, spine, and tail. I think it is a fungal infection although I am not sure, it is smooth to the touch. The newt hasn't been eating as much as it has been in the past. I think its the water conditions and I changed the water and the white areas haven't decreased but increased in width among the spine and tail. Any advice on how to solve this? I am having difficulty in finding web sites regarding newts. < If the spots are spreading and appear more like patches then I think you have a bacterial infection. Many times these infections are caused by dirty water and high in nitrates. Without a culture this would be guessing. My best advice is to make sure the water is clean and the filter has been serviced. An antibiotic I would try is Nitrofuranace or Erythromycin. Good luck.-Chuck> thanks.

Frog Query Hope you can help. My son has two green tree frogs. The smaller of the two has started to lose weight. It doesn't seem to be interested in eating. There seems to be a brown patch on it's side. The other frog in the cage is larger and very healthy and lively. This little one just sits there and doesn't move around much. It's eyes look closed or like the lid is shut. There are no vets in my area that can even answer simple "frog care" questions better yet what to do with this little one that is sick. Help!! What do I do for it? Jen >>>Hey Jen, Sounds like a possible fungal infection to me, but I can't be sure without seeing the animal. Has the this frog been dewormed? It also sounds a little bit like he might have parasites. I'm mostly experienced with lizards so I'm going to refer your question. Please call this number (510) 841-1400, East Bay Vivarium - and tell them you have a frog husbandry question. They will do a better job than I can. Cheers Jim<<< Toad, frog questions Hi, I'm raising wild bull frogs in a fish tank. I would like to know if this will harm them in the winter and also what foods do they eat?. < Bull frogs are carnivorous and will eat just about anything they can get into their mouths including other frogs. You firebelly toads are probably poisonous to the bull frog if he tries and eat them. Your frog will be fine in your aquarium but may require a hibernation or cool down period if you want them to breed in the spring.> I've been feeding them crickets, mealworms and also regular worms. Is this ok for all of them? < It all sounds good.> I'm also raising a water frog in the same tank and 2 firebelly toads. Do they all eat the same things as a firebelly toad and will the firebelly toads cause them harm? <They should all eat all the same things if they can fit it into their mouths.-Chuck> Thank You, Gail

Goldfish, newts and mosquito larvae control I was wondering if goldfish and newts can be housed together, because I have a mosquito larvae problem? And I read that goldfish can eat the larvae. < Sure. Fish do eat aquatic insect larva. Both goldfish and newts have similar water requirements too.-Chuck>

Frog/pleco/goldfish Hello, I have a few questions. I recently just set up a 10 gallon tank, with 3 fantail goldfish, 1 pleco, and an African dwarf frog. I bought algae wafers for my pleco, which I'm concerned that the goldfish are eating them instead. the goldfish are also eating the frog food. I feed the frog the sinking tadpole/frog pellets. I have heard that feeding bloodworms can actually make the fish sick??? < Feeding bloodworms has been known to cause digestive problems in some fish. It may be from overfeeding.> I'm not sure how that all works but I was told that the frogs like frozen bloodworms, so is it possible for the bloodworms to come alive after they have been frozen?? < Once they are frozen then they are dead.> I am looking for a substitute to feed my frog so I will have to deal with worms of any sort...ugh. and I am also trying to find away for my pleco and frog to get food without the goldfish eating it all first. please help! < When you turn out the lights the goldfish will go to sleep and the pleco will come out to eat. So feed the algae wafers at night. Unfortunately I think the goldfish may still find some of the wafers , even in the dark but it is worth a try. Your frog is a carnivore and will require some sort of critter to feed on. I suggest that you get some small earthworms and wash them and place them in front of the frog. I am sure he will snatch them up right away and hide so the goldfish won't get them.-Chuck> Frog missing foot I have two African dwarf frogs in a 2 and a half gallon tank. One is a female and one male. At least that is what I think. I noticed today that my male is missing his foot. Upon searching the tank to figure out what might have happened, I noticed that my thermometer was broken on the top. I have no idea how this happened. My main concern is that he will be okay and is not suffering. I was worried that he will get infected. Please tell me what to do. Thanks. < Years ago I had a newt in which my cichlids chewed off one of the feet. Keep the area clean so it doesn't fungus. Furanace is a good drug to use if you notice any cottony growth developing on it. It should soon heal up in a few days.-Chuck.

Dwarf African frog with fungus 8/19/04 Bob and crew, <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I am currently having a problem with a fungus affecting one of my dwarf African frogs. I have a 2 gallon acrylic tank with a BioWheel power filter that houses two dwarf African frogs and one immature guppy. Life has been good for a while and the guppy has been growing pretty fast (had him since he was about 3/16" long. For the past couple of days, the female frog has been hanging out at the surface of the water, using a plastic plant to keep the front half of her body out of the water. Normally both frogs stay on the bottom except when feeding or getting air. I was concerned, but had no other symptoms to go off of, so I let it go. Yesterday, I found that her right hind leg is covered in a white fuzz (a fungus obviously) and she was not moving it. She also is not eating. I did an immediate 50% water change with distilled water, and replaced the filter (with carbon) just in case there was something in it affecting the water quality. It's been 24 hours now and while it doesn't appear any worse, it also doesn't appear better. The male frog and guppy are unaffected, but I don't have a quarantine tank to put the female in. Assuming that the fungal outbreak was caused by bad water conditions, how long should I watch for improvement before resorting to medication of the tank? Otherwise, if I should medicate now, what would you recommend for frogs? <She may have scraped her foot (any sharp rocks?), leaving it open to infection. I have had success with Melafix for this problem with aquatic frogs. You can also use Pimafix in unison with Melafix, for a 1-2 punch. These products are ok to use without quarantine, but remove the carbon. A water change is a good idea. These should be done weekly. Distilled water isn't necessary, just use lukewarm tap water (same temp as tank) & dechlorinator, for water changes.> Thanks for any help, David

Sick Underwater Frog? 8/2/04 Hi, I have a female African clawed frog who has a strange discoloration on her leg. It is on the back of the leg at the joint where it bends inward- it is a reddish-purple color an is slightly swollen. She has not been acting any differently and had been eating normally. I have gone on several web sights to check the symptoms and I cannot find anything. The only thing this resembles (in on line symptomatology) is a fungal infection, but she does not have any white around it. I thank you for your time and appreciate your help with this matter. < I have heard of these bacterial infection on frog legs before. It is caused by a bacteria that quickly multiplies in water high in nitrates from dirty water. Keep the tank clean and remove all the uneaten food, service the filter. Watch that it doesn't get any bigger or becomes infected. If it is an injury from a fish bite then the same would apply. Not sure how the little frog would react to antibiotics. If it gets worse I would isolate him and treat with Maracyn at half strength and see how he reacts. If there is not problem then add the rest after a couple of hours if he is doing ok.-Chuck> African dwarf frog or clawed injury? <Hi, MikeD here> today my female Betta who had been living in a 1/2 gallon bowl (no filtration) died.<Sorry> I'm not sure how yet but I am taking the water into an aquarium store to have it tested. she was maybe 3 mo.s old so it was really sudden...but anyway I cleaned out the tank with hot water and all that good stuff. also in the tank (I know its too small but she was lonely)<No. She was happy and YOU thought she was lonely.> was a tiny African dwarf frog (or clawed-not sure). they were happy together.<Unusual. Often Bettas will kill or maim small dwarf clawed frogs, attempting to eat them.> but I decide that I didn't want ANY of the old water back in the new tank so I picked him up (clean hands) and tried to move him into another clean bowl temporarily. he escaped my grasp and jumped off the kitchen counter onto the floor. in his confused pace I managed to scoop him up and return him to the bowl.<Good> before that happened though he was searching around for the Betta, but now he looks for her and seems to have like the hiccups...but he shed like 4 days ago. he doesn't appear to be physically injured. is my frog broken?<Possible, but not likely. The shedding of the cuticle is a good sign> also if this is any help he may have something wrong with his foot; there was another frog in the tank and the other frog bit about 1/3 of his foot off and I've been looking after that.<Often it's the Betta that bites the foot off.> I don't know if this affects his weirdness.<NO, amphibians can be tough and heal amazingly.> I moved the frog into another bowl with a male Betta but they get along and the male has never even tried to hurt the frog at all...even when the frog kicked him in the face... but can you please help my fallen frog?!?!?<I can't help him, but if you quit putting him in with Bettas, YOU might. As a rule they are just too tempting a tidbit, particularly in a small container. Not what you want to hear, I'm sure, but it's the truth as I know it.>

Albino Clawed Frog I have an albino clawed frog that somehow jumped out of the tank during the night. We found it this morning and was wondering if there was anything that we should do cause it is still alive but looks kind of bad? Should we keep it in a separate tank away from the other frog or could we put it back? Any suggestion would be helpful and appreciated. < Keep him separated until he is fully rehydrated. Watch for bacterial infections. These frogs are usually pretty tough so I assume he will be back to normal in a couple of days.-Chuck> Thank you

Tropical frog problem Hi i have an albino frog, looking at your picture i think its an albino clawed frog but not sure. I have had him along with 3 others for about 2 months and he has been doing fine. When i woke up this morning and looked at him, he has bloated up. As if someone has blown him up with air, right down to his legs. I thought that if it was over feeding then by night time he would of gone down slightly, but no sign of getting better. My local pet store couldn't really offer any advice, so i was wondering if you could. So please help quickly as i don't know if he will last much longer. Thanx for help < If your frog is still eating then I would watch him for awhile and see if the bloat goes away. Being that it happened overnight I am wondering if it shed and ate its shed skin. If it is an internal bacterial infection then there is little we can offer except that you might have to consult a vet.-Chuck> Phil.

Mixing Frogs 5/2/04 Hello there! <Hi, Pufferpunk here> I have a northern tree frog. I'm not quite sure how old he is, I found him in a parking lot and brought him home. I have had him for 3 1/2 years in a 20 gallon tank. Now I have some bullfrog tadpoles, that I am raising, and I was just wondering if when the bull frogs get to be not tadpoles any more if I could keep one or two in the same tank as the tree frog? Or would you recommend getting a separate tank for each? <Bad idea to mix bullfrogs with any other frogs, sometimes even smaller bullfrogs. They will eat anything they can fit into their very large mouths, even cannibalizing each other. They also need a very large tank, as they have huge strong legs & can jump very far. They can damage themselves jumping against the glass of a tank that is too small.> Thank you for your help. Allison <Good luck with your froggy friends! ~PP>

Amphibian Ailments (4/2/2004) Hi your site was suggested to me by a rep a pet land. <A well informed pet store employee> I have 2 African albino clawed frogs and one of them seems to have some thing wrong with its foot. It looks like the skin is peeling off, or shedding. Its also blood shot. <Could be bacterial or fungal...is there any "fuzziness" or anything indicative of a fungal infection, or is it more red and swollen, possibly indicative of a bacterial infection? As a side note, do check your ammonia levels, and I assume you are not using chlorinated water?> I at first thought that it might of hurt it self or the other frog bit it. But today it looks a little better. But now if you look at it, you can see the bones on the foot. <Not good. Does it appear to be spreading? Any red\swollen skin or any red "blood poisoning" obvious in the legs\blood vessels? Frogs of this species are especially susceptible to "Septicemia"> Would you guys have a idea as to what it could be? The guy at Petland thought that it might be a fungal infection, but the other frogs seem ok. <Probably bacterial (Septicemia), a nasty and all to common infection of these animals.> If you can email me back at * I'd be grateful. <Try treating the frog with 'Triple Sulfa' by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals or Tetracycline (available from Kordon and other vendors, shouldn't be hard to find at your local pet store). Do this in a separate container of tank water or a quarantine tank. Dose appropriately and make sure to keep the water heated. If you don't notice any improvements in 4-5 days, do send me another email, along with the aquarium size, tankmates, and a picture of the frog if possible> Thanks <No problem, let me know if your frog doesn't improve in health in a few days. M. Maddox>

Frog Demise (4/6/2004) Thank you for taking the time to write back. <My pleasure> I have to tell you that the frog did not make it. It died the next day. <Sorry for your loss :[ Septicemia is a vicious killer among aquatic amphibians, and often is extremely difficult to treat successfully> The other frogs seem to be ok, I did a 40 % water change the same day. <They most likely won't become infected unless they have some sort of injury or are otherwise stressed> Is there any thing I can do to prevent this from happening again? <Maintain good water quality and feed a variety of foods. If you notice injury, or know your frogs have recently been stressed, keep a very close eye on them, and treat at the hint of an infection. Be sure to run the full course of the antibiotics: don't stop dosing even if the symptoms disappear until the rededicates have run their course> I am thinking it was the septicemia that you mentioned. <Very probable> I haven't been using chlorinated water, should I be? <Most definitely not!> I use a chemical to treat the water I put back in. <Highly recommend Amquel+> How do frogs get this kind of infection? <Anything that stresses a frog could cause it to fall ill to this infection. Not all that different from people getting sick: excess stress or injury leads to illness in all species> Thank you for your time again. <Not a problem, sorry about your frog> Luke <M. Maddox>

Clownfish, cant find help anywhere I've been researching the web for over an hour and cant seem to find what wrong with my pair of freshwater clownfish. <I have never heard of a fish with the common name "Freshwater Clownfish". Do you know what the Latin name or other common names are for this fish. I really can not help because I'm at a loss of what fish you are referring to. They can only swim up, not side to side anymore. This behavior has been going on for weeks, but never so bad. <That is also something unusual in any fish...> They had ick about a week ago and doesn't seem to be there anymore, I treated it. In addition, there may or may not have the white cotton around mouth. <The white cotton around the mouth is a Fungal infection that you can treat with medicines. But, if it has cleared up already then most likely the medicine you treated with helped fight the infection.> I cant tell what's normal. Please help. Also, my newt wont eat, has no arms. but has been alive for weeks, should I perform euthanasia. <Did your newt have it's arms bitten off? did the newt lose it's arms? a bacterial/fungal infection? Is it sharing the tank with the fish? If so, Newts really shouldn't be with fish (aside from feeder guppies), they should have their all their own. If you have the newt separated, and are providing it with constant supply of freshwater then there is a chance that your newt will regrow it's arms. To learn more on newts go to this site: http://www.centralpets.com/care/pets/reptiles/salamanders/2541/1/1/petcare.php It should offer you information on how to care for your little guy.> thanks so much Diana Boyer <good luck, and let me know what type of fish is a "Freshwater Clownfish". The only thing I can think of is a Marine Clownfish that was forced to acclimate to lower salinity. -Magnus>

No idea what's wrong with my clownfish First of all, i really appreciate your response i am really new to this whole thing and so far it seems pretty hard. <No prob, that is what we are here for. Once you get the hang of it, it won't be hard at all.> I've had the tank for about a month now. its a 30 gallon tank. ammonia was high one time, so we put AmmoLock in it, and just did again today. <With all new tanks there is a point were the ammonia builds up. It's the start of the nitrogen cycle. You need to give tank time to build up the beneficial bacteria to help break down waste and other harmful things.> to treat the ick, we used Ickguard. i don't think the newt has ever eaten. he is in the same tank. <You should set up a tank specifically for these animals. They need specific environment to thrive. Here is another reference for you to read and learn more about these amazing critters. http://www.livingunderworld.org/caudata/database/salamandridae/cynops/ Our newts have tanks specifically designed for them, and are very happy and healthy.> we have tried 3 different foods, but he is still alive despite having no arms, he swims fine too. <They loose their arms in nature from disease or predators, and have the ability to regrow them given the proper conditions.> but doesn't look very happy. <I wouldn't be happy if I had no arms and hadn't eaten in a while either. heh ) the newt chills on a raft at the top of the tank, he is a Chinese fire-belly newt, it is obvious to me that he has lost a lot of weight since when we got him over 3 weeks ago. <The best course of action is to set up a tank for him. It does not need to be large. We have a 3.5 gallon hex tank with rock work and water at the bottom so our can swim and climb out when he wants to. We have had ours for many years.> i have seen one of the fishes in the tank snip at the newt, but i also read about the possibility of him having a disease. <if a fish should nip at the newt it can break the skin and allow bacteria to get into the wound and thus give the newt bacterial infections that can lead to bacterial rot of limbs or death.> in the beginning, he had a newt friend that somehow disappeared, so i was afraid he got depressed, but am weary about putting another newt in there and getting that one sick. <"somehow disappeared" isn't good. it could possibly have been eaten. I would NOT but another newt in this tank! You have already lost one, and this one is not eating and has lost it's arms. That should tell you that the conditions are not right and you shouldn't have one in this tank, let alone add more to the mix. Read everything you can on the care of newts and set up a tank specifically designed to care for these animals. Once this newt becomes healthy and eats, then and only then should you even think about getting more.> since last night, i lost one of my clownfish. the mouths of the clownfish (clown loach), seem to always be open. <If fish have their mouths always open it could be a sign that there isn't enough oxygen in the water. or that the ammonia levels are high enough that it's damaging their gills. I would start by adding an airstone and airpump to the tank to help raise the oxygen levels.> we have only done one partial water change this month, and it was for the ick treatment. also, the heater kept coming unplugged, so the water temp has been up and down, i did not raise the temp. of the tank when putting the ick treatment in. i will definitely purchase a water testing kit this weekend. <having a test kit will really help you realize what is happening with the tank. and know where the cycle level is at.> and ill email you with the results. i know something is wrong, because i lost my two catfish last week too. thanks a lot. diana Boyer <I suggest you also look at getting some books on freshwater tanks. Read and research as much as you can, this will help you understand what is happening in your tank. You can't rush into setting up a ecosystem like this. Good luck. -Magnus>

Frogs The letter below was posted by me to you. I have been trying to follow what you told me in your response. I was able to get another 10 gallon tank as I have no place for a larger one. I was moving the Dwarf Frogs and one jumped out of the tank and was on the floor for about 5 - 10 minutes. I am not exactly sure. I was so upset and put him in the tank quickly when I found him and he seemed ok. Now he has something of a red bulge coming out of his bottom. I've never seen this before. Will he be ok? Also. The two long skinny algae eaters passed away. I think the other Gold fish ate the small Rosey Red. The fish have been acting so aggressive over the last two days. The Black Moor seemed to try to bite the Frog and the frog lunged at the Black Moor and the today I saw the Black Moor with a mark on his side. I do not know what is going on. The long skinny Algae eater was acting crazy so I took him out and isolated him in a fish bowl over night and he was swimming so fast and then about 20 minutes later he was dead. I am moving the goldfish to a colder spot and putting the Frogs and Shrimp in the warmer area. Do you think this will be ok? Thanks, any help will be appreciated. I am new at this. I've only ever had goldfish. but I do love these frogs. >>Hello Yolanda; Have you tested your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? I am new to the crew, but Sabrina gave you some good advice, so I will try to follow up on it. The fallen frog sounds like he has some internal injuries, you will have to wait and see how he does. He may not make it if the injuries are severe. I agree that all the animals should be separated, move the frogs away from the goldfish, algae eaters too, and the shrimp and Rosy reds also. This is quite the problem! I hope you are doing frequent partial water changes to keep all the animals in good health. -Gwen<<

Housing Newts with Other Species In addition to adding a shrimp to our ten gallon, we intend to get another ten gallon aquarium and move the frog (Pickles) in with two fire newts, for which my oldest boy is saving his pennies, is this going to work ? <Oh, wow, I have absolutely no idea.... I'll pass this along to Gage for his input; hopefully he'll be able to help you on that one better than I can.> Thank You <Batter up! HI, Gage here I may have missed what type of frog you have, but I am not sure mixing anything with newts is a great idea. I have never kept them myself, but there are some good reasons to keep them in a species only tank. I found the article below while searching on google, check it out, hope it helps you in your decision. Best Regards, Gage http://www.livingunderworld.org/amphibianArticles/article0007.htm > He Put the "Otl" in Axolotl.. My axolotl's gills are badly damaged! What can I do?!?. <The best thing to do with any sort of amphibian/salamander/axolotl when they have body damage is to simply make sure that the animal has freshwater in which to live in. They usually heal themselves quite quickly when given a bacteria free environment with nice freshwater.> Can the water's PH balance cause this? Can he repair himself? <The pH shouldn't have effected the animal in that way, unless the water levels are extremely acidic. If his gills are damaged by tears then hi might have an aggressive tankmate that's hurting him. Or perhaps he has some skin/gill parasites that are making him rub on things damaging his own gills. There are some great sources online to learn more about axolotls. here is one with some brief info. http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/4301/axolotlhealth.htm Hope that helps.-Magnus> Axolotl Hi guys, Your site really helps heaps! Anyway, I got an axolotl a while ago and named him Chips. Chips is gold, and eats those frozen blood worm blocks, anyway, at the fish store they told me to hand feed him, otherwise he wouldn't eat much, so I went home and stuck my hand in the water with the food. He then tried to hide in the corner and his tail touched my hand, He then freaked out and started swimming round the tank like mad, he then hit his head on the glass and sat on the bottom of the tank for ten minutes hardly breathing. He recovered and I've decided not to hand feed him again until I find out how. <good plan, they will need to become comfortable with their surroundings first, then recognize you as the one who brings the food. Even after that, getting your hands in the tank is a slow process.> I now try to push the block down into the water so it will sit on the bottom, in the hope that he would find it and eat it. But as you should know, The blocks start to disintegrate and the worms fly everywhere. He then spends ages trying to push his head between the river pebbles, in an effort to grab whatever he can. <Use finer gravel, and searching for them is part of the fun. Try different foods, formula one is good and meaty and sinks, beef heart, live Night crawlers, etc.> I'm worried that he's not eating what he should, and that I'm missing out on being an axolotl owner, how do I "train" him to trust me? <In the words of Otis Redding "Try a little tenderness". It may be a while before he adjusts to hand feeding, just focus on the husbandry aspects at first, then once he gets used to you can move in for the hand feeding. I found this site, you may find it of some use. http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/4301/axolotlfood.htm Best Regards, Gage> Thanks, It would really be appreciated Chip's Owner

Feeding Frogs Hi! I have brought inside a tame 3-inch (northern leopard?) frog who has been living in our outdoor prefab pond this summer, because the pond is only 15 inches deep and could freeze to the bottom. (Our attached garage is too warm for hibernation.) He and his "little brother," about the size of my thumb, are probably from the pet store tadpoles I added in the spring but I'm not sure. I got 500 earthworms through the mail to tide us through the winter (but that's another story...). <That's a lot of worms, my fish are envious.> Although the frogs readily take worms from my fingers, I'd like to devise a self-feeding system. Can you advise me of a good way of dispensing earthworms? <Boy, I wish I knew, I know with feeding blood worms to aquarium fish they make a small mesh cone that the worms will wriggle out of for the fish to munch, but I am not sure about earth worms, I guess I have not spent enough time with them. Something similar would be sure to drop a bunch of dirt into your tank, and whose to say that they will even wriggle out?> Presently the frogs are in an aquarium with water 6.5 inches deep above 1.5 inches of pebbles, with 3 large rocks protruding above the water. When I place a worm in a dish on the rocks, it usually slithers out of the dish, across the rock and into the water and pebbles before either frog makes a move! I'm considering converting one end of the tank to "land" but am uncertain what substrate to use in it-- gravel would be the tidiest, but damp sphagnum moss more apt to keep the worm escapees out of the water. But the most important question is, won't the worms simply continue to elude the frogs as they leave the dish and bury themselves in the substrate? <I'd go with gravel with moss on top. The frogs will probably get the worms, but it would not surprise me in the slightest if some escape, dig, die, and foul your water.> I know frogs are commonly raised in captivity as lab animals and am sure someone has come up with a better idea than hand-feeding. How do they do it?? Thanks for your suggestions! <I am afraid I do not know of any automated ways to feed them. I am sure if any of our daily readers have a plan they will let us know and we will post on the daily FAQS (Anybody?). You can also mix some crickets into their diet if you have a local supply, they do not dig, and it is easy to remove the un eaten ones. Best of Luck, Gage> Peg

Aquatic Frogs, offer of assistance WWM Crew, <Chris> I saw an e-mail on the Daily FAQ page recently looking for African Clawed Frog info, in which it was suggested to web search for the species given the lack of printed material on them. If it will help, I'd like to offer the assistance of Aquamaniacs on this topic. Among other topics, our forums have an Aquatic Frogs forum for questions/discussion of African Clawed Frogs and African Dwarf Frogs (I think I once saw an axolotl thread in the archives, but primarily the species dealt with are ACFs and ADFs). Additionally, a aquatic frogs article/care sheet is currently in the works (I believe it's in front of the editor at this time) to offer recommendations for new owners as to tank conditions, food, etc. Wet Web Media's been in the Aquamaniacs' links page for longer than I've been with the forum, and I'm frequently referring folks to this site for info. I found WWM before Aquamaniacs and appreciate all the good advice you've given me in response to my questions in the past, as well as your excellent archives and friendly responses to questions. If you'd like to post the links, Aquamaniacs is located at http://www.aquamaniacs.net/ and its forums are located at http://pub36.ezboard.com/baquariumbbs . <Outstanding. Thank you for coming forward. Will share and post your listing on the FAQs re> If you wish, I'll send you an update to let you know when the aquatic frogs article/care sheet is up incase you'd like to refer future new frog owners to it. <Please do so> As noted in that e-mail I referred to earlier, there's unfortunately a lack of information available on these species, dwarf frogs more than clawed ones, and more and more stores seem to be selling them without providing any information, or providing incorrect information (Wal-Mart, as of this summer, has started selling them in the same little cups they sell bettas in around here, for example). I hope this is of some help to you and to those looking for info on their frogs. Sincerely, Chris Sandusky (DonQuixote, moderator of Aquamaniacs' Aquatic Frogs forum) <Again, thank you for your efforts. Bob Fenner>

Re: Aquatic Frogs, offer of assistance Mr. Fenner, <Mr. Sandusky> Looks like I got to send you the update rather rapidly :) The article/care sheet has just been posted at: http://www.aquamaniacs.net/aquaticfrogs.html <Ah, will update our links> And although their names didn't get mentioned when the article got posted, I'd like to note my thanks to Aquamaniacs' mrclint and fishmommy for their reviewing, editing, and posting of the article, and thanks to LeslieLu for photos (which were credited in the article itself). <Duly noted> Hope this is able to help out new owners of these two species. My personal experience has just been with dwarf frogs (and admittedly I'm fairly new to them myself, I purchased my first pair this summer), but I tried to find as much relevant info on both species as I could and collect it in one location for this article, erring on the side of caution when possible <You are wise here> (for example, I know a few sites suggest 1.5 gallons is enough for one or two ADFs, but I'd really prefer the additional stability, and added swimming space of 2-2.5 g each if possible). Some topics aren't covered, such as breeding, as I figured those beyond the scope of what's intended as a beginner article / general care sheet. Sincerely, Chris Sandusky <Thank you, Bob Fenner>

African Clawed Frog- 10/27/03 Hello to some very helpful folks! <Hi there, Pufferpunk here> I have been reading a lot of your postings and FAQ's to learn as much as possible about my newly acquired singing/smiling African clawed frog. <they are forever smiling, aren't' they!> I got him from a friend that got him as a "grow-a-frog" in 1996 for her kids. <He's 8 years old? He must be pretty large!> He has lived most of his life in a big fish bowl with gravel. I now have him in a 10 gallon tank. Just about everything I have read on the net and your forum says to be very careful what you put in the tank. <I'm pretty sure that means tankmates. These frogs will eat anything they can fit in their mouth. I thought I was safe keeping mine w/Cory catfish. I figured they'd never eat them. I came home to find one stuck in my frog's mouth w/the spiky fins pointing in a direction that wouldn't let me remove the fish without killing either the fish or the frog. The frog got a thick white milky film over it's entire body. It died the next day ={> I would love to have a hiding place and some pretty bigger rocks or tunnels for him to enjoy. Maybe a plant or two. <Expect any plants to get uprooted. You could float a few. They love caves.> Heating or boiling beach rocks seems to be no-no! What about glass objects? <Bad idea. Nothing sharp that could cut the frog.> Also, in one area of your site, it says to feed him 2-3x per week. He has always been fed every day and has only eaten frog pellets. Those things are so small... how many at a time? <Mine love crickets, krill (frozen or freeze-dried) & worms. Even my young ones eat every 2-3 days> There also seems to be some debate about filters. What do you think? <Mine live in the water section of a river tank. I think a good HOB filter, probably the same kind you use for the turtles would work.> I have only had him a week, but he now comes up to the top of the water and seems to be smelling me. My hands are clean, is this ok that I touch his head? (<It's probably ok to touch them a little. You could certainly hand feed them! As w/any aquatic creatures, make sure you wash your hands w/antibacterial soap after touching them, to prevent from getting salmonella.> I know their skin is very sensitive to chemicals and such. As you can see, I have plenty of questions about this little fella. I also have 4 assorted turtles----my life has gone aquatic! <I have 8 assorted box turtles that live in an outdoor habitat in the summer & a big kiddie pool in the winter. A softshell, African sideneck & Asian leaf turtle in a 55g river tank. I also have another 55g river tank w/assorted frogs & a dwarf African bullfrog living w/the aquatic turtles.> Thank you so much for ANY info you can give me! Joan <Your very welcome--Pufferpunk>

Clawed Frogs Hi again! <Ello.> I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago with questions about my newly acquired African clawed frog. I have more questions now that he and I have bonded a little! My questions pertain to his senses... mostly his sight and sense of smell. I drop pellets in (one at a time) and if they don't land on his body, he doesn't seem to see them and I don't think he knows that they are there. <This has been my experience as well, and unfortunately I am no expert on these frogs so cannot say for sure.> What is his vision like? I am guessing it isn't too great. <My guess as well, if I ever do set up a tank for these little fellas again, it will be species only, the fish seem to out compete them for food.> Should I have an over tank light? I guess it doesn't need to be UVA/UVB since I don't think it could penetrate through the water. <A full spectrum florescent would be good. I am not sure on your tank setup, but a Vitalite might be a good idea> He loves worms and when I drop one in and he feels it on him, he tackles it and rolls all over like he is going after an alligator!! And to watch those little alien fingers shove it in his mouth is so delightful! <Everybody loves worms, I might have to try one myself some day.> I wish there were more books about these guys...instead of just a page or two in a book about amphibians! Thank you for your insight! All your information has been helpful! <I'd be willing to bet if you searched enough online (starting with google.com or some such search engine) you could find a site, for forum, or maybe even a club (or you could start one) related to these frogs, they are pretty popular and the information out there on them is not as vast as other aquariums species. You should definitely document your experiences to share with others.> Joan and the still unnamed little frog guy

Snail Stocking Part Two Hello again, Thanks for the response, I've got two in the 10 gallon right now (I had a regular brown one in there, what I've seen called the 'wild-type' shell pattern, then saw a little blue one shoved into one of the 'Betta cups' at Wal-Mart the other day and decided it needed a home). The only other one I'm possibly planning to add in the future is maybe the one from my 6g African dwarf frog tank if any water problems develop there. So far no problems with the 10g since adding the second mystery snail, other than slightly elevated nitrates (25 rather than 20), but I think that's likely due to overfeeding of the bottom feeders, or my trimming back a lot of the anacharis that's in there. I'm going to try adding a little duckweed (I know, it takes over tanks. I read somewhere about someone making a 'corral' with airline and airline clips to keep it within an area of their tank. So I'll see if that works.) to pick up the extra nitrates. Plus I heard there's a chance the mystery snails might like to nibble on it. <Duckweed is an excellent way to suck up excess nutrients.> I'll let you know if there's any problems with either level of snails in the future. On a different topic, since WWM's amphibian area is a bit sparse right now, I thought I'd offer the following feeding idea, if you'd like to post it: One of the biggest problems I had with African dwarf frogs was trying to get them to eat before their food (frozen bloodworms) fell between the gravel, resulting in hungry frogs and food polluting the water. So as a solution, I got a plastic water bowl from the reptile section of PetSmart and half buried it under the gravel. The plastic's a single piece of unpainted molded plastic, so I figure it should be safe to use. Now I just squirt the defrosted bloodworms (mixed with water from the tank) into the bowl with a turkey baster. The frogs swim right over and start feasting, they've also taken to trying to nip at the turkey baster if it's in the tank since they've figured out that's where food comes from. Posted this idea on a few forums and the regulars seemed to like it, so figured I'd pass it on incase it's of use to any of WWM's regular readers. <Great idea, I have heard of something similar for feeding Corydoras live worms that dig into the substrate before the fish get a chance to eat them. Thanks for the info, best of luck, Gage> Thanks again, -Chris

Frogs and Fungus 10/8/03 I hope you can give me some advice on what may be wrong with my Congo frogs. I have had them about a month. They are only young. They were in with an African clawed frog but I put her in another tank as she will soon outgrow them and eat them. Since she has been out of the tank, the water became very murky. I feed frozen Blood worms which seemed to go moldy an hour or so after they go in. I know the Congo frogs can't see as well and so maybe not all the worms are getting eaten now the African Clawed frog is out but the mould that started to grow on the worms has now begun to grow on the frogs. One of them is particularly bad. I use spring water and keep the frogs at a temperature of 70 F. and try to remove the uneaten food. Is there anything you can suggest might be causing this fungus to grow on my frogs and if there is a treatment I can use to clear it? Thank you in advance for your help. I look forward to hearing from you. Miss Vaughan. <Miss Vaughan... my apologies for the delay in reply. But we have been swamped with mail lately. It is also not clear what species your frog is. Do you have a scientific name to clarify... or more information to share? As to the fungus on the frogs, improved water quality alone (smaller but more frequent feedings... and bigger/more frequent water changes) alone can reduce the growth. Adding a small amount of salt to the water (1TBN per 10 gallons) is also quite safe and therapeutic. Best regards, Anthony

Bugs 'n' a frog I noticed these really weird white insect things in my African clawed frog's bowl. <The regular, enormous clawed frog, or the dwarf frog?> They're almost as small as pieces of dust, are sort of oval shaped, and only stay on the sides of the bowl. When I looked at it really close, they were coating the whole walls of the bowl, so it looked like white dust! <These sound perhaps like water fleas (Daphnia).> I decided to clean its bowl out right away. I even put this water purification stuff in there for amphibians and fish, <Dechlorinator?> but they still came back in about 2 weeks. And there were still a whole bunch of them. what should I do? <Chances are, these little critters are mostly harmless, and are probably feeding on leftover food for your frog. Please try very hard not to overfeed, or you'll likely never be rid of these critters. As you reduce feeding, they'll probably die out and go away. Also do keep on top of keeping your frog's home clean. Please look over this information: http://www.pipidae.net/david/Page2.htm#genus .>

Dwarf frog and ich meds! Hi there! <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> I have two Dwarf frogs, and I had them in a tank with a goldfish and a black moor. The black moor came down with Ich and died. So, I moved my goldfish (Herbie) to a quarantine tank w/meds. Then, I cleaned out the other tank, removed all the decor, to remove the ich from it, and put meds in that water as well. After putting my frogs in the water, about half hour later, I realized one of my frogs turned pale!!! Can you tell me what is wrong? Or am I just freaking out over nothing? <It is entirely possible that your frogs cannot tolerate the medication at the strength you're using it. I would quarantine the frogs in their own bare tank, with no medication.> I really appreciate your help!! <You're welcome.... --Ananda>

Mixing Amphibians Can fire belly toads live with baby whites tree frogs if they are about the same size? What about adding green tree frogs to the mixture? <I would not mix any of these, they all have different environmental requirements. If you want entertainment go with the fire bellies, if you want an adorable frog that is not as active, go with the Whites Tree frog. I like tree frogs as well, but they are really jumpy, open the lid to clean them an BOING! all over the room. Ok, it is not that bad, but they are really fast. Do some research on all 3 and go with the one you like best. -Gage>

Fire Belly Toads I've had my 2 fire belly toads for 3 years in a filtered 10g 1/2 full tank with 1/3 land today while feeding one frog has lost more then 1/2 body weight and seems to have an equilibrium problem only seeming to move one direction (very little movement ) basking on land , with other frog standing guard in some type of protective mode the sick frog was not strong enough to eat. I feed once a week and dust crickets with Reptocal is there any thing i can do i don't think it will make it very long and is there any thing I'm doing wrong. <Well... you've got me stumped here, I do not have much experience with fire belly toads. If I had to guess I would say the problem may have started with the diet and developed into something else. Most problems that I have encountered with amphibians were related to problems with their environment. The link below has some good information on captive care of the Fire Belly Toad. http://www.livingunderworld.org/anura/database/bombinatoridae/bombina/orientalis/ I would make sure I am meeting all of their requirements. You could also try using google.com to search for common ailments or diseases. A local reptile shop may have some good information as well. Best of Luck, Gage>

Teratogens and Salamanders Hello Mr. (Dr?) Fenner - <Just Bob please> I came across your article "Treating Tap/Source-water for Marine Aquarium Use" while trying to track down chloramine test kits. I found your article very interesting. I work with tiger salamander larvae - which are obviously freshwater! - <Yes... Ambystoma tigrinum?> but many of the things you mention are applicable to amphibian larvae as well. I was wondering if we could chat on the phone so I could get your advise/opinions on some of the aquarium chemicals I have use/ plan to use. I realize you don't want to be seen as promoting one brand or another but I'd like to avoid any pitfalls you or your colleagues have encountered. <Better to just hash out on the Net.> I can be reached at the number below; alternatively I would be happy to pick up the $ if you send me a number and time to call. Thanks in advance for your time. Danna Schock <Do you have specific questions, concerns? For the sake of sharing with others who might use this information, let's try keying this out. Bob Fenner>

Dwarf African Frogs What is the difference between HYMENOCHIRUS BOETTGERI AND CURTIPES? <Well... from what I have learned from some google searches, not much. Apparently they look similar and are often confused. http://www.pipidae.net/david/Page2.htm#genus > Also why would new jersey list the former as an exotic species and require a permit? <Ya got me there, I might ask the folks who told you would need a permit, or whoever is in charge of supplying the permits. -Gage> thanks for any help you can supply.

Raising Tadpoles Kind Sirs, <Hi! Ananda here tonight...Bob must've guessed I tried raising tadpoles when I was a kid in northern Minnesota!> Over the Easter break, the children and myself came across some frog eggs in the mountain run-off in the in-laws back yard. We decided to bring some eggs home to hatch them. I did this as a child and had much success with it, but I had the availability to change the water daily from the creek by the house. I set up a 10 gal tank, bare bottom, (for easy maintenance), some rocks and fired up an old whisper filter and added charcoal. The eggs have been developing into small tadpoles and they have begun twitching inside the egg occasionally. We've read that the next stage the tadpoles will emerge from the egg and stick to the jelly enclosing the egg sack. <So far so good...maybe....> Then comes feeding time. First question, some recommend gold fish flakes, can marine flakes be substituted? Would vita-chem, Selcon and or DT's be worth adding? <Maybe some vita-chem, but I'd skip the expensive Selcon and DT's phytoplankton.> I've read that you can boil lettuce and then freeze, better way to go? Romaine? The article did mention something about tadpole food, I was going to check the LFS. Or if you know of anything better? The article also recommended feeding only twice a week and performing water changes about 2 hours after feeding to reduce waste. <Sounds like a good idea.> Any other recommendations? <In all honesty, I would not recommend this project unless you plan to keep the frogs long-term, in a pond at your house. You have not indicated that you know what species of frog your tadpoles will develop into. Some species take two years to go from egg to frog. Without the benefits of growing up in their native habitat, with all the assorted bugs and critters in the water there, the frogs will likely not have the same immunities that their wild cousins will, and are more likely to succumb to disease once they are released. You will also have taught the frogs that they will be fed; in the wild, they will not know how to hunt...or, for that matter, how to escape from the creatures that hunt them. There is also the fact that they may introduce some disease that is accidentally transferred from one of your other tanks. We keep telling people that they should never release a fish that has been in an aquarium into the wild. I believe the same holds true of frogs.> and/or articles to research? As the tadpoles progress into froglets the plan is to reduce the water, remove the whisper, only use a air filter (?) And provide rocks so they can get out of the water. The long term goal is to release the frogs back at the mountain where they came from when ready and do it again next year. Thanks for your help...looking forward to Reef Inverts at the end of the month. <As are we all... heads up, though -- the book has acquired even more pages than planned, so the schedule is not carved in stone. --Ananda> As you can tell, I found something to busy myself with. DaveK

Raising Tadpoles Revisited Thanks Ananda, <Hi again, and you're welcome...> Happy to say I've found a pond interested in the tadpoles once they are further along. <Yay!! Local species may well do better in ponds than some of the commercially-available ones.> They hatched over the weekend (around 15 tadpoles) and seem to be doing well. There's a local creek nearby and I decided to go with changing 1 gallon of water every two days with creek water, and a 1 gallon RO water change (aerated) the alternating days. <Sounds good. Do check the pH of the creek and adjust the RO water to the same pH!> From what I can find the young tadpoles need to filter the water and since the 10 gal wasn't a established tank figured I'd better go to a source. <Plus it should have stuff in the water that should be beneficial for the tadpoles...> Can understand not releasing tank animals into the wild just wasn't thinking ahead at the time. <That's always a danger in this hobby...glad it worked out this time.> Thanks for your help, DaveK <You're welcome. --Ananda>

Bloodworm Infestation (HELP!!) Hi, your site's really great! I really hope you can answer my question I'm at my wit's end! ). My question is ( I admit ) a bit off the subject BUT still is related to external/internal parasites. OK, my fish ( guppies, silver hatchets, loach, emerald cat, iridescent shark ) and one of my African Dwarf frogs are infested with bloodworms. I am POSITIVE they are bloodworms (thin, red, protrude from vent, and aquarium has no other parasitic contact). Anyway, my frogs NEED the bloodworms to eat (they won't eat anything else. <Have you tried "Glassworms"? (actually chironomid/midge fly larvae), small frozen/defrosted marine crustaceans? There are quite a few of these offered by the pet-fish trade. Look for the Gamma brand...> I feed them frozen ones, never live. ). I now know a feeding method that prevents the fish from getting infested, but, now one of my frogs is "wormy". Whenever my fish got wormy, it always died in the end. I try to halt parasitic invasion by plucking the worms out of their ventral areas ( it's really gross and I'm rather squeamish. ). It seems to help, but my fish still die. Is there any medication or wormer that I can use? <There are... a few worth trying. Piperazine and Praziquantel may be had through your veterinarian... you are looking for a vermifuge (as in "flee worm") medication that won't harm fishes, frogs...> I have no invertebrates in my tank, and all of the plants are fake yup, plastic. ). I really don't want to hurt my fish and frogs. It'd be great if there is a medication available. Please help me! - "Worm Picker-Outer"( that's really grossed out ) <Do keep us informed of your progress. Bob Fenner>

Re: Bloodworm Infestation (HELP!!) Whoa, that was quick! I didn't get the stuff yet ( It's Sunday night ), but I was hoping for a bit more information ( the info you sent me was great! ). I think the frogs would like the glassworms, but if the glassworms hatch...? <This won't happen... or you can just try them as frozen/defrosted...> There is a small chance that they will grow into flies, right? And if they're flies, they aren't parasitic...? <No my friend... the world is comprised of much more than hosts and parasites... these are "free-living" organisms> Or do they just swim around? <The do wiggle quite a bit> If given the chance, do they multiply rapidly? <Mmm, no... please use your search engine and the words "glassworm" or "chironomid"... The adults lay eggs, which hatch into larvae... You won't have adults> Do they smell (like brine shrimp)? Will they carry disease/irritate fish? <None of the above> Or will fish enjoy them as well? <Likely very much so> Please answer as many as you can ( don't feel pressed; I'm just a kid ). Also, about Pip. and Praz. We don't have a regular vet (but we can find one). How is the medication administered? Are there needles (shudder)? <As powders in the food. 10 mg of Piperazine sulfate/kg for three days... the equivalent of 0.10% Piperazine at a rate of 1% body weight/day. Praziquantel can be administered via baths of differing strengths, durations or orally at 50 mg/kg of fish... or 0.50% fed at a rate of 1% body weight per day> Is it a dissolvent? Will I have to force feed the frog ( their mouths just won't open! )? <It is necessary that the animals ingest the food-laced with chemical, or that they be immersed (about 2 mg Praziquantel/l or 7.6 mg/gallon for 24 hours> And last, what should I ask for ( kid at counter, embarrassed, doesn't know which medication out of dozens to choose )? <Please consult with your parents/guardians here (do show them our correspondence). It will likely be necessary to purchase one or both of these compounds from a veterinarian source> Again, don't feel pressed. Thank you sooo much for your help and time!!! <You are certainly welcome. Bob Fenner> - "Worm Picker-Outer"( that might be SAVED!! )

Axolotl with a belly full of? Good morning! I have a long question that might not have a very happy answer. I recently purchased an axolotl at a local pet store, he seems to be in good condition and he acts normally. (He's really nearly the neatest thing I've had in my freshwater tank) but he's got a large mass in his stomach, it's black. I'm well aware that anything they can fit into their mouths, they will, but are they able to pass anything they can fit in? The place that I bought him from admitted they didn't know a whole lot about him, just the basics, "They're freshwater....and I guess they'll eat just about anything" And that was it. I bought him and spent the evening doing research (I know I know! that's the wrong order, but he was so cool!) So in my reading I found out that they shouldn't be kept in gravel bottom tank because they have a tendency to swallow gravel, and therein lies my problem. The tank at the LFS has a gravel bottom, as does my own tank, I quickly moved the gravel to only one side of the tank (the side that I don't put the food on) but I think he swallowed a fair amount of gravel regardless. This particular axolotl is 4-5 inches long, he's been eating normally and I haven't really noticed anything weird except for that his belly looks like its full of something black. I haven't seen any evidence that he's passed anything since I brought him home (god knows he's been eating though - two dozen white cloud and more brine pellets than I can imagine.) I'm not sure if I should just wait it out or what I should think. Forgive me for my lack of preparation! You're advice would do me wonders. Thank you for your time. Rachael <Not much to do at this point with this neotenic salamander. I would just keep up its maintenance and hope for the best. Bob Fenner>

Re: snails, hermit crabs, and frogs, Oh my. Can you recommend a type of frog, something easy to maintain and care for? <In my personal experience, whether it is fish, reptiles, or amphibians, the key is to research the animal before the purchase, set up an environment to suit its needs and do not cut corners, because it will always come back and bite you in the you know what. The only frog that I have kept is a "Whites" tree frog, also known as the "Dumpy" tree frog. Adorable creatures and not terribly hard to care for (heat, light, humidity, clean water, and food). However, I am not sure what type of frog would mix well with snails, I have never researched the captive requirements of snails. I would start with a search on google.com for frogs, and a trip to the local pet store to see what they have to offer. Find one that you like, if its needs and the snails needs are similar (and the frog cannot fit the snail in its mouth) then you may have a match. Best of luck in your search my friend, let us know how it turns out, we are happy to offer help where we can. -Gage>

Newt... not political Dear Sirs, I have a 10 gal. freshwater aquarium with 4 guppy, a Buenos Aires tetra and a African toed frog; would it be possible to add a newt to the collection? <not likely my friend. Many reasons here. Tetras can nip their flesh... there's not enough "land" to climb out on, and the clawed frog will get large enough to eat it one day> I'm thinking of making a sort of cage out of hardware cloth on the top so that i can have the tank full of water and still have a newt. Of course I'll also have a floating island for the newt to go on, would this work? thanks! Elizabeth <it would be best to have a separate dedicated tank for the newts. I suspect they will not fare well or die prematurely in a fish and frog display. Kindly, Anthony>

Albino Frog Hi, We have one in our fish tank....cute as a button, but what does he eat? <Does he look like one of these fellas http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/amphibians.htm> And also, It seems like he really can't see well...because, when we drop food in the tank for the other fish, he only takes he hands and pretends to be putting food in his mouth, but actually missing the food that is being dropped close by? He is swimming around well...but how is he surviving? <Lots of info on these little guys at the link below. http://www.ahsc.arizona.e> Thanks for your help. Maryann <Hi Maryann, the links above should provide more information than you would ever want to know about these critters, check them out and let us know if you have any more questions. Best Regards, Gage>

Ambystoma... Water Dogs I recently purchased what the pet dealer told me was a mud dog, it is an aquatic animal of some sorts, it has gills, a tadpole like tail, legs, and dragon looking things that come off of the side of it's head. If you know what I am referring to please let me know what they eat the guy that sold it to me had no idea what it ate ? <gee whiz, my friend... it is critical that we as responsible aquarists don't purchase any such animals on impulse without knowing anything about how to keep them alive. Not the least of which is how to feed them. I am very grateful that you have inquired for this information after all, but please do consider for the future that we must research out captive charge's needs before buying them for fear of taking responsibility for an inappropriate animal (with needs that will not or cannot be met by you). That said...in the wild they are said to eat worms, tadpoles, insect larva, crustaceans and fish. Some in captivity have even been fed thawed pink mice (lab food). Do look up the genus Ambystoma. Best regards, Anthony>

Science, frogs, and ORP Dear Dr. Fenner, <Anthony Calfo here for WWM while our friend Bob is away on a Red Sea trip... a charmed life he leads!> I am a molecular biologist working in Boston. I saw your article on-line and was hoping you could help me with a bit of advice. I study frog embryogenesis, and for this purpose, keep a facility of 300 frogs (Xenopus laevis, the African clawed frog). These frogs lay eggs which my lab experiments on. Anyways, for about a year and a half we have had excellent luck with our facility, but now we're having a problem and I wonder if you have any advice for me, since I'm not the kind of biologist that knows much about water and husbandry issues, unfortunately. Briefly, what I have is this. City water (horrible, and full of chloramine and other nasty stuff) goes into a facility on the roof of my institute which puts it through a sand pre-filter, then over a carbon bed, and then through reverse osmosis. It then comes down to my facility (through pipes of questionable quality) and is cleaned again by a smaller point-of-use water polisher (de-ionized etc.). It is fed into a large plastic holding tank, where we add the right amount of artificial sea-salt, adjust the pH, and take measurements. From this holding tank, about half of the water is taken each day to perform a 10% exchange of the water in the actual tanks where the frogs live. They live in a flow-through system of about 20 tanks, plus a number of filters (including a bio-filter for the urea, carbon filters, a UV bulb to kill bacteria, etc.). The parameters in the tank (and thus in the system as a whole) are supposed to be: pH = 6.7 to 7.0, salt = 1800 microS. When everything was going fine, our ORP was always about 240-290. Recently we experienced a crash - a few frogs which succumbed to opportunistic infections which the vet said was due to stress. At the same time, we noticed the pH being consistently low in the holding tank, <hmm... and 6.7 is low enough with regard for the dynamics of culturing this amphibian and most any aquatic organism (higher levels of dissolved organics, weakly buffered purified water that you are using, natural inclination for pH to fall, etc)> so we had the small water purifier system checked out and found out that the company which is supposed to service it had screwed up and it was in horrible shape. They've since supposedly replaced everything and fixed it, but we still have a problem: the ORP will not go above 200. <interesting...> They claim that the ORP is meaningless <wow... I would strongly disagree as it pertains to aquarium husbandry/aquariology. ORP is significant and quite indicative of overall trends in water quality. Although we may not need to target any one specific set point, a consistently low range is indicative of a flaw in the system as you suspect> and I don't know enough to argue with them, but I do know one thing: when things were going well, it was consistently higher, and the change makes me concerned that something is still wrong. <agreed... as a measure of ReDox potential, these low ORP readings are indicative of so-called "lower" water quality... at least as they relate to live aquatics and sensitivity to oxidative/reductive potentials. However, the solution to this problem may be as simple as better aeration. Do experiment. Other common solutions to raise ORP may harm the frogs unfortunately (iodine and potassium permanganate primarily). Else it may be a compositional flaw with the source water> Most importantly, this problem is as measured in the *holding tank* - so it is isolated from all the complexities of the frog habitat. The only thing which goes into the holding tank is: supposedly pure (17 MegOhm) water from the purifier, and the salt which we've been using all along. We had the water tested, and they didn't find anything unusual. So, here's the million dollar question: do you have any idea what could be responsible for the low ORP in water which just came out of the purifier? What sort of problem with the water cleaners, salt, etc. could be responsible for this change? Thank you very much in advance for any help you can give me. <do consider if any aspect of aeration or aspiration of source water through this filter may have been tempered with the cleaning/changes in purification. It really could be that simple. But if 6-12 hours of vigorous aeration does not markedly improve ORP, lets look harder at the water composition. At that point, try perhaps filtering the water through a chemically absorptive media like Poly Bio Marine's "Poly Filter pad". The product changes colors to reveal concentrations of conspicuous impurities. After some passes... lets test the sample again to see if that moves the ORP.> Sincerely, Mike Levin <best regards, Anthony>

Science, Frogs, and ORP Hi Anthony, Thanks for getting back to me. <Steven Pro in this morning with the follow-up.> >> wow... I would strongly disagree as it pertains to aquarium husbandry/aquariology. ORP is significant and quite indicative of overall trends in water quality. Although we may not need to target any one specific set point, a consistently low range is indicative of a flaw in the system as you suspect. <That's kind of what I figured... >> do consider if any aspect of aeration or aspiration of source water through this filter may have been tempered with the cleaning/changes in purification. It really could be that simple. But if 6-12 hours of vigorous aeration does not markedly improve ORP, lets look harder at the water composition. At that point, try perhaps filtering the water through a chemically absorptive media like Poly Bio Marine's "Poly Filter pad". The product changes colors to reveal concentrations of conspicuous impurities. After some passes... lets test the sample again to see if that moves the ORP.<< interesting - I'll try it. Can extra aeration hurt anything (like the frogs, for example)? <No, will be fine if not beneficial. But in particular, test a sample of your processed water for ORP. Then aerate it for 6-12 hours in a separate vessel (no frogs or anything). Then retest for a change.> Cheers, Mike <Good luck, Steven Pro>

Frogs and drugs (no toad licking here) Hi, I just treated my freshwater tank for what appears to be velvet. I bought Greenex to treat the tank. I have an African Albino Clawed Frog in there that reacted badly to this. Am I going to lose the frog due to using this product? Thanks, Lynn <wow... I must admit that is doesn't look good for the frog. Do remove it from the tank or the medication from the water immediately (water changes and carbon). Medications that include metals (like copper) or organic dyes should never be used on invertebrates or scaleless animals (including some fish). The frog was indeed overdosed... but don't give up, please. They are hardy. Fresh water ASAP. Best regards, Anthony>

Re: frogs Anthony, Thanks for your reply. The frog was dead by morning : ( I sure felt bad. The rest of the fish are dropping like flies. I wish that I had gone on line before I bought the Greenex. The product said it was safe, HA! Now I am just trying to save as many of the fish as I can. Thanks, Lynn <alas... sorry for the loss too. Some such meds are not necessarily bad, but rather cure or kill remedies. For virulent infections they may be called upon. I personally do not care for this medication in most applications, but many fine aquarists have had very favorable results with it. I do not recall the manufacturers warning to know if it considers invertebrates, amphibians and the like. I suspect it must mention scaleless fishes/animals though. Best regards, Anthony>

A Caecilian by any other name Salutations Dr. Fenner! <Just Bob please> After visiting your website, I have found it to be extremely helpful and concluded that you're probably the only one that can help me! I stumbled upon it during my futile search for information on an unusual species (eel? snake? worm???) I bought on Saturday. I keep it together with a 12cm fire eel and 27 neon tetras. I bought it from a fish farm in Singapore and it was in a huge tank together with many ghost fishes and some fire eels. Let me describe it in detail: It looks like a worm/snake and is almost 30cm with a girth roughly the size of a man's middle finger. The body is like an earthworm's in that it is VERY smooth. Its skin creases when it moves (it moves like a snake!) a and actually forms folds. It reminds me of the kind of skin a newborn hamster or rat has. It is a dark grayish blue and has stripes on the lower half of its body (which is of a lighter color) when viewed from the side. The morning after I bought it, I noticed that it had shed a layer of its skin. The skin was snagged onto the wood in my tank and was billowing in the current caused by my filter pump. Then 2 days later it shed another layer but this time I did not remove the dead skin from the tank. When I looked closely at its body, I did not observe any breaks in its skin. It looked perfectly normal. It does not have any fins at all. Another feature of this funny creature is that its head and tail look very similar! When it is not moving, I get confused sometimes trying to differentiate where its head is! I assume that this is supposed to confuse predators? It looks as though it likes to burrow but my gravel is not fine enough and too heavy for it to hide under. It constantly tries to stick its nose into the gravel but is never successful. In relation to its body, its head seems pretty small and I doubt if a medium sized tetra would fit. I am mentioning this 'because I thought of feeding it small fish initially but that didn't work out. Its head is exactly like a snake's in respect to how the eyes and nose are placed. But the placement of the mouth is slightly different. Its mouth is below the head and looks pretty much like when you put your hand into a sock and pretend to make it 'talk' (I hope you understand my description). It also does not like the light at all. When I turned on the tank light initially it immediately reacted by trying to find a place to hide. But 2 days later it seemed more tolerant. It gets on fine with my fire eel and is totally oblivious to the tetras. It looks as though it has VERY poor eyesight (practically blind) and I can't say much for its sense of smell either! This is based on my experience trying to feed it some live blood worms yesterday. When I dropped the worms into one corner of the tank, it initially did not seem to be aware of them at all. Then it suddenly got pretty excited (this was the first time I fed it. 2 days after purchase) and soon it gobbled one worm up pretty violently. It also hustled my fire eel for the same worm. The thing I noticed is this. It did not seem as though it located the worms by sight or smell at all but rather by ...... chance! Its obvious that the fire eel and the tetras locate the worms by sight first before moving in for the kill. But it looks as though this creature is blind even though it has eyes. Firstly, the worms had to be on the gravel bed before it could eat them. After chomping on his very first worm, even though the worms were RIGHT in front of him, he still didn't seem to see them! And even if the worms touched his mouth or wriggled just beside his face, he was still excitedly pushing at the gravel with his nose looking as if he wanted to burrow??? <Likely so> Then its as if he suddenly realized (or maybe randomly) there was a worm nearby and he suddenly opened his mouth and violently chomped on it. Its quite comical actually! It also looks like it would rather eat worms that are partially rooted in the gravel (it'll rip the worms out VERY violently) compared to those that are wriggling freely. He also seems to have a slightly more successful chance on grabbing a worm when the lights are dimmed (could be my imagination though). I have thought of buying it some very fine sand but then some people have advised me not to. Someone said that since my fire eel is a freshwater species the introduction of sand would alter the PH of my water drastically. I am not sure if there exists fine marine sand or fine freshwater sand. Someone else also said that the fire eel's skin would be scratched or irritated if it burrowed into the fine sand. I really don't know who to believe. Any comments on whether I should get fine sand? <Mmm, I would do so... and probably move this animal (an amphibian) to a separate system> But I am quite sure that this snakelike creature I bought would be most happy if it could burrow and hide in fine sand. Something like desert snakes that burrow underneath sand and lie in wait of insects and such? The documentary I saw about this particular desert snake mentioned that its skin was very sensitive to vibrations and detected insects crawling on the surface in such a manner while it lay in wait underneath the sand. Could this creature be like that? <Yes> I am just speculating based on its physical appearance 'because I am really curious! But I can guarantee that it not a common loach, ropefish or Bichir. I submit my humble observations to you Dr Fenner and look forward to your favourable reply. Yours Faithfully, Leonard Emmanuel Tan <What you describe so well, behaviorally and structurally is almost w/o doubt a Caecilian (http://www.caecilian.org/) in the trade in the West most often called a "Rubber Eel". Please take a look through the Net re this group, its practical husbandry. Thank you for writing. Bob Fenner>

Water Dog Information Sought Have you heard of a freshwater fish named a water dog and can you tell me where i can get information on this fish <Not a fish... but an axolotl... an amphibian... something between the fishes and reptiles... Like a salamander. Here is a nice site that describes them, their captive husbandry: http://www.icomm.ca/dragon/salmndr.htm <Bob Fenner> Connie

A Toad by any other name Hi my name is Mitchell and i have a question have you ever herd of a sernan toad <Surinam Toad my friend, Pipa pipa. My fave site: http://www.scz.org/animals/t/surtoad2.html> it's a toad that live completely under water like the clawed frog and it gives birth to its young out of its back and i was wandering if you know where i can find info in this kind of toad thanks Mitchell <Please try inserting the common or scientific name above in your computer's search engine/s... You will find a wealth of information and images of this amphibian on the Internet. Bob Fenner>

Amphibians in aquarium? and freshwater plenums, anemone questions I was skimming over your site again; this time the fresh water section and i saw the amphibian part. <Yikes... yes, another "section" started... to fit a few incoming FAQs... that needs/deserves serious/non-serious "skull sweat"... input, imagery...> There's only a little about aquatic frogs so i was wondering if you could help me with something else. Could you put Axolotls in an aquarium with fish? <Hmm, yes... have seen these neotenic salamanders placed, kept with peaceful fishes in private, public aquariums> I've got 2 in a 20g upright with no heater or anything for filtration, there are 3 Cory cats in there too they're doing great but i was wondering if i could set up my 180 as a freshwater-tropical and put them in? <Not so much tropical... Though my fave hobby sites for Ambystoma: http://www.fortunecity.com/Roswell/chupacabras/4/calixto.htm states they can/will live at 75F... I would use this as an "upper limit" temperature wise.> Is there an average temp that the fish and axolotls will tolerate together? I know cannibalism could be a problem with smaller tetras but I'm willing to take that risk. Also; have you ever heard of using a plenum in a fresh water system? <Yes, have even done this... for decades...> How well would/does it work? are there drawbacks? <Same sort of arrangement as marine... an hypoxic water area on the bottom (good to have a drain arrangement for here...), a grade or two of media above separated by a screen (I put soil mix in under the screen with coarser gravel...). Downsides: some chance of anaerobiosis...> My saltwater plenum works great but there is quite a bit of Cyanobacteria lately (the tank's a year old), is that an issue in a fresh water tank? <A possibility... but with regular "good" maintenance, use of live plants... a calculated risk...> my last question is in regards to my anemone. I bought it as a "corn" anemone. It's Bright green with orange tips and it's bubbled (just like a bulb anemone) but i haven't seen any bulbs anemones with this coloration. It's scientific name started with R., so it definitely wasn't labeled as e. quadricolor. <Mmm, maybe a "Radianthus" species, or one that is labeled as such... Please take a look through our general coverage of Anemones: http://wetwebmedia.com/anemones.htm ... You may see this species, and find that Clowns will pair up with ones that they don't do naturally in captivity...> My maroon lives in it too. And one more -sorry-. What's normal growth rate for anemones? This one's almost doubled its size in 2 months (i feed silver sides too) it's also got funny division around the tentacles; some are splitting up to 4 times on each one. Is that normal. <Normal under highly favorable conditions... or it may be this specimen was/is "just expanding"... get squeezed down for shipping...> Sorry for the length. Your advice is appreciated as always. Dustin <Thank you for writing. Bob Fenner>

Dwarf African Frogs Hi, I need help. I need info. on Dwarf African Frogs. I seen u have a pic of one on your web site but no info. I want to know if we can take them out of the water and hold them for a few minutes? <Yes. Though these species are capable of staying in the water continuously, they are aerial respirators, and can/do leave the water at times in the wild> How often do they have to come up for air? <Hmm, "every few minutes"...> etc...... Please help i can not find anything on the internet that is helpful. I have 4 in my tank with guppies, tetras and live plants. <Do use the links on the page, and your computer's search engines... with the common and scientific names. Bob Fenner> thanks, sue

Dwarf Frog Tadpoles and Eggs I'm hoping you can help me, my dwarf frogs have been laying eggs for months, this time I actually have tadpoles swimming around in the aquarium. I'm fearful that the big ones will eat the tadpoles but I'm not sure which ones I should transfer into a new home and what to do. <It is a good idea to move the adults and any other livestock other than the tadpoles, and raise them where they are currently> I'm not prepared because I didn't think the eggs would actually do anything and by switching the big ones to a different tank I'm afraid I might shock them. Also what do the tadpoles need to eat? <Do start preparing water to change that which is in the system (best to store it in a clean (no soap residue) container for a week or more... I would also add a sponge filter or two here... good for these animals who can be messy, and not a problem in terms of "sucking them up". You can feed them on a number of foods... blanched zucchini, fish flake foods, pellets... just take care to NOT overfeed. Bob Fenner> HELP!!!! Is there anything I can do and if so what.

Re: Your Dwarf Frogs Robert: Sorry to bother you again but now I think I have another problem. My female frog the professional egg layer looks as if she is going to blow up. Since I last e-mailed you she has laid two more batches of eggs. I did remove the adults from the one aquarium to another but that was prior to the two additional batches. The male appears to be fine and thin but I swear if I stuck her with a pin right now she would fly to the moon. Is there anything I can do or is this usual? <Hmm, likely not unusual... seasonal... hopefully not egg-bound> I'm afraid she might die if I don't try and help her. Sorry to be such a pest but I've had these guys for five years and I've become quite attached.

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