Is my Albino ACF sick? 9/6/09
I have a new Albino ACF that I got about two weeks ago.
<Question: How did you mature this aquarium first? You can't expect to add a frog to an immature tank and expect him to do well.>
He was perfect looking when I bought him at our local Wal-Mart, but now he has tiny little black dots covering his back from his head to his toes.
<Xenopus tropicalis, Xenopus longipes, and some other Xenopus species are grey with small black spots. You may have one of these other species. Refer to Google re: systematics, photographs of the genus. What you are seeing may be entirely normal.>
He is otherwise healthy, I believe. This started about three to four days ago after he shed his skin. I keep him in a 10 gallon aquarium. I also have two Mixed Balloon Mollies, one Black Molly, an odd looking Algae eater similar looking to the Plecostomus (though I have not found a picture of him anywhere on the Internet that tells me exactly what he is),
<Presumably Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus or Pterygoplichthys pardalis, the two common "Plecos" of the US trade.>
an Apple Snail, and two Orange burst Glofish.
<Obviously, this collection of animals isn't REMOTELY viable in a 10 gallon tank. For a start, Mollies need a good 20 gallons or more, and the water should be brackish. Danios (what you call Glofish) need a tank 60 cm/2 feet long if they're to be happy, and should certainly be in groups of 6+ to avoid bullying and premature death. Even the frog needs a tank bigger than this, 15-20 gallons, minimum.>
They all share the same tank.
<Why? Did you research the needs of *any* of these fish before you bought them? At least some Xenopus, e.g., Xenopus laevis, need subtropical water, whereas Mollies like things fairly warm. There's no good reason to mix any of these animals.>
I did not like the gravel in the tank so I opted to put seashells in it instead (I hope this will not harm them and I cleaned the shells well before I put them in).
<Seashells are a bad idea. Two issues. Firstly, they harden the water.
Mollies won't mind, but your other animals might. Secondly, they trap food, leading to pockets of decay and foul water.>
I constantly keep a check on the water and the Nitrates are at 40 mg/L, Nitrites are at 0 mg/L, the water is very hard at 300 ppm, Alkalinity is at 180 ppm, and pH is at 7.2. I have now managed to get the Nitrates to the fringe of being okay for the fish, but I have trouble keeping it down.
<Nitrates not critical for Xenopus, but is so for Mollies, which, in freshwater rather than brackish, are hypersensitive to nitrates above 20 mg/l.>
I use Tetra Easy Balance with Nitraban, which says is supposed to help maintain the tank with less frequent water changes.
<Garbage. Don't believe the marketing!>
I do not get a lot of time to do water changes so this works well for me.
The water is crystal clear, I use Tetra Whisper filters with Carbon, I keep a heater, which I have just lowered to a temperature of about 80 degrees F since I was treating the tank for Ick and it was at about 85 degrees F.
<Far too warm for Xenopus laevis, though Xenopus tropicalis won't mind. Do, please, read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWsubwebindex/FrogsArtNeale.htm
>
The treatment was performed a few weeks before I added the ACF. I love animals and I am very interested in keeping a colorful and diverse tank.
<I love animals too. However, we all have to learn to separate out affection for animals as an abstract concept from the hard work of giving animals what they need. This is the tricky part to life. Animals are
demanding and expensive. That's why I don't keep all the animals I'd like!
I'd love a pet dolphin, but that's never going to happen. But what I can do is review the needs of whatever I see in the aquarium shop, and then put together what I need to keep them. In your case, you have a collection of fascinating animals, yes, but not necessarily in the conditions they need.>
I have an air stone. I have three plastic plants in the tank and feed the fish and frog a blended diet of Wardley Tropical Fish Flake Food, Hikari Tropical Algae Wafers (my Mollies love them), and Tetra Freeze Dried Blood Worms (also a favorite among my Mollies). I have done extensive research about all of my fish and the frog and have been able to improve my tank. When I first started, my fish were dying left and right, but now all of the new ones I have been great, with the exception of a small Pleco that
ended up with a very bad looking abrasion just under his eye and a big hole in his tail fin before he died. I can't seem to keep the Pleco very well since he was my second one.
<Your tank is too small for Plecos. Even the common species need 55 gallons. Sure, not when they're 2-inch babies, but they grow fast, and in small tanks will react quickly to bad water quality. Things like sores and ulcers are often signs of environmental stress, so looking backwards from that, my best guess is that something in your tank wasn't right. Review, and act accordingly. We're happy to help here at WWM, so if you want advice on a fish *before* you buy it, feel free to ask. We're not selling anything. In fact, we'd just as soon convince you NOT to spend your money if we think a fish wouldn't make sense in your aquarium.>
I try to keep the tank maintained as well as possible with my work schedule. None of my fish seem to have any problems. The frog eats very well and is semi-active and has gotten more active since I first brought
him home. I also am able to see some of his veins, mostly in his legs and one on his lower back. They are very thin red lines. I suppose they are his veins, they look veiny. So, is it normal for my frog to have little
black speckles or dots all over his back and is it normal for me to see the red veins or whatever they may be?
<Difficult to say. When Xenopus and Hymenochirus frogs are stressed, one of the things that does happen is their skin reacts, becomes irritated. On humans, you'd call it a rash or inflammation. Anyway, if left uncorrected, the skin starts to become damaged, and you end up with bacterial infections, such as the notorious Red Leg.>
I have attached a picture of the frog. including the picture as an attachment is the only thing I can do with this email. Am I being paranoid? I did hours of research last night to no avail. I even tried the suggested Google search engine on top of the others I had checked and Google sent me right back to your page. I laughed hilariously at that and decided to give up on my search and finally send you an email. I had to get some sleep first though as I had ended up staying awake until 4:30 this morning researching this issue. Please help me, I would hate for my new frog to die.
<I would hate that too. As another animal lover, I'm really keen you enjoy your pets and that you pets are healthy living with you. In this case, I think the frog is not so much ill yet as reacting to environmental stress.
As such, fixing the conditions, e.g., if this is Xenopus laevis, as is usually the case, then cooler water will be important. A more varied diet will help, with the accent on soft rather than dried food. And so on. See
the article mentioned above.>
I am beginning to get attached.
Sincerely,
Stephanie
<Thanks for writing, and good luck, Neale.>