3 legged ADF!

Ok, noticed last night that my ADF is missing half of a front leg... Any help?? It's with a male betta and 3 small white clouds. Haven't seen anybody picking on him, and I don't think the filter could have done it. (Tetra whisper filter) Any ideas on what it might be? Everything seems to be healthy and happy in the tank, and I haven't noticed any bullying at all. And when I got him 2 weeks ago, I coulda swore he had all his feet.

 

Aww poor little froggy!
Could be an infection, it's hard to say.
Can you post a pic?

 

I put my money on the betta. They can snap in an instant and you would never know.

 

I put my money on the betta. They can snap in an instant and you would never know.

Hadn't thought of that! I don't know that I've ever heard of that happening, guess it's possible.
Bettas do have teeth and ADF's have no way to protect themselves.

 

Oh, I agree, it was the betta. I find it hard to believe that the filter could do that. You could always look in the filter for the leg too...

 

Betta, they may look like weak little fish, but lets not forget their heritage. In the end, they were bred for fighting, extra muscle and very small but effective teeth.

 

Hmm, my betta hasn't seemed to bother anything else, I even kept him in a large community tank with no problems. Just on the safe side, little froggie is going to get a new home, I am going to start setting him up his own 10 gal. tomorrow. I will try my best to post pics.

 

I do have one more idea though... Little froggie is always hanging out behind the filter.... Maybe he snagged it? Ever since I got him, he lounges behind the filter and the heater. Anyways, here's a couple of pictures, the best I can get for right now.

 

It's hard to tell from the pics.
The first pic, is that his leg that looks whitish?

I wouldn't rule out infection or possibly problems with the water causing a secondary problem.

 

That is unfortunately what is left of it. More of a yellowish than white. It almost looks swollen.

 

You might want to consider putting him in a Q tank.
I might even start on a round of maracyn and maracyn 2.

 

Ok. I'm going to try to.

 

African dwarf frogs, imo, need to be in a species-only tank. I agree, he should be put in another tank and treated. On a side note, white cloud mountain minnows are schooling fish and are pretty active, and should be kept in at least a 10 gallon.

 

My white clouds are happy in the betta tank. I've only heard "5 gal min" But anyways, little guy is doing better

 

Glad to hear it!
Please keep us informed

 

You may want to invest in some Iodine swabs, not too sure, but its what we used with a few tilapia a while back. We had one go through the filter and tear up pretty bad and we used the iodine swabs directly on the wound, which was getting a fungus. I'm thinking if the frog does get an infection, this may be a possible medication choice. Though, id like to hear input from more experienced members on the subject.

 

Went to local local pet store and found no maracyn or anything(no fishy meds)... Will have to go to another one tomorrow to look. Little froggie is a lot of trouble, lol. BUT it's worth it. Got him some nice soft sand for the new aquarium that will be his own ADF habitat. Then I'm going to go invest in my first live plants just for his new little home.

 

Sorry to hear about your frog. If it does look a little sore/infected you could dab a small amount of Original Neosporin not the extra strength or a small amount of Hydrogen Peroxide using a q-tip.
Make sure to keep his food on the small side. Since he only has one front flipper, if the food is to big he will not have the ability to use both front flippers to pull it out. ADF's food should always be small enough so they do not need to use their front flippers. Best of luck

 

You can try ordering maracyn/maracyn 2 online? That would be easy and work well!

 

I didn't get maracyn, but I did get some type of treatment. Can't think of the name of it, but it also starts with an M. It's the best I could find.

Edit-- It was the white clouds!!! It makes perfect sense now. 24 hours after I added the white clouds, I noticed this missing leg. Today, he was floating at the top, and as I was watching, one of the little fishies swam up and nipped him on that "bad leg."

 

It would really be a good idea to get him moved out of that tank now.

Please don't use just any med with ADF's they really don't handle a lot of medications meant for fish.

 

It says its safe for him. He's already been moved to quarantine

 

I'm so glad you moved him!

The medication says it's safe for ADF's?
What's the name of it?

 

Melafix. It says it's made of natural tree oils or something? And that its safe enough for all fresh and saltwater fish, all inverts, and even the coral, live rock, and live plants. So maybe not safe for ADFs in particular, but it sounds to me like their included. I added it last night, and it seems to have no ill effects this morning, he's actually looking better IMO.

 

ADF's are not fish, inverts, coral, live rock or plants. They are amphibians.
They absorb everything through their skin.
Hopefully there won't be any ill effects.

 

It's either treat him with that, or nothing. Even if I could order maracyn online, it wouldn't get here anywhere near on time to help him. I honestly think it's better than doing nothing for him.

 

I have to respectfully disagree.
Treating anything with the wrong meds can be just as harmful, sometimes more so than not treating at all.

If he shows any signs that the melafix is irritating to him, please do a water change and use carbon asap.

Good luck!

 

But it's not necessarily that it is a wrong medication for him. If it shows any so much as a tiny bad effect, it will be immediately stopped, and there will be a water change and carbon.

 

I would not use this either myself. Maracyn 2 has been safely used with adf's and it is a med that's always good to have on hand incase it is ever needed.
Fresh, clean dechlorinated water does wonders as well as pristine conditions. Best of Luck~

 

I did a little research on melafix, and I found that as long as it is not overdosed in the tank, it is good to use on ADFs.

 

I did a little research on melafix, and I found that as long as it is not overdosed in the tank, it is good to use on ADFs.

For future reference, where did you read that?

 

I can't exactly remember, it was on a couple different sites. I just searched "melafix for african dwarf frogs" and started reading the links.