Is It The Dreaded Chytrid Fungus? Adf

[midna]

i know i just posted a thread earlier today about having only one froggy left, but now it looks like i'm going to have 0 froggies left.

this was my 5+ years male adf yesterday:

and this is him tonight:

y i k e s. i'm like 90% sure it's chytrid. okay, maybe 60%? at first i thought it might be dropsy because of the chin bubble and bloating, but... i don't know. maybe it is. the first frog i brought home from petsmart a little over a week ago was floating at the surface, lethargic, and looking maybe a teensy weensy bit bloated. she also had the same red spot by her eye, which grew overnight to go behind her eye before i said "Nope" and returned her to petsmart. i was a freaking idiot and immediately put her in the same tank as my current frog instead of quarantining her like i should have, effectively exposing my current frog to whatever illness this is, even if she was only in there for a little over a day. (dw, i'll definitely quarantine newbies next time. i'm not going through this again.)

so now he's showing the same signs: lots and lots of floating, sticking his head out of the water; i just saw him thrashing at the surface. he still goes down to the bottom and doesn't involuntarily start floating up like the first sick one was, but that's still not very comforting. he's much paler, too, and has those little inflamed blood vessels on the webbing of all four of his feet. btw, i did a 90% water change earlier today after i saw this drastic transformation. (i have seachem kanaplex but i don't know it's safe for adfs/will have any effect. i gave a dose to my last frog that was in quarantine and she died overnight. i dosed the tank with my frog that for sure had dropsy, and it didn't have any effect that i could see -- frog got worse and i had to euthanize her.)

if i can get it, i'll try a benzalkonium chloride soak tomorrow, but i fear it's probably too late for my poor boy. i feel so bad for him. i'm so sorry, bub. i thought this guy was gonna survive a nuclear blast and the resulting fallout with all he's been through.

 

[Gypsy13]

I wish I could help with your little one. Knock on wood my frogs have never gotten sick. I hope someone else will be able to offer some advice. The only thing I can think of is checking the aquarium forum tab. Most questions have been asked before. I love listening to the articles. There’s also a search bar somewhere you could maybe type in African Dwarf Frog and see what you can find? My heart goes out to you. Keep us posted?

 

[midna]

I wish I could help with your little one. Knock on wood my frogs have never gotten sick. . . .

thank you! i hope your froggies stay well. just don't put a new one in with them until it's been quarantined like i did i've been researching these little guys so much since last month after my girl got sick, on this forum and all over the internet, but i'll keep searching. from the sound of it, there's not much i can do now except hope he passes quickly to shorten his suffering or miraculously recovers. i really don't want to euthanize another frog lol, it was very gross and sad.

 

[Gypsy13]

thank you! i hope your froggies stay well. just don't put a new one in with them until it's been quarantined like i did i've been researching these little guys so much since last month after my girl got sick, on this forum and all over the internet, but i'll keep searching. from the sound of it, there's not much i can do now except hope he passes quickly to shorten his suffering or miraculously recovers. i really don't want to euthanize another frog lol, it was very gross and sad.

I’m not good at the whole euthanize thing. Which is exactly why I didn’t continue in vet school. I couldn’t “harden” my heart. I can hold my furchildren when it has to be done but I could never place the needle. Not rational I know. Just can’t do it.
From what I’ve listened to tonight (researching for you) it doesn’t sound like chytrid fungus. But something is wrong. I was just getting into bacterial stuff when I had to take care of my ferals. I’ll listen more tomorrow. Maybe between us and others on fishlore we can figure this out. And hoping in time. Keep us posted? Please?

 

[Gypsy13]

Hey there @Lucy can you take a look at this frog? It’s her last one. Thank you!

 

[midna]

I’m not good at the whole euthanize thing. Which is exactly why I didn’t continue in vet school. I couldn’t “harden” my heart. I can hold my furchildren when it has to be done but I could never place the needle. Not rational I know. Just can’t do it.
From what I’ve listened to tonight (researching for you) it doesn’t sound like chytrid fungus. But something is wrong. I was just getting into bacterial stuff when I had to take care of my ferals. I’ll listen more tomorrow. Maybe between us and others on fishlore we can figure this out. And hoping in time. Keep us posted? Please?

you're too sweet! i wanted to be a vet when i was a little kid, then i remembered all the animals that would die and blood and surgeries and stuff... Nope. lol. still can't do it today. i feel you. unfortunately euthanizing a tiny little froggy doesn't involve a needle.

he's getting worse, and he is showing a lot of signs of chytrid, but the thing that stumps me is the bloating? so, maybe not chytrid. he hasn't blown up like a balloon like his mate did, but it could still potentially be dropsy or something bacterial. he hasn't eaten in days; he's refused food the past couple of days. i thought he ate a bit of beefheart three days ago but when i cleaned out his tank today i saw that he'd actually spat it out. up until yesterday, he'd been hiding all the time (the past few weeks; he's been very reclusive for about a year or so, but it really seemed to get bad after his mate died) and wouldn't come out. i might've caught him out a couple of times when i woke up in the morning, but as soon as i turned on the tank light he went back into hiding.

it's so crazy how these things suddenly manifest overnight and quickly grow worse. i guess that's just how it goes for little animals. the same thing always happened to my hamsters.

is that one of yours in your avatar??? if so, they're beautiful. we rescued our little tuxedo cat when she was 3-4 weeks old. she was trapped in my grandmother's garage wall, poor baby. she just recently turned 4 years old and cornered a baby opossum that was in our backyard this morning. luckily all she did was growl at him, haha.

thank you so much. you're much more optimistic than i am, oops. if there's enough time left, i'll see if i can find some lamisil spray tomorrow and do a lamisil bath like in one of the guides.

 

[Gypsy13]

I love that you’re willing to try to save this bb. And it is surprising sometimes how things happen too fast.
I’ve had lots n lots of cats. Most lived into their twenties. One made it to thirty one. Just adore cats.
Good luck with your bb. Keep us posted with updates? Please.

 

[midna]

he's still alive this afternoon but looking worse. i gave him a 5 minute lamisil bath and put him in a small quarantine tank with fresh water and no filter. he was getting pummeled by the filter current in his main tank when he was floating around.

legs and front hands especially are very red, still bloated and chubby, rosy cheeks by his eyes and a bit of white on his chin. maybe red leg or some other bacterial infection?

i did soak a new java fern plant in a diluted bleach solution for a little while before introducing it to the tank a few days ago, but was sure to rinse and soak it for a couple days after that before. i don't think any residual bleach would cause this (but i don't know, stress does bad things), so it has to be something bacterial or fungal from the frog i got at the pet store.

i'm not sure if i should try an epsom bath to maybe get some of the swelling down. i don't want to stress him out more. he did well in the bath, absolutely still, but that could be because of shock. i did order some teeny tiny syringe needles when my other frog had dropsy, but i don't know if i want to lance the poor guy.

 

[Gypsy13]

I don’t think I’d cause any more stress than necessary and don’t think giving him any kind of wound even a tiny one is a good idea. Does the lamisil seem to help?

 

[Lucy]

Hi Welcome to FishLore
I'm so sorry your frog is sick. Poor little thing. I don't think the symptoms match chytrid. Possible a bacterial infection.
You can try Tetracycline

@maggie thecat might have some good suggestions.

 

[maggie thecat]

Hi Welcome to FishLore
I'm so sorry your frog is sick. Poor little thing. I don't think the symptoms match chytrid. Possible a bacterial infection.
You can try Tetracycline

@maggie thecat might have some good suggestions.

Checking in as requested!

I second tetracycline. Or doxycycline which API sells under the name Fin and Body Cure.

The timing suggests bacteria, not fungus. And that looks less like chytrid and more like infection to me.

And while I can appreciate a good shotgun approach, I would be hesitant to suggest it this time around. I would discontinue anti fungals and concentrate on antibacterial treatment.

Good luck with your little buddy.

 

[Gypsy13]

Checking in as requested!

I second tetracycline. Or doxycycline which API sells under the name Fin and Body Cure.

The timing suggests bacteria, not fungus. And that looks less like chytrid and more like infection to me.

And while I can appreciate a good shotgun approach, I would be hesitant to suggest it this time around. I would discontinue anti fungals and concentrate on antibacterial treatment.

Good luck with your little buddy.

Thank you! I couldn’t remember your name! Pitiful. I knew you could help.

 

[maggie thecat]

Thank you! I couldn’t remember your name! Pitiful. I knew you could help.

You're welcome! I hope it works out for you. It's so frustrating when things go sideways.

 

[midna]

thank you so much guys!!! he's not looking any better today but he's still alive. he was floating in his qt. it does seem to be a bacterial infection.

so tetracycline is api general cure? i didn't see it in the ingredients but i'm not sure i'm understanding. i'm stopping by the pet store after mother's day lunch to pick up some meds, and i'll stop the lamisil treatment.

if it's not chytrid, do i have to continue bleaching anything that comes in contact with the frog?

do you two think lancing with a syringe would be something to do to try getting the swelling down? or should i just not risk it. i'm afraid he'd move and i'd stab the poor guy. @maggie thecat is that what you mean by shotgunning or something else? sorry lol i don't understand.

i'm sorry about all the questions.

EDIT: welp, he's dead. i thought he was alive this morning, but i was wrong. he was just dead-floating; i thought he'd sink and flip over onto his back.

thanks for all your help, guys. i'm going to return the doxycycline i just bought (it was expensive lol) and nuke everything. i'm going on vacation mid-june so i'll probably try to start over with some new (hopefully healthy!!!!!) frogs once i get back or when i get a job because $$$$$. i'm going to upgrade to a 10 gallon tank, unless i can figure out if i can maintain a 20 long gallon tank.

do y'all think it's best i just throw away the gravel from the tank (flourite black, i still have a ton), the moss balls and java fern? i'd like to keep a few decorations.

 

[maggie thecat]

Sorry about your frog.

Shotgunning, for future reference, means to try a bunch of things at once.

API General Cure is a combination of Metronidazole and Praziquantel. It's a medication for when you're not sure what the issue is.

Chuck out the plants and substrate. Wash the tank in lots of hot water and vinegar. Rinse with bleach. Rinse again with conditioned water until there is no bleach smell and air dry in the sun. Do the same for any hardscape you want to use again.

When you get your new frogs, treat them as if they are carrying chytrid . Run them through the Lamisil treatment and only then, move them into their new home.

Best of luck with the new bunch!

 

[midna]

thank you so much, maggie! (i just realized that might not be your name but your cat's name, lol.) i'll start cleaning everything today. they'll be sitting out for at least a month until i do anything with them.

 

[maggie thecat]

thank you so much, maggie! (i just realized that might not be your name but your cat's name, lol.) i'll start cleaning everything today. they'll be sitting out for at least a month until i do anything with them.

"Maggie" is my Internet name. I'm one of those old school secret identity types. <L>

That's great that you are giving yourself time to get rolling again.