african dwarf frog with a missing foot??

[rebekahbirch]

hi,
has anyone ever had / heard of an african dwarf frog that has lost its foot? his front foot seems to be completely gone, with nothing but white fuzzy stuff on its left over 'wrist'.
i've looked up foot fungus and the pictures don't look right so i'm very confused.
he's kept in a 6.5 gallon tank with a male betta fish, and a zebra nerite snail, a heater (kept at 25 degrees) admittedly, there are no plants, and no filter, but i didn't think that would be an issue, water changes are every week. what's happening? will my frog die? how should i try to treat?
thanks in avance, Becky. xx

 

[Penncentralfan]

Your frog can live. My guess is that the betta took a bite of him. Is he a younger frog? I've had a betta with african dwarf frogs before and the beta would take bites at him. Usually the frog would lie perfectly still and the betta lost interest, but i eventually moved the beta into a small tank of his own.

I would say that you take the beta out of the tank and some some antibiotics to the water. I don't know what else you can do. If you have the time and money you could take him to vet but frogs do heal rapidly and he can live fine without a left front foot.

 

[rebekahbirch]

ok, the only other tank i have is a 29 gallon with a clown loach, two siamese algae eaters and LOTS of mollies and a bubble blowing filter tho - would this be too much for the betta? i'm worried he'll be blown about and 'bullied' by the other fish? x

 

[LyndaB]

I agree that the likely culprit is the betta. This is why you always have to have a Plan B if you keep a betta with other species. You should get the betta a 5 gallon of its own. It's obviously not a candidate for a community tank. The betta in your 29 would most likely chew apart the mollies.

 

[Penncentralfan]

ok, the only other tank i have is a 29 gallon with a clown loach, two siamese algae eaters and LOTS of mollies and a bubble blowing filter tho - would this be too much for the betta? i'm worried he'll be blown about and 'bullied' by the other fish? x

I don't know. The betta could just hide out on its own in the tank, but what you can do now is get a pickle jar and fill it water and poke holes in the lid and keep you beta in there for a few days and as a backup home if he doesn't get along in the 29 gallon.

 

[rebekahbirch]

ok. so it's not likely to be an illness then? it's definitley an injury from an aggressive betta? x

 

[LyndaB]

I don't know. The betta could just hide out on its own in the tank, but what you can do now is get a pickle jar and fill it water and poke holes in the lid and keep you beta in there for a few days and as a backup home if he doesn't get along in the 29 gallon.

I respectfully disagree. A betta needs a heated, filtered tank, not a pickle jar with air holes.

Yes, it's an injury, not an illness. However, the fungus needs to be treated before it can get worse.

 

[Penncentralfan]

ok. so it's not likely to be an illness then? it's definitley an injury from an aggressive betta? x

That is my guess. Remember ADF live about 2-3 years and as they get older they do slow down and get sick.

How old is you ADF?

 

[Sisserydoo]

I would try putting the betta in the community tank on a day when you can stay home all day and keep an eye on the situation. Your betta would also probably be okay in a large Rubbermaid container for a few days until you can buy it its own tank.

 

[rebekahbirch]

well i bought it at a pet shop a few months ago, but i'm not sure how long they had him - they aren't very busy, so it's possible they had him a while. i haven't had any problems with him before, oh, he shedded his skin a weekish ago, does that say anything about hhis age? x

 

[Penncentralfan]

well i bought it at a pet shop a few months ago, but i'm not sure how long they had him - they aren't very busy, so it's possible they had him a while. i haven't had any problems with him before, oh, he shedded his skin a weekish ago, does that say anything about hhis age? x

My guess is that he's young about a few months maybe six months since pet shops get them captured as babies for the most part.

It's good he shed his skin, that means he was healthy. I think if you get the betta out and get some anti-fungal medicines your frog can be fine, but frogs are very sensitive to chemicals so I would do nothing for a few days. If your frog doesn't get better then treat. Frogs absorb things through their skin and I don't know much about treating frogs with medicines. My guess is that it's okay, but I'm not sure.

 

[Sisserydoo]

My guess is that he's young about a few months maybe six months since pet shops get them captured as babies for the most part.

It's good he shed his skin, that means he was healthy. I think if you get the betta out and get some anti-fungal medicines your frog can be fine, but frogs are very sensitive to chemicals so I would do nothing for a few days. If your frog doesn't get better then treat. Frogs absorb things through their skin and I don't know much about treating frogs with medicines. My guess is that it's okay, but I'm not sure.

Yes, definitely read up on treating frogs with medications first before treating it. I know they are very sensitive to chemicals. When we lived in Minnesota we caught a wild frog with a fifth leg growing out of the middle of its back, we gave it to the university, they had lots turned in like that, and the ended up connecting it to the farm chemicals used in the area!