ADF missing a limb

[julia001]

Hello,
I got a african dwarf frog for my community tank about two weeks ago. I got home yesterday from a weekend away and noticed that the frog appears to be missing part of its right limb/hand. I am extremely concerned but the frog seems to be alright, it is just not spending quite as much time at the bottom of the tank and is floating at the top more often. Any idea what I should do?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi,
I don't know much about ADFs but if you have a quarantine tank it would be a good idea to move him over so he not picked on by the fish. You'll want to keep the water extra clean to help avoid infections.

 

[siva]

Uh oh. The floating is more concerning than the actual limb injury.

A few questions please:
1. Tank size?
2. Tank decor? Plants, wood, atrificial decor, etc?
3. All tankmates?
4. Tank temp?
5. Tank parameters? Ammonia, etc?

Your frog was either attacked by a tankmate or injured on decor in the tank. We need to figure out which is more likely and fix the situation so this doesn't happen again. Frogs can typically heal from even pretty nasty injuries if given the right conditions. Your frog really needs a seperate heated small container. It doesn't have to be filtered. Just change the water every day. It does need to be small because your frog is having a hard time surfacing for air in it's normal fashion. Floating stem plants the frog can rest in like pennywort or anacharis would be helpful right now. Antibiotics may be needed. How is the frog doing now? Can you post pics?

 

[youngster]

The floating is not concerning at all. The frogs do that from time to time to relax and breathe. He is just having trouble getting to the surface with his handicap, and so he just floats up. I also recommend a quarantine tank or buy him a 1 gal for permanent so he can reach the surface easily.

 

[siva]

A frog floating for extended periods of time indicates illness and/or distress. I don't believe the OP is talking about the casual floating we see on a daily basis. Frogs near death often start spending a lot of time at the surface, which is why it's concerning.

A 1 gal makes a perfect hospital tank for an ADF, but IMO they should never be kept in anything smaller than a 5 gal as a permanent home.

 

[youngster]

yeah it's too bad that they sell two in a .3 gal. really compromises the frogs

 

[RobbieHadley]

A frog floating for extended periods of time indicates illness and/or distress. I don't believe the OP is talking about the casual floating we see on a daily basis. Frogs near death often start spending a lot of time at the surface, which is why it's concerning.

A 1 gal makes a perfect hospital tank for an ADF, but IMO they should never be kept in anything smaller than a 5 gal as a permanent home.

I agree with youngster about te floating not being concerning. But also agree with siva. ADFs do float along the survive often as a means of getting food and relaxing. If he's up top for more than about 30-45 min it's usually a sign of something wrong, in this case the missing limb. Get a small 1-2 gal tank keep him in it for about 2-3 weeks to heal the wound. Make sure there is surface agitation to avoid slime coat building up. Let us know how things go

 

[bettaowner]

Keep the water clean to prevent an infection.