Questions about Xenopus and Chytrid

Recently I've been thinking about setting up an aquarium for a few X. laevis, but as I keep a number of other amphibians I've been holding off due to fears of bringing home a possible Chytrid carrier. I'm hoping the other members of this site might be able to help me out with a few questions that I've been unable to find answers to while browsing around the web. Thanks for any info in advance!

-Are all X. laevis likely to be carriers of Chytrid? I was thinking that wild caught animals would be the most likely to be suspect and that captive bred animals might be okay, but I haven't read anything to confirm this.

-Is there any way to tell if the animal is a carrier other than sending a swab test to a lab? (I assume not.)

-Does anyone happen to know if other Xenopus or Silurana species are known to be carriers of Chytrid? I've read that S. tropicalis, unlike X. laevis, will develop symptoms and die from the fungus when infected, but have no idea about how the other species react to it. I'd particularly like to know if X. borealis is as likely as X. laevis to be a carrier.

WNeil said:

-Are all X. laevis likely to be carriers of Chytrid? I was thinking that wild caught animals would be the most likely to be suspect and that captive bred animals might be okay, but I haven't read anything to confirm this.

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Xenopus leavis can carry chytrid, but that doesn't mean they all have it. If that were the case, then most of my animals would have died out by now because I have about 200 of these frogs in my collection right now. I have both captive bred, and a few wild-caught imported giants. I don't mix species, but with a fungus as dangerous as chytrid, even a drop of contaminated water in the wrong tank could cause the downfall of the whole collection. I've had several escapees fall into other containers/tanks with other species. I have even used the deformed frogletts as a treat for some other amphibians without any chytrid outbreaks. The frogs have to be exposed to the fungus before they carry it, they aren't simply born with chytrid.

Hope that helps. I'll look into your other questions, but I don't know if studies have been done to prove if X.leavis is more likely to carry chytrid than Silurana tropicalis.

Hello,
here you can find a link to an article about Hymenochirus and chitrid: http://pipidae.net/faq_illness.php

Bye Martin