All ADCF died after I bought a few new ones

Hello,

I've had African Dwarf Clawed Frogs for some years and two weeks ago I bought three new ones becouse I wanted a larger group. Unfortunatly all my frogs died in two weeks after the purchace. The last three survivers past away yesterday. My conclusion is that I bought sick frogs who transfered the desise to my healthy ones. I have no idea what kind of desise it is, there is nothing unusual to see at the corpses. It isnt bloat (I've had a bloated ADCF and treated him to health), there is no fungus and no red leg. The fish in the aquarium (one ottocinclus and a boraras) are not affected.

Though I want to buy new ones in a while (form another shop ofcourse!!!), becouse I've had them for years and got quite attached to them. But does this meen that I have to throw away all the plants, sand, etc.? Or could I just leave the tank alone for a jear or so. I dont know if the bacteria dies when there is no host around.

I really want to be sure about this becouse throwing it away meens throwing a lot of money away...

Well, your only option, other than scrapping the tank, since you really don't know what killed the frogs, is to set up a new one and keep the old one just for fish. Some diseases and parasites can be persistent and lay dormant for months or longer. I know of no way of treating your tank to ensure safety when the causative agent is unknown. You could, of course, try diatom filtration, ozone injection with a protein skimmer, and a UV sterilizer, but you could probably set up a whole bunch of tanks for the cost of that equipment and there's no guarantee that that would work.
Others here may have an idea for you, but I see only the two solutions.

Oh, and QUARANTINE new specimens! Good luck!:happy:

Opistoglyph,

thanks for your reaction. Well I think this meens that I wont be having ACDF anymore. Maybe in a couple of years. I'll use the tank for fish now.

Empty the tank and bleach it for 15 minutes. Rinse well with cool water and start over. It seems you suffered from what most of have learned the hard way. You have to set up a quarantine tank and keep new animals there for at least 4 weeks treating them for fungal and bacteria infections first before adding new animals to your existing animals.

I am fed up buying ADF, the ones in the UK appear to be wild caught and prone to dying soon . I have had a total of eight over three batches which have died within a couple of weeks of purchase. I have a colony of eight ADF who i bought as adults from private sellers and they are healthy, so i am assuming the problem is with the frogs and not my husbandry. I make a point of quarantining all new purchases, With ADF i always quarantine in a seperate room for longer than usual because i assume they are infected, i am now in the position that i will never buy them from pet stores, only from private sellers who have had them for a while.

BillYannone said:

Empty the tank and bleach it for 15 minutes. Rinse well with cool water and start over. It seems you suffered from what most of have learned the hard way. You have to set up a quarantine tank and keep new animals there for at least 4 weeks treating them for fungal and bacteria infections first before adding new animals to your existing animals.

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After washing out the bleach (thoroughly), it wouldn't hurt to scrub down the tank with vinegar or a lemon to ensure you've neutralized any residual bleach. After that, wash thoroughly with water.

You should always quarantine new animals before you add them to your current stock. This goes for fish also.

In pet stores they are exposed to so much and in such a stressful environment that most are ill just from the new environment, not even what they may carry from the breeder.

New fish or aquatic amphibians should always be quarantined 30 days to make sure they are healthy before adding them to an existing aquarium.