Frog Health and Protozoans
Protozoans
If you have aquatic frogs such as pipids, your frogs can be susceptible to many of
the same problems that regular Fish Enthusiasts suffer. Protozoans that can hurt your frogs
are Vorticella, Trichodina, Costia, and Oodinium.
Protozoan infestation symptoms including an excess of muscous being made by your frog. His skin may seem irritable and itchy. Clouded eyes and very frequent skin-sheddings could also be symptoms that a protozoan has your frog.
What to do Now
Remove all frogs from the tank. Believe me, with protozoans;
if one has it, they all do. Place everyone in a hospital tank large enough to treat them all
at one time. After they're moved and you begin below treatment, you will need to sterilize
the entire main tank, including all gravel, filter plates, plants, living or plastic.
Treat the plastics in the regular
tank sterilization, and do a " salt-dip " on the living plants. Changing of all
filter medium and scrubbing the filter containments with a salted brush and then rinsing well in
treated water will finish off the sterilizing process.
A salt bath will do in the protozoans in 85% of these cases. Make up a weak salt solution of 1 teaspoon to 1/2 gallon and treat frog(s) for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Keep a watchful eye on them, to make sure that the salt is not stressing them. (It shouldn't but they're sick, so watch them just in case) Then rinse them and their hospital tank out well with treated, proper temp water and place the frogs back into clean hospital tank.
Leave them/him there for week. Check carefully each day for any new signs that the salt treatment didn't work. If re-occurring signs appear, try the below stronger treatment:
Place frog(s) in hospital tank.
Hex-a-Mit is a fish medication containing metronidazole. Take 1/2 capsule and place in 4 ozs. distilled water, mix well. Using an eyedropper, place one drop onto the frogs' dorsum. Treat the frog every other day for 6 days, for a total of 3 treatments. Repeat the full treatment listed above after 30 days. Leave the afflicted frog in the hospital tank another 2 weeks after last treatment to insure he is cured, looking for a complete shed. (For more on skin-shedding, Click Here).
