frogs injuring fish

Question
QUESTION: I should have know better.  I put two ryunkin and a fantail/oranda in the same tank as albino frogs, I assume their in the african frog family.  I figured because the frogs were small they wouldn't hurt the big goldfish, I was wrong.  All three of the goldfish tails look chewed up.  they all seem to be doing okay so far.  I have removed the frogs.  question is, will the fins grow back and do I need to treat the water with something.  For now I just added aquarium salt.

ANSWER: Hi Jim;

It could be the frogs or it could just be finrot. If it looks better after the frogs are out of there, it was indeed those little devils. Frogs are predators that hunt at night and the goldfish will "sleep" at night down on the gravel and their fins become easy targets for those guys.

Fins and tails will grow back as long as it doesn't go back as far as the flesh on the fish's body and they don't become infected. They do take a long time to grow and may never look as nice as the originals though. Keep the tank water very clean so the goldfish have a better chance to recover without infection. Change 25% of the tank water right away and do it again in two more days. After the crisis is over, change 25% of the tank water and vacuum the gravel at least once a week. Goldfish are pretty messy guys and all tanks need a weekly water change anyway. Aquarium salt is good to add. Also get some Melafix at your local fish store. It helps soothe damaged areas, inhibits infection and helps tissue regeneration.

If you still have the frogs you should know that each one needs 10 gallons because they get so big, about 5 inches long. The Albino types are African Frogs but they are not the dwarf variety. There are brown dwarf african clawed and brown african clawed but so far I have not seen any dwarf albinos available. Just please don't release them into the wild. I don't know where you are but I live in the state of California (USA) and regular clawed frogs are illegal to own here. Unwanted and released pet frogs have infested lakes and ponds and consumed all other forms of life to the point that they have to start feeding on each other. The state of Oregon has the same law now. They are devastating to our native  species. Here is a web page that will help you tell the difference between dwarfs and regular clawed so you know for sure what you are dealing with;

http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/clawedordwarf.html

Good luck...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, Chris, your advice was very helpful.  

I'm on my way to the pet shop now.  We are in South Carolina and I definately won't release the frogs.  We actually really enjoy them (my four year old and me) as they are very entertaining to watch.  I will either put them in another tank or get a divider for the one they're in if they make them.  I have them in a 30 gallon tank right now.  

Can you tell me anymore about finrot?  

I right away assumed it was the frogs because I had the brown african frog when I was a kid thru college so I knew they are pretty vicious, I just thought these were dwarfs.

Answer
Hi Jim;

Sounds like you have the frogs in a good tank. I'm glad you were able to put them in a 30 gallon. That's exactly what they need.

Finrot is usually a tank maintenance issue. If there are excess wastes in the tank they can irritate or erode the fins so that the fish are easily infected by bacteria and fungi that are ever present in our aquariums. It can start from injury too but as long as the tank is kept clean and the fish aren't overcrowded or overfed, the fishes' immune systems will take over and they will heal just fine. Salt and Melafix are very helpful. Along with cleaning the tank and maintaining a good diet they usually recover just fine. Here is a good web page about the details;

http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-fin-rot.htm

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins