Two of my frogs are starting to get cloudy eyes and very light shades of red patches on there bodies. At first I thought one might be ready to shed but she's had cloudy eyes almost a week now, and now my other female is getting them too. I believe this is some kind of bacterial infection... I would like to treat all three frogs in the 6gal. tank... can I use melafix for this as I have some on hand? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,Can you tell me the water params on this tank?Most times problems,especially cloudy eye,are caused by poor water quality. Frogs are very vulnerable to that.The red sounds like it may be going into a bacterial infection,but it's hard to say with out more info. .SOmetimes,if you catch it pretty early,pristene water can turn it around for them.Other times,I have heard of people using half the strength of Melafix/Pimafix to treat frogs.I have also read that Maroxy is considered safe for all and that may be a choice.I personally have never tried any of these,and am very cautious about using any sort of meds,so I would check the tank params first and see how they read.
How often do you change out water and vac this tank? Are they housed in this 6 gal.,or only there now for quarrantine?

This is a permanent home and in the process of cycling. The water is left out for 24hrs. in bucket w/ airstone and also treated with Amquel, I am doing 30-50% water changes and gravel cleanings 1-2 a week. I believe the fine gravel I am using (close to sand) is trapping alot of that uneaten pellets and waste.. I have made a point of cleaning it more thorough. Is there a better way to clean this stuff? I'll test the params now and get back to you. This is an Eclipse 6... I understand that the frogs aren't huge waste producers but will the filter handle 3 of them in there?

I've kept frogs in an Eclipse,and they've done fine. They actually do well with that slower filtration that the Eclipse has.ANy excess build up in food,etc. is bad,as frogs are very sensitive to any poor water params-even the slightest readings. Cycling with them in the tank makes it harder because of that.Any time that you use any sort of sand substrate,you'll have to occasionally "stir" the sand because of reasons that you've mentioned.That can be a real pain at times. I actually keep a turkey baster around so that I can occasionally suck up any left over food before it gets buried.More work,I know,but so far it's seems to help.Those frogs don't have the best eyesight,so occasionally they do miss food. I've kept these little guys for years,and have only used meds (a long time ago) with not too good results. Back then though,there was very little info and I didn't have internet I once lost 16 of them because I treated a Bristlenose with an antifungus med,so I'm very wary of letting anything make them ill now.They're finding out more meds you can use safely,but I'm still put off and really just try to keep the tank params spot on because of that.

Just tested the water with API kit... here are the results.

ammonia: .25
nitrate: 7
nitrite: 2.0
pH: 6.8
water temp: 75f

I am about to change 4gals of the tank treated w/ Amquel and stir up the sand/vac real good... I think feeding after I turn the light off will help to as they are more active. Should I add any pH increase after the water change?

I recently added a small clump of java moss to help with nitrites during cycling (recently added some to help with wastes in my GF tank). Will this stuff do more bad than good in a tank like this? Strands end up getting caught in the filter. It also collects floating waste that would otherwise be sucked in the filter. The clump itself eventually ends up stuck to the filter intake. I do enjoy the substrate but would I be better off going barebottom or using polished river stones?

Thanks, any help is much appreciated!

Is that your normal ph reading for your tap? As you can see,the ammonia's showing,which is not good,and even worse-the nitrites,so this is definately what's ailing your little frog buddies.I would advise not swishing the sand while the little frogs are in there as alot of gases etc. can build up in those sand s-extra safety precaution on my part)
I know what you mean about the Java moss being a pain,as I also keep it in my tanks.Truthfully ,that's your call.I like it in the tank so I've learned to just pull it out of the intake tube,and when I water change,I grab the java and swish it in old tank water to remove any caught up food.Some has actually begun to root on an ornament,so that's nice.
You could go bare bottom.I myself don't like the river stones.I swear it's harder to clean around them. Your tank is small enough to give it a try though,and decide for yourself what you like best.
On my way to work now so good luck and let us know how the frogs do after the water changing.

My pH comes out the tap at 6.0... I have been using a ton of pH increase. Would it be easier to use 'proper pH'? Thanks for all the advice.

One more question.. I have seen what looks like white eggs on the java moss. Are these snails?

I did an 80% water change, removed the frogs and stirred/vac'd the gravel, added stress zyme, etc. I'll retest tommorow and let you know how it worked out.

My frogs have always done well on the lower side of ph,usually around 6.8.I personally don't feel safe when it comes to the ph increasers.I had one bad experience using it with Apple snails,and have been to chicken to ever try it again.Any time that I need the ph increased,I always use the crushed shells in a filter,but with the Eclipse filters,there's really not a space to do it.
Most sites I've checked out mention ph averages for these guys to be anywhere from 6.4-to 7.Honestly,I don't know the effects that a ph of 6 would bring for them.Alot of animals can adjust to ph's,it's the bouncing up and down that hurts them more.
Some people also test their water out of the tap,let it sit 24 hours and retest,only to find that it's raised up a bit.This area of knowledge though isn't my strong point,so I won't even try to explain the how's and why's.. Maybe you can do that ,just to see if the level changes.It's good to know all you can .
With all the ph increaser's,are you maintaining stability,or are you constantly dealing with ups and downs ?
I think though for now at least,you should see some improvement when you get the ammonia/Nitrites down to 0.Have you noticed any change at all since you did that last water change?
As for the eggs,-are the plants new?Were they quarrantined/treated before adding them to the tank?ANy signs of snails up until now-actual snail s/chewed plant leaves,etc.?
Did you hear any croaking or see any signs of mating before the eggs showed up?
I've known people who's frogs have mated,but none of them had any successful hatches.ALthough I've seen the mating behavior myself,I've never seen any eggs being released,or eggs stuck anywhere,so I don't know if they'd look like wild frog eggs or not.Can you post a pic?

I believe it was snails that hitched a ride in on the java moss. Most of the 'eggs' were white and looked to be forming into shells so I tossed whatever pieces I could and tried to get it all out of the tank. The female (Tofu) got symptoms the latest but she is clear-eyed and back to normal this morning. The one that is worse off (Yoga) is starting to get a little darker (she has gotten a very light color over the past few days) but her eyes are still cloudy. My male (Bhudda) has not changed at all, he is still timid but healthy looking as ever. I am going to test again later and let yah know how it works out. Thanks again!

Hey,no problem.Glad to hear that they're showing signs of improvement.
Yoga apparently was a little bit more affected by the water params than the others were.She should continue looking better though,so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Everyone is clear eyed and looking much better