Dying frogspawn - toxic?

[dtaranath]

I'm hoping someone can help me.

I've had this frogspawn colony for YEARS. the other day, one of the heads started dying. No big deal, i've had that happen before.

However, this time, the following day, the heads closest to the dying head started to die, while the rest of the colony remained healthy and intact.

With each passing day, local heads are dying, but distant heads remain healthy.

What is happening? Is it possible the dying heads are being toxic to the otherwise healthy heads local to it? Is it giving off ammonia?

Any suggestions? Increase flow? break off all the dying heads before they "infect" other heads? I don't want to lose this colony!!

You can see in these pictures where the colony already died and the ones that are currently retracted and dying... HELP!!

 

[Dkuhlmann]

No they don't become toxic. What I would do is frag off the dead heads and iodine dip the others before putting back into your tank.

http://www.athiel.com/lib/bacterial.html

 

[organism]

Technically the heads release ammonia as they rot in the tank and are very much toxic, especially to their neighbors in lower flow. It looks like you've got some kind of infection spreading that's going to take the whole colony, if it were me I'd frag the dead heads off, dip in something like coral rx and then put in moderate flow. Low flow will be a death sentence for it imo

 

[organism]

btw I see a toadstool in the background, it can release toxins into the water especially if the frogspawn stung it.

 

[dtaranath]

Technically the heads release ammonia as they rot in the tank and are very much toxic, especially to their neighbors in lower flow. It looks like you've got some kind of infection spreading that's going to take the whole colony, if it were me I'd frag the dead heads off, dip in something like coral rx and then put in moderate flow. Low flow will be a death sentence for it imo

Thanks! I think you are 100% correct. I fragged off the dying heads, and pointed two powerheads directly at it, and that seemed to save it. The recession of dying heads stopped immediately. Not sure what initially caused it, as it didn't look like brown jelly disease (i've had that before). Either way, since i fragged off the heads and increased the flow, it's been nice and healthy again for a few days. I didn't dip it, although possibly if it happens again, I will.

 

[dtaranath]

btw I see a toadstool in the background, it can release toxins into the water especially if the frogspawn stung it.

hahahahaha good eye!! i'll watch out for that as the toadstool grows. there's actually a good bit of distance between the two, but eventually they could fight!

 

[organism]

Thanks! I think you are 100% correct. I fragged off the dying heads, and pointed two powerheads directly at it, and that seemed to save it. The recession of dying heads stopped immediately. Not sure what initially caused it, as it didn't look like brown jelly disease (i've had that before). Either way, since i fragged off the heads and increased the flow, it's been nice and healthy again for a few days. I didn't dip it, although possibly if it happens again, I will.

Not sure what it is but I've had it happen a few times, always from the colony being in too little flow. I think it has to do with some of the heads getting less oxygen from low water movement and it spreads fast. The toadstool and frogspawn could already be fighting, toadstools are weird...