# Frogs & Toads > Aquatic Clawed Frogs >  my frog ate gravel help

## brittane2216

i know im a bad mom for having f=gravel in the tank, but this frog is like 10 years old (i got her 8 months ago) and has always had gravel in the tank. she has a noticeable lump on her stomach. i put my hand in the tank to see if it was gravel or eggs ( she gets fat and lays them on ocasion) its deffinately gravel. is there anything i can do? she is a very large acf about the same size as my hand. any advice would be very helpful. thank you

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## Enigmatic Frog

i heard that feeding soft foods in large quantities for a shortwhile such as beef heart and bloodworm cant work

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## brittane2216

thanksn i will go get some. i was cleaning there tank anyways so i went ahead and moved her, my other female and my male she lives with to a 15 tall till i can get the gravel removed from their 55gallon and set up a  different filter and things in it. i will continue to keep her in the smaller tank for a while since she is a bit weigted down by the gravel. really sucks cause my male is around breeding age and she layes eggs every few months so this time they may of been viable. idoubt she will lay under her condition. luckaly she is stil eating welland eccept being a little lop sided is acting normally

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## PHYSCODELIC63

I tried to reply this morning but the comp was acting up, no your not a bad frog mom, we all have issues from time to time that we can't help. When I decided to rescue BudUgly I researced substrate and read about them eating gravel, and then thought about the sand and how much of a pain it would be to clean his tank, so I got river rock. the smooth stones in baggies you can buy. so much easier to clean & he doean't harm himself on them and he can't eat these either.

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## Michael

> I tried to reply this morning but the comp was acting up, no your not a bad frog mom, we all have issues from time to time that we can't help. When I decided to rescue BudUgly I researced substrate and read about them eating gravel, and then thought about the sand and how much of a pain it would be to clean his tank, so I got river rock. the smooth stones in baggies you can buy. so much easier to clean & he doean't harm himself on them and he can't eat these either.


I use sand in my aquarium and I don't find it difficult to clean. It's actually a little easier since there is no junk that can fall into the substrate, I just hover the gravel vac over the sand and it sucks right up.

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## SailAwayAK

You could try making a pea/worm burrito. I have seen a worm head  cut off and then using a syringe stuff some squished peas inside.

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## brittane2216

Is the beef heart just bee heart from the store or is it something special from the pet store?

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## Michael

> Is the beef heart just bee heart from the store or is it something special from the pet store?


Beefheart is usually sold in the frozen food section of your pet store. The petsmart near me carries it as well.

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## brittane2216

Ok thanks

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## brittane2216

Not really sure if she will be able to pass them or anything but at least i can still keep her well fed and comfertable in the mean time

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## PHYSCODELIC63

I don't have a vac, I just scoop water out and I get so far and put the container down and Bud ugly just swims right in & I continue to empty the rest with another container. I can clean it in about 8 min

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## Jen

You should look into a gravel vacuum.   
Waste and left over food particles are heavier than water particles so they settle at the bottom of the tank.  Removing just the top layer of water is not properly cleaning your tank and leaves vast amounts of decomposing particles at the bottom which have a negative impact on water quality. 

They are cheap and extremely easy to use and greatly reduce water changing efforts.   They even have the ones that hook right to your sink which drain the dirty water out of the tank and right down the drain and then with a flip of a switch it pumps fresh water right into the tank.  All you need to do is add the decholorinator right to the tank.

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## Michael

> You should look into a gravel vacuum.   
> Waste and left over food particles are heavier than water particles so they settle at the bottom of the tank.  Removing just the top layer of water is not properly cleaning your tank and leaves vast amounts of decomposing particles at the bottom which have a negative impact on water quality. 
> 
> They are cheap and extremely easy to use and greatly reduce water changing efforts.   They even have the ones that hook right to your sink which drain the dirty water out of the tank and right down the drain and then with a flip of a switch it pumps fresh water right into the tank.  All you need to do is add the decholorinator right to the tank.


I may want to add that since I've switched to sand substrate I've noticed a few things..

First of all, gravel vacuum and water changes REALLY should be done once a week, the waste that accumulates is rather astonishing, and I hand feed my frogs reptomin to make sure they all get the same amount (which literally causes ZERO food waste).

I have -froglets- as in ACF that are maybe 1.5 inches at best and they are *HUGE POOPERS*. These guys really have a heavy bioload even as tiny frogs. I cannot even imagine how much that bioload is on ADULT ACF. These guys put out more waste than even a Goldfish and that's another reason I would not keep ACF with Goldfish, they're both incredible waste producers... the amount of water you need to keep that ecosystem clean is very high.. you would seriously need a 125 gallon+ tank to mix ACF with Goldfish..

So if any of you guys do not vacuum and do a 25% water change weekly I highly recommend you start, it makes a huge difference. As for water conditioner I recommend Prime, it kills chlorine and ammonia, it's good stuff.

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## FrogLover2009

Everyone here has given some great advice.  Let me say that you are not a bad frog mom. Nobody is perfect. Not even animals. We do what we can to care for them and maintain them.  They are just like children. They put things in their mouth that is not supposed to be there but it should be fine as long as you get some bigger rock to use that it cant fit in its mouth.  I use big rocks that it can hide under and lay on. :Stick Out Tongue:   Your doing fine. Don't be so hard on yourself.   --FrogLover2009

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## brittane2216

Well it seems she is passing them or spitting them up a few at a time. Fingers crossed she still has a lot more of them to go

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## luckydog

What if she doesn't pass the gravel? Mine has gravel stuck in her right side only. Has been for a while. It weighs her down on the right so much that she swims vertically.

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## Carlos

> What if she doesn't pass the gravel? Mine has gravel stuck in her right side only. Has been for a while. It weighs her down on the right so much that she swims vertically.


Hello and welcome to FF.  In the future it would help if you start a thread for a new problem when frog is ill.  If a frog swallows gravel and does not passes it; could develop intestinal issues like impaction.  Need to take frog to a veterinary for x-ray and possible gravel removal.  If you do not have a vet; this link can help find one: Herp Vet Connection .  Good luck  :Smile:  !

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